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Aerodynamics and Firepower

or how to slug the enemy from a distance

G. Leng, ME Dept, NUS

Quotable Quote

Cpt Liddell-Hart*

It is the fire power, and fire power alone, that arrives at the correct time and place that counts in the modern war

* Sir Basil Henry Liddell-Hart (31 Oct 189529 Jan 1970) English military historian known for his ideas on armoured warfare and strategic theory
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Stalin Artillery is the God of War

USSR - Vladimir Triandafilov (1929), Character of the Operations of Modern Armies estimated that 50-60 guns/km of front needed for break down of enemy defenses.

WW2 (1944) Russian armies used 200-300 guns/km of front for 2 hr barrage

Ref : Walter S. Dunn Jr, Hitlers Nemesis : The Red Army, 1930-1945, Praeger, 1994

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Firepower

The rate of energy delivered from point A to point B for destructive purposes

Question : So how much energy can be delivered by modern weapon systems ?

G. Leng, ME Dept, NUS

Example : FH2000 Field Howitzer

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Example : Primus Self Propelled Artillery

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Example : M107 155mm Projectile

Weight Length (excluding fuze) Body diameter Driving band diameter Payload : Composition B: TNT : Supplementary charge : Range
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605.3 mm 154.89 mm 157.98 mm 6.985 kg 6.62 kg 0.136 kg TNT

Example : XM982 Extended Range Ammo

Joint development by Bofors & Raytheon Based on standard 155mm projectile Canards aerodynamic controls GPS/INS unit CEP* = 10m radius at a distance of 50km

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Energy of a 155mm HE projectile

= = =

Consider the kinetic energy for the 175mm Romach SP

K.E.

Assuming a payload fraction of

The chemical energy =

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Total energy

Energy of a GPMG cartridge

Cartridge, 7.62mm, AP, M61

Weight(cartridge) :

Weight (projectile):

M60 machine gun

Max effective range Muzzle velocity: Rates of fire:

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Energy of a GPMG cartridge

= = =

Consider the kinetic energy for a 7.62mm M61 AP projectile

K.E.

Sustained rate of fire is = =

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Muzzle power

Galilei Galileo (1564-1642)

Dialogues Concerning Two New Sciences A projectile which is carried by a uniform horizontal motion compounded with a naturally accelerated vertical motion describes a path which is a semi-parabola.
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Artillery Projectile Trajectory

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Factors affecting a real trajectory

or what Galileo didnt consider

Air resistance - aerodynamic drag

Air disturbances cross wind, gust

Variable atmospheric properties with altitude

Drift caused by projectile spin

Earths rotation

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Ballistic coefficient - a measure of air resistance

=
=

C ballistic coefficient mass of projectile cross-sectional area of projectile drag coefficient (air resistance)

m/A Cd

sectional density form factor

C: m: A: Cd :

Note : the ballistic coefficient has units of kg/m2

G. Leng, ME Dept, NUS

Ballistic coefficient of 155mm HE projectile

For the M107 155mm HE projectile

mass = diameter = Cd (estimated) = = =

The ballistic coefficient

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Ballistic coefficient of a bullet

In S.I. units, ballistic coefficient

= =

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Effect of air resistance

Simulated 155mm HE trajectory

Trajectory parameters for max range 25 deg 17.5 km 51 s 3.5 km

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elevation : range : time of flight : max ordinate :

Work against air resistance - loss of kinetic energy

|V| m/s

time s

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Comparison : 88mm Pak43 Anti Tank Gun

Muzzle velocity AP projectile Penetration

: : :
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Simulated 88mm Armour Piercing (AP) trajectory

Trajectory parameters (CD = 0.25) 0.65 deg 2 500m 8m 2.5 s

elevation : range : max ordinate : time of flight :

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Comparison : Energy loss against air resistance

|V | m/s

time s

KE of AP projectile at impact

= =

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Spinning of artillery projectiles

Spinning = flight stability

Achieved by a rifled barrel and corresponding rotating band on projectile

Example 155mm howitzer

Rifling of gun barrel

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Corresponding rotating band

Aerodynamic consequences of spinning

The Magnus effect*

* G. Magnus , On the deviation of projectiles; and on a remarkable phenomenon of rotating bodies.", Memoirs of the Royal Academy, Berlin, 1852 .
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Spinning and shell drift

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Point to Ponder
Seasoned old gunner : Shell drift is always to the left

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Application example

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