Slackjaw Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Why are tungsten core shells so rare when their so good and only really seem to be used 41-43 for the axis and 44-45 that for the allies ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CavalryMan Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 I have no data and no direct knowledge but I believe that it is so good because Tungsten is a very hard substance but it is particularly effective when combined and alloyed with other materials. These desirable properties make it both very difficult to work and to get the correct alloying and combinations. During WWII there was a massive shortage of tungsten and molybdenum was often used. Try itia.org.uk for some general info and some data I cant remember how to understang (If I even attended that class) You could also investigate High Speed Steel which the link also uses to describe steel tungsten alloys. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offtaskagain Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Germany had very limited supplies of tungsten and eventually decided that was better spent on machine tools than weapons. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifty 101 Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 On the topic of tungsten: Do tungsten rounds have an HE charge? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 I don't know of any tungsteen round with HE. The reason why it is so effective is not that it is so hard. The reason is that it doesn't break. It is reasonably deformable, more so than steel, but it doesn' scatter into 1000 pieces. In case it wasn't obvious from the previous replies: it is a neccessary alloy for high-quality steel and usually better invested elsewhere in a war industry than shooting it around. I don't think it is needed for "simple" armor plates, but for manufracturing, steel-shaping tools, bearings and other bits it is. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Actually tungsten is no use at all allloyed with steel!! also tungsten is very dense, and so for a given weight the shot can have a smaller cross section - this means that it has to punch it's way through less armour - thus it gets more penetration than a conventional full-diameter shot for the same muzzle velocity. This is aslo convenient for keeping the cost of the shot down because tungsten is expensive to turn into AP shot, and if it had to be the same size as steel shot it would also weigh an awful lot more! In practice it can also be fired at a much higher muzzle velocity than steel because it doesn't shatter so easily - steel shot can be made to go as fast as you like, but at some point (about 3500 fps??) is simply shatters when it hits a hard target and doesn't penetrate at all!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Lakowski Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Tungsten carbide is a ceramic that will shatter under certain circumstances [spaced armor]. Its superior penetration comes from its high density [twice steel]. Since it was a strategic metal it was very expensive which explains why so few where available. [ January 15, 2003, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: Paul Lakowski ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mike Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 I think the penetrators in AP shot are tungsten metal, not Tungsten carbide - the carbide is mostly used for cutting tools. Edited: Oops- no, you're right - apparently the carbide is what's used - well that's my new thing for today! [ January 15, 2003, 10:34 PM: Message edited by: Mike ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Tiger Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Not only the rarity of tungsten swedish designation (wolfram) german, let the germs drop this sort of ammo, more due the high barrel wearing. The normal APBCBC was still capable till the end for destroying allied tanks of all sorts. Also Tungsten hade its drawbacks like long range inacurracy, more riccochets on slooped armor, due to the small wight and without he filler, it makes sometimes only small holes with low damges to the tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtMuhammed Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 Which is one of the big reasons for the switch to DU in modern rounds. Not only is it denser but it is incendiary once it penetrates. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwolf Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 The main advantage of Uranium is that it doesn't deform like Tungsteen, and doesn't randomly scatter either, but that it tends breaks up (if at all), along the length of the penetrator dart (not breaking up bits of the nose). So to speak, if there is overload it splits into several darts which is way better than random pieces. There is some drawing somewhere on the net, let me see whether I can dig it up. Random energy trivia: A 120mm US/German DU penetrator dart (5.8 kg, 1661 m/sec) conatins exactly as much energy as if you lift a car of one metric ton 821 meters high. [ January 16, 2003, 08:10 AM: Message edited by: redwolf ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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