Explosive weapons and fragmentary elements therefor

Abstract

Abstract An explosive weapon and a fragmentary element therefor are disclosed. The explosive weapon comprises an explosive charge and a means to combine a plurality of fragmentary elements with the explosive charge to form an explosive assembly. Each of the fragmentary elements comprises a member having the general shape of a sphere. Each of the members has six flat surfaces located along the greatest diameter of the sphere. This greatest diameter occurs along the great circle or equatorial zone of the spherically shaped member. Each of the flat surfaces intersects the next adjacent flat surface at the greatest diameter of the sphere. Therefore, a cross section through the element in a plane including the greatest diameter and the center of the sphere has a regular hexagonal shape. The flat surfaces are adjacent elements adapted to be facially disposed to prevent rotation of the elements with respect to each other. These flat surfaces are further adapted to join other flat surfaces located in the structure of the explosive weapon. The fragmentary element has an air resistance that is only slightly greater than the air resistance of a totally spherical member of corresponding size. In more specific embodiments of the weapon, the fragmentary elements are in flat surface to flat surface contact to form rows adjacent each other. The elements of adjacent rows interlock each other to prevent shifting of the rows with respect to each other.

Inventors

• 👤 Gunnar F A Medin
• 👤 Erik G Olsson

Bibliographic Details