Segmented sabot projectile

Claim 1

A spin-stabilized discarding sabot projectile comprising a base, a core seated on the base, a multi-piece sabot encircling the core and the forward section of the base; said sabot comprising a first set of plastic segments evenly spaced around the core circumference, a second set of plastic segments occupying circumferential spaces between adjacent ones of the first segments, and a plastic spinner band located at the rear end of the sabot to project radially outwardly beyond the sabot side surface, said band being integrally formed with the second set of plastic segments to define a one piece molding; said plastic band having a relatively thin radial dimension corresponding to the rifling thickness in a gun barrel whereby the band is severed by the rifling lands in the gun barrel as the projectile is fired out of the barrel; the plastic band being arranged in surrounding relation to the first plastic segments whereby the band constitutes a mechanism for retaining the plastic segments on the core, such that severing of the band enables the segments to be centrifugally separated from the core as the projectile exits from the gun barrel; each sabot segment having a circumferentially projecting rib (34) in one of its side edges, and a circumferentially projecting slot (32) in its other side edge, the ribs and slots extending forwardly from the aforementioned base to the front end of the sabot, the ribs and slots on adjacent segments being interlocked together only while the projectile is within the gun barrel; the sabot segments having cylindrical outer surfaces cooperatively defining a cylindrical sabot outer surface, said segments occupying the entire circumferential space around the core without any intervening void spaces; one set of plastic segments being formed as a one piece molding using the base and core as a mold surface, the other set of plastic segments being formed by material molded into the circumferential spaces defined by said one segments, adjacent ones of the segments having non-adherent engagement with each other; the ogive portion of the core extending forwardly beyond the sabot segments so that adjacent segments are interconnected solely by the aforementioned plastic band and interlocked rib-slot connections.