Beehive (ammunition)
Encyclopedia
Beehive is an anti-personnel
round fired from an artillery
gun. The round is packed with metal flechette
s which are ejected from the shell during flight by a mechanical time fuze
. It is so called because of the 'buzzing' sound the darts make when flying through the air. It is intended for use in direct fire against enemy troops.
The first round actually termed "beehive" was first fired in combat in 1966 and was thereafter used extensively in the Vietnam War
, though the later development of the Killer Junior
air burst
technique provided an alternative to beehive in some situations. The primary beehive round for this purpose was the M546 anti-personnel tracer (APERS-T) shell which projected 8000 flechettes and was direct fired from a near horizontally leveled 105 mm howitzer. Beehive rounds were also created for recoilless
anti-tank
weapons including 90 mm
, 106 mm
, Ontoses and M48
tanks.
Subsequently it was reported that the USSR had developed similar rounds for 122 mm and 152 mm artillery for use in indirect fire
.
Beehive rounds became less popular in the United States following Vietnam, with low-angle airburst techniques such as Killer Junior
supplanting the use of beehive.
round for anti-aircraft
use, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy
in World War II
. The shell was designed for several gun calibers, including the 18-inch (460 mm) gun
s of the Yamato class battleship
s.
The 460 mm (18 in) round weighed 2,998 lb and was filled with 900 incendiary tubes and 600 steel stays. The round was equipped with a delay fuze set before firing, that exploded the round at the set altitude; on explosion, the steel shrapnels and the incendiary tubes were ejected in a 20-degree cone forward. The shell itself exploded immediately afterwards due to its burst charge
, further increasing the amount of shrapnel. The incendiary tubes ignited about a half-second later and burned for five seconds with 16-feet long flames. Each of the incendiary tubes was a 90 mm long, 25 mm diameter hollow steel cylinder, filled with rubber thermite (phosphorus
, vulcanized rubber, natural rubber, stearic acid
, sulphur and barium nitrate
) and ignited through holes on both sides. The rounds were similar to conventional shells, except their wood-filled ogive
and several layers of assembled fragments.
The blast of the main guns turned out to disrupt the fire of the smaller antiaircraft guns, so the 460 mm rounds were not successful. The copper drive bands of the rounds were poorly machined, and constant rapid fire was damaging the gun rifling.
The 406 mm (16 in) round contained 1,200 incendiary tubes and on explosion burst into 2,527 fragments. By contrast a 460 mm round burst into 2,846 fragments.
The 203 mm (8 in) round weighed 125.86 kg and contained 255 incendiary tubes and a 2 kg burst charge in its base. It used the 91 Shiki delay fuze. Its maximum altitude was 10,000 m and it was reached after 55 seconds of flight. The burst charge scattered the shrapnel in a 12 degree cone. The maximum effective distance from the shell burst was about 1,000 meters, where the fragments reached dispersion diameter of 100 meters.
A 127 mm (5 in) round contained 66 incendiary tubes and had a 10 degree dispersion angle with dispersion diameter of 54 meters.
Anti-personnel weapon
An anti-personnel weapon is one primarily used to incapacitate people, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles.The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and...
round fired from an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
gun. The round is packed with metal flechette
Flechette
A flechette is a pointed steel projectile, with a vaned tail for stable flight. The name comes from French , "little arrow" or "dart", and sometimes retains the acute accent in English: fléchette.-Bulk and artillery use:...
s which are ejected from the shell during flight by a mechanical time fuze
Artillery fuze
An artillery fuze or artillery fuse is the type of munition fuze used with artillery munitions, typically projectiles fired by guns , howitzers and mortars. A fuze is a device that initiates an explosive function in a munition, most commonly causing it to detonate or release its contents, when its...
. It is so called because of the 'buzzing' sound the darts make when flying through the air. It is intended for use in direct fire against enemy troops.
The first round actually termed "beehive" was first fired in combat in 1966 and was thereafter used extensively in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, though the later development of the Killer Junior
Killer Junior
Killer Junior and Killer Senior are techniques of employing artillery direct fire air bursts, first developed during the Vietnam War. The technique involves a howitzer or gun firing a high explosive shell fuzed with a mechanical time-super quick artillery fuse set to function causing an airburst...
air burst
Air burst
An air burst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target or a delayed armor piercing explosion....
technique provided an alternative to beehive in some situations. The primary beehive round for this purpose was the M546 anti-personnel tracer (APERS-T) shell which projected 8000 flechettes and was direct fired from a near horizontally leveled 105 mm howitzer. Beehive rounds were also created for recoilless
Recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle or recoilless gun is a lightweight weapon that fires a heavier projectile than would be practical to fire from a recoiling weapon of comparable size. Technically, only devices that use a rifled barrel are recoilless rifles. Smoothbore variants are recoilless guns...
anti-tank
Anti-tank warfare
Anti-tank warfare was created by the need to seek technology and tactics to destroy tanks and their supporting infantry during the First World War...
weapons including 90 mm
M67 recoilless rifle
The M67 recoilless rifle was a 90-mm antitank recoilless rifle made in the United States and later in the Republic of Korea. It could also be employed in an antipersonnel role with the use of the M590 antipersonnel round...
, 106 mm
M40 recoilless rifle
The M40 recoilless rifle was a lightweight, portable, crew-served 105 mm weapon intended primarily as an anti-tank weapon made in the United States...
, Ontoses and M48
M48 Patton
The M48 Patton is a medium tank that was designed in the United States. It was the third and final tank to be officially named after General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army during World War II and one of the earliest American advocates for the use of tanks in battle It was a...
tanks.
Subsequently it was reported that the USSR had developed similar rounds for 122 mm and 152 mm artillery for use in indirect fire
Indirect fire
Indirect fire means aiming and firing a projectile in a high trajectory without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire...
.
Beehive rounds became less popular in the United States following Vietnam, with low-angle airburst techniques such as Killer Junior
Killer Junior
Killer Junior and Killer Senior are techniques of employing artillery direct fire air bursts, first developed during the Vietnam War. The technique involves a howitzer or gun firing a high explosive shell fuzed with a mechanical time-super quick artillery fuse set to function causing an airburst...
supplanting the use of beehive.
Sanshiki (anti-aircraft)
The term Beehive may also refer to Sanshiki, San-Shiki or sanshikidan (lit. "type 3") ammunition, a combined shrapnel and incendiaryIncendiary device
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are bombs designed to start fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as napalm, thermite, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus....
round for anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
use, used by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The shell was designed for several gun calibers, including the 18-inch (460 mm) gun
40 cm/45 Type 94
The Japanese was the largest bore gun ever mounted on any warship. They were actually 46 cm guns, but were designated 40 cm in an effort to hide their true size.-Description:...
s of the Yamato class battleship
Yamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
s.
The 460 mm (18 in) round weighed 2,998 lb and was filled with 900 incendiary tubes and 600 steel stays. The round was equipped with a delay fuze set before firing, that exploded the round at the set altitude; on explosion, the steel shrapnels and the incendiary tubes were ejected in a 20-degree cone forward. The shell itself exploded immediately afterwards due to its burst charge
Burst charge
In fireworks, a burst charge is an energetic pyrotechnic mixture placed in a shell which is ignited when the shell reaches the desired height in order to pass fire to and spread the stars. Burst charge compositions are usually coated onto rice hulls or other low-density fillers, which increases...
, further increasing the amount of shrapnel. The incendiary tubes ignited about a half-second later and burned for five seconds with 16-feet long flames. Each of the incendiary tubes was a 90 mm long, 25 mm diameter hollow steel cylinder, filled with rubber thermite (phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
, vulcanized rubber, natural rubber, stearic acid
Stearic acid
Stearic acid is the saturated fatty acid with an 18 carbon chain and has the IUPAC name octadecanoic acid. It is a waxy solid, and its chemical formula is CH316CO2H. Its name comes from the Greek word στέαρ "stéatos", which means tallow. The salts and esters of stearic acid are called stearates...
, sulphur and barium nitrate
Barium nitrate
Barium nitrate with chemical formula Ba2 is a salt of barium and the nitrate ion.Barium nitrate exists as a white solid at room temperature. It is soluble in water, and like other soluble barium compounds, is toxic and should be handled with care...
) and ignited through holes on both sides. The rounds were similar to conventional shells, except their wood-filled ogive
Ogive
An ogive is the roundly tapered end of a two-dimensional or three-dimensional object.-Applied physical science and engineering:In ballistics or aerodynamics, an ogive is a pointed, curved surface mainly used to form the approximately streamlined nose of a bullet or other projectile.The traditional...
and several layers of assembled fragments.
The blast of the main guns turned out to disrupt the fire of the smaller antiaircraft guns, so the 460 mm rounds were not successful. The copper drive bands of the rounds were poorly machined, and constant rapid fire was damaging the gun rifling.
The 406 mm (16 in) round contained 1,200 incendiary tubes and on explosion burst into 2,527 fragments. By contrast a 460 mm round burst into 2,846 fragments.
The 203 mm (8 in) round weighed 125.86 kg and contained 255 incendiary tubes and a 2 kg burst charge in its base. It used the 91 Shiki delay fuze. Its maximum altitude was 10,000 m and it was reached after 55 seconds of flight. The burst charge scattered the shrapnel in a 12 degree cone. The maximum effective distance from the shell burst was about 1,000 meters, where the fragments reached dispersion diameter of 100 meters.
A 127 mm (5 in) round contained 66 incendiary tubes and had a 10 degree dispersion angle with dispersion diameter of 54 meters.