03-22-2020, 06:28 PM | #31 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: GURPS Explosives: Custom Shrapnel and other ways to deal more damage
Density is likely a factor as well. Typical explosive filler is about a fifth the density of the shell casing, so a shell that's 10% explosive by weight is 35% by volume. Double the amount of explosive and you reduce overall shell weight by 40%, which will substantially reduce ballistic range.
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03-22-2020, 06:47 PM | #32 | |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Wellington, NZ
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Re: GURPS Explosives: Custom Shrapnel and other ways to deal more damage
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The famous heavy 15" shells of the USN's WWII-era 16" guns had 1.5% buster in the AP shells (technically APEX in GURPS terms), unusually low even for battleship AP shells, and 8% burster in the HE shells. Another well-known battleship gun, the British 15/42 gun, in WWII used AP shells with 2.5% busters, and HE with 6.7% bursters. A 155mm howitzer shell manages about 16% burster. At the other end of the scale you get the 4,000-12,000 pound 'blockbuster' or 'cookie' bombs used by the RAF in WWII, with about 75% burster. Those weren't designed for fragmentation at all, but to blow the roofs of houses so incendiary bombs could ignite them more effectively. The Mk82 "500lb" general purpose bomb of the USAF (and others) has a burster of about 38% of its weight. The Mk83 "1000lb" GP bomb has a burster of about 45%. So, APEX shells have 1.5-2.5%, semi-AP and HE shells intended to have some penetration 5-10%, and HE-frag shells intended for AA and contact or airbursts vs infantry 10-15% or even slightly more. Meanwhile Frag bombs have 35-45%, and blast bombs up around 75%. FWIW, VE2 for GURPS 3e assumed ~14% burster for HE-frag and SAP, ~19% for HEC, and ~9% for APEX
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03-23-2020, 05:53 AM | #33 | |
Join Date: Nov 2014
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Re: GURPS Explosives: Custom Shrapnel and other ways to deal more damage
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Tags |
bombs, demolition, explosives, kromm answer, shrapnel |
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