The Tank Shell That Scared Its Users

strategy page ^ | June 16, 2006

[strategofr]

India has had to scrap $154 million worth of Indian made 125mm tank shells because of production defects. The AMK-340 was built with insufficient quality control. As a result, if the shells are exposed to a lot of heat, the propellant becomes unstable. The result is that the AMK-340 shells sometimes explode in the gun, instead of just moving the projectile out the barrel at high speed. When the shells are stored in the desert (where most Indian tank units are stationed) sun for a little while, the damage is done to some of the shells. Problem is, there's no way to tell which shells are now "bad." As a result, many crews flat out refused to use the AMK-340, or only if they could rig it so the gun was fired while the crew was outside the tank. In the end, the army destroyed 150,000 of the AMK-340s, which cost a little over a thousand dollars each to manufacture.

[FormerACLUmember]

Makes you wonder about the quality control of all those counterfeit Internet medications flooding in through the mail to my neighbors,

[DannyTN]

At least they didn't have to scrap the whole tank. It could have been a lot worse than $150 million.

[river rat]

It must be because we have all the Indian "Quality Control" folks over here, all their statisticians, over here -- all their Manufacturing Engineers, over here --- all their etc, etc, etc......


I also suspect there is little "diversity" in their workforce --- and we all know that diversity is necessary..

Semper Fi

[nralife]

"As a result, if the shells are exposed to a lot of heat, the propellant becomes unstable. The result is that the AMK-340 shells sometimes explode in the gun, instead of just moving the projectile out the barrel at high speed."



Sounds like just too much propellant in some of the shells to me.

[tet68]

Couldn't they have just sold them to IRAN?

[SkyPilot]

"Thank you for calling technical support. What problem are you having with the ammunition?"

[VadeRetro]

In the end, the army destroyed 150,000 of the AMK-340s, which cost a little over a thousand dollars each to manufacture.

150 million shot to heck.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Old black powder gunpowder would do this too: the nitroglycerin would "pool out" from the packed earth that held it, and you'd end up with hyper-sensitive nitro ready to get set off just by picking up the box of unotherwise-stable TNT.

The situation must be REAL BAD if the tank crews are (literally) abandoning their posts to avoid getting blown up.

QA-QA-QA. Retest-Retest-Retest in every different environment.

There are reasons for conservatism in military affairs.

[GingisK]

Makes you wonder about the quality control...

The miltary surplus 7.62mm Nato ammo from India is pretty crappy. It scares me too. My L1A1 has trouble ejecting it; and, that weapon rarely has trouble functioning.

[Valin]

shells are exposed to a lot of heat, the propellant becomes unstable

this is bad...right?

[GingisK]

Sounds like just too much propellant in some of the shells to me.

They might also be on the "high side" for diameter, becoming too snug in the bore when hot.

[VadeRetro]

Old black powder gunpowder would do this too: the nitroglycerin would "pool out" from the packed earth that held it, and you'd end up with hyper-sensitive nitro ready to get set off just by picking up the box of unotherwise-stable TNT.

Dynamite has nitroglycerine. Black powder is saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

[RandallFlagg]

LOL! Ain't THAT the truth!

[SampleMan]

Old black powder gunpowder would do this too: the nitroglycerin would "pool out" from the packed earth that held it, and you'd end up with hyper-sensitive nitro ready to get set off just by picking up the box of unotherwise-stable TNT.

You're confusing things here. TNT (with nitro separating from clay) and black powder are completely different chemical compounds.

[GingisK]

Old black powder gunpowder would do this too: the nitroglycerin would "pool out"...

Black powder contains absolutely nothing that could form nitroglycerin. Zip. Nada.

Old smokeless powder manufactured in WWI and early WWII could ooze, however. Dynamite oozes nitroglycerin as well ... that is why it must be turned periodically.

[GingisK]

You're confusing things here. TNT...

TNT is not used as a propellant. Big guns typically use "Cordite" for the propellant. Really big guns still use black powder.

[VadeRetro]

TNT is actually another thing yet. (Trinitrotoluene.) It is dynamite which uses nitroglycerine with an inert stabilizer. (Sawdust was used for a long time.)

No high explosive can be used for cartridge propellant. The vertical pressure spike is too much for gun and shooter both. Propellants thus will either be black powder or modern smokeless. Cordite, one of the first of smokeless compounds, uses the high explosive nitrocellulose (guncotton) but dilutes it with glycerine and some other inert stuff to get a slow, low-explosive burn.

[strategofr]

""Thank you for calling technical support. What problem are you having with the ammunition?""to it had

LOL!

[VadeRetro]

OK, cordite has nitroglycerine in it as well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordite.