On Mon, 31 Oct 2005 16:50:23 -0600, Jon Elson
wrote:



Ignoramus26744 wrote:

On Sun, 30 Oct 2005 22:16:39 -0600, Jon Elson wrote:


Ignoramus26744 wrote:


This is purely an idle question. I have no interest in doing this, for
many reasons. The main reason is that 7mm rem mag is armor piercing
even if bullets are made from dung. Anyway. I have some 4.8mm (3/16)
tungsten electrodes (lanthanated). I could, conceivably, cast some
bullets for a 7mm rem mag rifle with the electrode pieces inside, that
would be quite armor piercing. Would they go through, say, 1 inch
thick mild steel plate, assuming propellant loads that are safe for
the rifle?


I'm no expert on armor at all. But, ONE INCH?



I shot through railroad tie plates (mild steel) with 7.62 mm Mosin
Nagant, using 50 year old ammo. They are, what, 1/2" thick?

That's pretty impressive. But, I am thinking this was right at the
upper limit
of what it could punch through. Seems to me the plates around here are more
like 1/4 or 3/8". That is still a pretty thick plate, as they use them
in pairs.




Have you seen what the Army and Air Force use for armor piercing
ammo? Like the 30 mm rounds for the A-10? These things weigh a
whole POUND each, and are SOLID U-238 (both hard and heavy as hell!)
The armor they are trying to pierce is about that thick, as far as I
know. A tank couldn't possibly have steel armor too much more than
an inch thick, or it would be too heavy to move.



Frontal armor on a tank can be much thicker than one inch, such as 4
inches or more. Plus, tank armor is stronger than mild steel, due to
metallurgy, use of composite materials etc. And I was asking about 1
inch of mere mild steel.

i


Metal strength doesn't matter that much, as I understand it. The

high velocity penetrating rounds MELT their way through, creating a plasma
that is projected into the armor by the forward momentum of the shell.
Jon

Thats why Depleted Uranium works so well on armored targets.

Gunner




"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner