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56-779: The howitzer was designed and produced by the British Royal Ordnance Factories as the L118 light gun . In the L118 configuration, the 105 mm ammunition is cased separate loading ammunition. The L118 entered service with the British Army in 1976 and is used by parachute and commando field artillery regiments. It saw combat during the Falklands War , where the 30 guns in action fired up to 400 rounds per gun per day, mostly at "charge super"—i.e.,

112-501: A shot , contains explosives or other fillings, in use since the 19th century. Artillery shells are ammunition that is designed to be fired from artillery which has an effect over long distances, usually indirectly (i.e., out of sight of the target). There are many different types of artillery ammunition, but they are usually high-explosive and designed to shatter into fragments on impact to maximize damage. The fuze used on an artillery shell can alter how it explodes or behaves so it has

168-404: A corresponding modification has occurred in the method of supplying ammunition in the quantity required. As soon as projectiles were required (such as javelins and arrows), there needed to be a method of replenishment. When non-specialized, interchangeable or recoverable ammunition was used (e.g., arrows), it was possible to pick up spent arrows (both friendly and enemy) and reuse them. However, with

224-409: A modern soldier is an assault rifle , which, like other small arms, uses cartridge ammunition in a size specific to the weapon. Ammunition is carried on the person in box magazines specific to the weapon, ammunition boxes, pouches or bandoliers. The amount of ammunition carried is dependent on the strength of the soldier, the expected action required, and the ability of ammunition to move forward through

280-422: A more specialized effect. Common types of artillery ammunition include high explosive, smoke, illumination, and practice rounds. Some artillery rounds are designed as cluster munitions . Artillery ammunition will almost always include a projectile (the only exception being demonstration or blank rounds), fuze and propellant of some form. When a cartridge case is not used, there will be some other method of containing

336-519: A significant impact on anti-tank ammunition design, now common in both tank-fired ammunition and in anti-tank missiles, including anti-tank guided missiles . Naval weapons were originally the same as many land-based weapons, but the ammunition was designed for specific use, such as a solid shot designed to hole an enemy ship and chain-shot to cut rigging and sails. Modern naval engagements have occurred over far longer distances than historic battles, so as ship armor has increased in strength and thickness,

392-401: A specialized effect on a target, such as armor-piercing shells and tracer ammunition , used only in certain circumstances. Ammunition is commonly labeled or colored in a specific manner to assist in its identification and to prevent the wrong ammunition types from being used accidentally or inappropriately. The term ammunition can be traced back to the mid-17th century. The word comes from

448-425: A warship is referred to as the "ship's magazine". On a smaller scale, magazine is also the name given to the ammunition storage and feeding device of a repeating firearm. Gunpowder must be stored in a dry place (stable room temperature) to keep it usable, as long as for 10 years. It is also recommended to avoid hot places, because friction or heat might ignite a spark and cause an explosion. The standard weapon of

504-408: Is activated by the fuze, which causes the ammunition effect (e.g., the exploding of an artillery round). The cartridge is the container that holds the projectile and propellant. Not all ammunition types have a cartridge case. In its place, a wide range of materials can be used to contain the explosives and parts. With some large weapons, the ammunition components are stored separately until loaded into

560-424: Is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs , missiles , grenades , land mines ) and the component parts of other weapons that create the effect on a target (e.g., bullets and warheads ). The purpose of ammunition is to project a force against a selected target to have an effect (usually, but not always, lethal). An example of ammunition is the firearm cartridge , which includes all components required to deliver

616-483: Is currently fielded with all Regular Army and National Guard infantry brigade combat teams , including those in the 10th Mountain , 82nd Airborne , and 101st Airborne divisions, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team . Other divisions may be of mixed composition between armor , Stryker , and infantry brigade combat teams, with armor having M109A6s Paladins and Stryker having M777s for their fires battalions. For example, two of four are IBCTs with M119s in

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672-829: Is now the Yarnfield Park Training and Conference Centre and run by Accenture . ROF Elstow was taken over by the CEGB and became a storage depot. The site has been cleared, and became the new town of Wixams . In July 1974, the Royal Ordnance Factories were set up as a trading fund , under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973 . As part of its privatisation process in the 1980s, the UK government transferred some of the, formerly separate, research and development capability of

728-413: Is packaged with each round of ammunition. In recent years, compressed gas, magnetic energy and electrical energy have been used as propellants. Until the 20th-century, gunpowder was the most common propellant in ammunition. However, it has since been replaced by a wide range of fast-burning compounds that are more reliable and efficient. The propellant charge is distinct from the projectile charge which

784-456: Is the second-largest annual use of lead in the US, accounting for over 60,000 metric tons consumed in 2012. Lead bullets that miss their target or remain in a carcass or body that was never retrieved can enter environmental systems and become toxic to wildlife. The US military has experimented with replacing lead with copper as a slug in their green bullets which reduces the dangers posed by lead in

840-533: The 25th Infantry Division . National Guard light field artillery battalions assigned to IBCTs also have M119s, for example the 86th IBCT (Mountain) headquartered in Vermont. It is routinely airdropped in airborne operations and sling-loaded under CH-47 Chinook or UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in air assault operations. In April 2009, the M119A2 howitzer was being fielded by the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of

896-605: The 3rd Infantry Division to provide better support in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was the only brigade in the division equipped with it, as the other three brigades were Armored Brigade Combat Teams, and therefore equipped with the M109A6 Paladin . Alpha Battery of the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment , 101st Airborne Division received their first upgraded M119A3 howitzers in July 2013, and became

952-647: The Defence Research Establishments into the ROFs. Other parts of the UK's defence research and design capability were later closed down; remained with the UK Ministry of Defence , as Dstl ; or became part of QinetiQ . On 2 January 1985 the majority of the Royal Ordnance Factories were vested in the UK government-owned company Royal Ordnance plc . It was bought by British Aerospace in 1987. The Ministry of Defence Police left most of

1008-681: The First World War . The emerging threat of aerial bombing prompted the government to consider dispersing its ordnance factories around the country. The majority of the ROFs were built during the re-armament period, just before the start of the Second World War , to enhance the capacity of the three ordnance sites that had continued in operation after the end of the First World War: the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich,

1064-683: The Ministry of Works , and two other private companies were agents for the construction of the remaining ROFs. A number of Second World War munitions factories were built, and owned, by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI). These ICI Nobel Explosives owned factories were not considered part of the Ministry of Supply's Royal Ordnance Factory organization, and they were not called ROFs. ICI also managed munitions factories constructed with Ministry of Supply funding. These were known as "agency factories" and three of them became part of Royal Ordnance upon

1120-643: The Royal Arsenal , Woolwich . In the late nineteenth century, the term 'Royal Ordnance Factories' began to be used collectively of the manufacturing departments of the Arsenal, principally the Royal Laboratory , Royal Gun Factory and Royal Carriage Works, which, though they shared the same site, operated independently of one another. This use of the term is seen in the name of the 1893 Royal Ordnance Factories Football Club and it continued through

1176-798: The Royal Gunpowder Factory (RGPF) Waltham Abbey, Essex and the Royal Small Arms Factory , (RSAF) Enfield . These three sites were in or near London and were considered to be vulnerable to aerial bombing from continental Europe. The Royal Arsenal designed many of the ROFs and was also the agent for the construction of all of the Rifles ROFs, the Medium Machine ROF and the Small Arms Ammunition ROFs. The Ministry of Supply,

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1232-495: The detonator of an explosive round or shell. The spelling is different in British English and American English (fuse/fuze respectively) and they are unrelated to a fuse (electrical) . A fuse was earlier used to ignite the propellant (e.g., such as on a firework) until the advent of more reliable systems such as the primer or igniter that is used in most modern ammunition. The fuze of a weapon can be used to alter how

1288-583: The propellant bags, usually a breech-loading weapon; see Breechloader . Tank ammunition was developed in WWI as tanks first appeared on the battlefield. However, as tank-on-tank warfare developed (including the development of anti-tank warfare artillery), more specialized forms of ammunition were developed such as high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warheads and armour-piercing discarding sabot (APDS), including armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds. The development of shaped charges has had

1344-413: The 42 Royal Ordnance factories (24 engineering, 8 explosives, and 10 filling factories), of whom 60% were women. Many were girls with secondary school education. MPs voiced concerns about large numbers of workers occupying factories and workers' hostels designed with a lower capacity, and also stated the need to retain open spaces in the hostels in case workers' homes were destroyed in a blitz. A number of

1400-644: The French la munition , for the material used for war. Ammunition and munition are often used interchangeably, although munition now usually refers to the actual weapons system with the ammunition required to operate it. In some languages other than English ammunition is still referred to as munition, such as: Dutch (" munitie "), French (" munitions "), German (" Munition "), Italian (" munizione ") and Portuguese (" munição "). Ammunition design has evolved throughout history as different weapons have been developed and different effects required. Historically, ammunition

1456-624: The M119A1, expanding upon its extreme low temperate envelope from −22 to −49 °F (−30 to −45 °C), therefore improving both maintainability and reliability. The Army renewed contracts for the M119 to be produced by the Rock Island Arsenal -Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center (RIA-JMTC) at Rock Island, Illinois , into the year 2013. The M20A1 cannon assembly for the M119 was manufactured by US Army Watervliet Arsenal. The M119

1512-632: The M119A3 was more admired for being faster, lighter, and easier to change azimuth of fire. The A3-model retains manual capabilities of the A2-model, so occasions where digital capabilities were lost allowed crews to easily transition back to the analogue mode of operation and continue their missions. Project Manager for Towed Artillery Systems (PM TAS) has developed several upgrades for the M119A3 including digital fire control, increased low temperature capability from −25 to −51 °F (−32 to −46 °C), and

1568-546: The M20 breech. The recoil system is also being upgraded, as the legacy system had reliability issues with the recuperator, buffer, and variable recoil linkage (which sets recoil length based on elevation); it had a lot of moving parts needing constant maintenance and adjustment during operations with high replacement rates of spares that are complex to manufacture and require specialized tooling to assemble, increasing costs and causing availability problems. The redesigned system operates

1624-566: The Ministry of Defence as ammunition storage areas. Others became government industrial estates or trading estates. Others were used as brownfield sites to build prisons or open prisons. Part of ROF Thorp Arch became the Boston Spa depository of the British Library . Three of the seven hostels that served ROF Swynnerton became a training school for General Post Office (GPO) Telephones, which later became British Telecom , and

1680-574: The ROFs on or within a few years of privatisation. The small number of ROFs involved in nuclear weapons production, ROF Burghfield and ROF Cardiff , were removed from ROF management and did not pass over to Royal Ordnance upon privatisation. They were transferred to the control of AWRE, which later became the Atomic Weapons Establishment . Munitions Ammunition is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition

1736-495: The ROFs were designated temporary , for use during the war's duration only. They closed shortly after the end of the Second World War. Other ROFs were designated permanent and they remained open into more recent times. In 1957, a Defence white paper led to a reorganisation of the aircraft industry, a restructuring of the British Army and a concentration on missile systems. A number of the permanent ROFs closed in

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1792-695: The ROFs' privatisation. Some of the ROF filling factories built later, during the Second World War, were government-owned, but managed, as agency factories, by private companies unconnected with the explosives industry. For example, Joseph Lyons & Co ran ROF Elstow throughout the war. Other filling factories were run by Imperial Tobacco , Courtaulds , the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), Metal Closures and Lever Brothers . The new ROFs were to be built in areas regarded as "relatively safe". Until 1940, this meant from Bristol , in

1848-419: The UK government during and after the Second World War . The three main types of factories were engineering, filling and explosives, and these were dispersed across the country for security reasons. ROFs were the responsibility of the Ministry of Supply and later the Ministry of Defence until privatisation in 1987. Prior to the 1930s, Britain's ordnance manufacturing capability had been concentrated within

1904-630: The advent of explosive or non-recoverable ammunition, this was no longer possible and new supplies of ammunition would be needed. The weight of ammunition required, particularly for artillery shells, can be considerable, causing a need for extra time to replenish supplies. In modern times, there has been an increase in the standardization of many ammunition types between allies (e.g., the NATO Standardization Agreement ) that has allowed for shared ammunition types (e.g., 5.56×45mm NATO). As of 2013, lead-based ammunition production

1960-500: The ammunition has cleared the weapon. The propellant is the component of ammunition that is activated inside the weapon and provides the kinetic energy required to move the projectile from the weapon to the target. Before the use of gunpowder, this energy would have been produced mechanically by the weapons system (e.g., a catapult or crossbow); in modern times, it is usually a form of chemical energy that rapidly burns to create kinetic force, and an appropriate amount of chemical propellant

2016-405: The ammunition to defeat it has also changed. Naval ammunition is now designed to reach very high velocities (to improve its armor-piercing abilities) and may have specialized fuzes to defeat specific types of vessels. However, due to the extended ranges at which modern naval combat may occur, guided missiles have largely supplanted guns and shells. With every successive improvement in military arms,

2072-436: The ammunition works. For example, a common artillery shell fuze can be set to "point detonation" (detonation when it hits a target), delay (detonate after it has hit and penetrated a target), time-delay (explode a specified time after firing or impact) and proximity (explode above or next to a target without hitting it, such as for airburst effects or anti-aircraft shells). These allow a single ammunition type to be altered to suit

2128-616: The damage inflicted by one round. Anti-personnel shells are designed to fragment into many pieces and can affect a large area. Armor-piercing rounds are specially hardened to penetrate armor, while smoke ammunition covers an area with a fog that screens people from view. More generic ammunition (e.g., 5.56×45mm NATO ) can often be altered slightly to give it a more specific effect (e.g., tracer, incendiary), whilst larger explosive rounds can be altered by using different fuzes. The components of ammunition intended for rifles and munitions may be divided into these categories: The term fuze refers to

2184-532: The danger of frozen explosives, they tended to be located at or just above sea level. Some ROFs located in Wales and Scotland were the result of political lobbying as these areas had high unemployment rates in the 1930s. The ROFs were guarded by what was to become the Ministry of Defence Police . The Royal Ordnance Factories were set up with six generic types of factories: The three main types were: engineering, filling and explosives. The largest ROFs tended to be

2240-411: The delivery of explosives. An ammunition dump is a military facility for the storage of live ammunition and explosives that will be distributed and used at a later date. Such a storage facility is extremely hazardous, with the potential for accidents when unloading, packing, and transferring the ammunition. In the event of a fire or explosion, the site and its surrounding area is immediately evacuated and

2296-871: The explosive ROFs and the filling factories, as these needed an explosives safeguarding zone around the perimeter of the factory, as well as separation, or reduced separation and traverses between buildings. ROF Bishopton occupied over 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) and ROF Chorley was 900 acres (3.6 km ). Each ROF tended to be self-contained, apart from its raw materials : with their own coal-fired power stations , for generating steam for heating and process use, and electricity via high-pressure steam turbines if needed; engineering workshops; plumbers and chemical plumbers; leather workers; electricians; buildings and works departments; housing and hostels for workers; canteens ; laundries and medical centres. The UK's ROFs were set up and operated as production factories. The design of explosives , propellants and munitions

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2352-467: The first unit to operate it in theater when they were deployed to northeast Afghanistan in early February 2014. The digitally upgraded M119A3 includes software and hardware component upgrades, GPS for navigation, a digital gunner's display, and digital communication between each gun and the fire direction center to speed up the process of receiving firing data and firing shells. Firing platoons were also equipped with larger, also digital M777A2 howitzers, and

2408-405: The individual ROFs north and west of this line was of vital importance. ROFs involved with explosive manufacture or filling needed, on safety grounds, to be located away from centres of population. They needed access to good transport links, such as railways, the availability of adequate workers within reasonable travelling distance, and a plentiful guaranteed supply of clean process water. To avoid

2464-661: The late 1950s, after the end of the Korean War . Others closed in the 1970s. The largest of these, based at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich , closed in March 1967. The temporary ROFs, or ROFs which closed in the 1950s and 1970s, tended to be taken over by other government departments. Some closed ROFs and Admiralty explosive sites, such as the Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent , were retained by

2520-424: The logistical chain to replenish the supply. A soldier may also carry a smaller amount of specialized ammunition for heavier weapons such as machine guns and mortars, spreading the burden for squad weapons over many people. Too little ammunition poses a threat to the mission, while too much limits the soldier's mobility also being a threat to the mission. A shell is a payload-carrying projectile which, as opposed to

2576-558: The most powerful propellant charge available. The L119 is the L118 reconfigured to fire NATO -standard 105 mm semi-fixed ammunition . In 1987 an agreement was reached to produce the L119 under license by the US as the M119, to replace the M102 howitzer . It entered service with the 7th Infantry Division , Fort Ord , California, in December 1989. Some improvements were made to produce

2632-435: The potential threat from enemy forces. A magazine is a place where a quantity of ammunition or other explosive material is stored temporarily prior to being used. The term may be used for a facility where large quantities of ammunition are stored, although this would normally be referred to as an ammunition dump. Magazines are typically located in the field for quick access when engaging the enemy. The ammunition storage area on

2688-639: The redesign will reduce that number by 40 percent to 75 parts and reusing 47 parts will consist of 65 percent for the current system, therefore only needing to manufacturing 28 new parts with overall weight savings of 45 lb (20 kg). The M119 fires standard NATO semi-fixed ammunition: The M119 also fires the M395 blank cartridge, which is used for burials, retreat ceremonies, and VIP Salutes as well as to simulate battlefield noise used for training exercises. Royal Ordnance Factories Royal Ordnance Factories ( ROFs ) were munitions factories run by

2744-482: The same, but modifies and simplifies some components, including a new buffer and recuperator with a majority of the components removed, and adds the Suspension Lockout System (SLOS) that fixes recoil length at 25 in (64 cm), which removes variable-recoil hardware, reduces stress on the carriage, and lowers buffer rod forces; the new system reduces cost, the system consists of 124 parts and

2800-425: The situation it is required for. There are many designs of a fuze, ranging from simple mechanical to complex radar and barometric systems. Fuzes are usually armed by the acceleration force of firing the projectile, and usually arm several meters after clearing the bore of the weapon. This helps to ensure the ammunition is safer to handle when loading into the weapon and reduces the chance of the detonator firing before

2856-601: The south, and then west of a line that ran from (roughly) Weston-super-Mare , in Somerset, northwards to Haltwhistle , Northumberland; and then northwestwards to Linlithgow , in Scotland. The South, South East and East of England were regarded as "dangerous" and the Midlands area, including Birmingham as "unsafe". This definition of "safe" area was later changed, and in 1940 ignored in the case of ROF Chorley. Siting of

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2912-477: The stored ammunition is left to detonate itself completely with limited attempts at firefighting from a safe distance. In large facilities, there may be a flooding system to automatically extinguish a fire or prevent an explosion. Typically, an ammunition dump will have a large buffer zone surrounding it, to avoid casualties in the event of an accident. There will also be perimeter security measures in place to prevent access by unauthorized personnel and to guard against

2968-548: The weapon effect in a single package. Until the 20th century, black powder was the most common propellant used but has now been replaced in nearly all cases by modern compounds. Ammunition comes in a great range of sizes and types and is often designed to work only in specific weapons systems. However, there are internationally recognized standards for certain ammunition types (e.g., 5.56×45mm NATO ) that enable their use across different weapons and by different users. There are also specific types of ammunition that are designed to have

3024-414: The weapon system for firing. With small arms, caseless ammunition can reduce the weight and cost of ammunition, and simplify the firing process for increased firing rate, but the maturing technology has functionality issues. The projectile is the part of the ammunition that leaves the weapon and has the effect on the target. This effect is usually either kinetic (e.g., as with a standard bullet) or through

3080-588: Was carried out at separate government-owned research and development establishments such as the Research Department, which was initially based at the Royal Arsenal , Woolwich and then Fort Halstead , in Sevenoaks , Kent; and at PERME Waltham Abbey, Essex, which later moved to become RARDE Fort Halstead. In 1942, Sir Andrew Duncan reported to the House of Commons that 300,000 people were employed in

3136-414: Was of relatively simple design and build (e.g., sling-shot, stones hurled by catapults), but as weapon designs developed (e.g., rifling ) and became more refined, the need for more specialized ammunition increased. Modern ammunition can vary significantly in quality but is usually manufactured to very high standards. For example, ammunition for hunting can be designed to expand inside a target, maximizing

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