Flechette
Encyclopedia
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.
shells called "beehive
" rounds (so named for the very distinctive whistling buzz made by thousands of flechettes flying downrange at supersonic speeds) and intended for use against troops in the open – a ballistic shell packed with flechettes was fired and set off by a mechanical time fuse, scattering flechettes in an expanding cone. They were used in the Vietnam War
by 105mm howitzer batteries and tanks (90mm guns) to defend themselves against massed infantry attacks. There was also a flechette round for the 106mm recoilless rifle, which was sometimes employed by American infantry. Heavier artillery, namely 155mm howitzers, 8-inch howitzers, and 175mm guns, did not have a flechette round and instead used either a standard HE round with a time fuze set to 0.0 seconds (resulting in detonation as soon as the round cleared the muzzle) or a double powder charge with no projectile, which inflicted casualties by the muzzle blast alone.
After work by Johns Hopkins University
in the 1950s there was a concept for Direct Injection Antipersonnel Chemical Biological Agent (DIACBA) where flechettes were grooved, hollow pointed, or otherwise milled to retain a quantity of chemical biological warfare agent to deliver through a ballistic wound. The initial work was with VX
, but found that it had to be thickened for the flechette to deliver a reliable dose. Eventually this was replaced by a particulate carbamate
.
The 70mm Hydra 70
rocket currently in service with the US Armed forces can be fitted with an anti-personnel (APERS) warhead containing 96 flechettes. They are carried by attack helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache and the AH-1 Cobra.
Small arms makers are also attracted by the exterior ballistic performance and armor-piercing potential of flechettes, and a number of attempts have been made to field flechette-firing small arms.
During the Vietnam War
the United states employed 12 gauge
combat shotgun
s that were used with flechette loads that consisted of around 20 flechettes per shell. The USSR/Russian federation had/has the AO-27 rifle
, and other countries have their own flechette rounds.
The US Biological Program also had a microflechette to deliver either botulinum toxin A
or saxitoxin
, the M1 Biodart, which resembled a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge.
A number of prototype flechette-firing weapons were developed as part of the long-running Special Purpose Individual Weapon
(SPIW) project. Some of these showed up as entries in the Advanced Combat Rifle
project as well.
An interesting variation of the flechette that addresses its difficulties is the SCMITR, developed as part of the Close Assault Weapon System, or CAWS, project. This project involved selective-fire, flechette-firing shotguns. The SCMITR was designed to retain the exterior ballistics and penetration of the standard flechette, but increase wounding ability by providing a wider wound path.
Bulk and artillery use
Smaller flechettes were used in special artilleryArtillery
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...
shells called "beehive
Beehive (ammunition)
Beehive is an anti-personnel round fired from an artillery gun. The round is packed with metal flechettes 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...
" rounds (so named for the very distinctive whistling buzz made by thousands of flechettes flying downrange at supersonic speeds) and intended for use against troops in the open – a ballistic shell packed with flechettes was fired and set off by a mechanical time fuse, scattering flechettes in an expanding cone. They were used 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...
by 105mm howitzer batteries and tanks (90mm guns) to defend themselves against massed infantry attacks. There was also a flechette round for the 106mm recoilless rifle, which was sometimes employed by American infantry. Heavier artillery, namely 155mm howitzers, 8-inch howitzers, and 175mm guns, did not have a flechette round and instead used either a standard HE round with a time fuze set to 0.0 seconds (resulting in detonation as soon as the round cleared the muzzle) or a double powder charge with no projectile, which inflicted casualties by the muzzle blast alone.
After work by Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in the 1950s there was a concept for Direct Injection Antipersonnel Chemical Biological Agent (DIACBA) where flechettes were grooved, hollow pointed, or otherwise milled to retain a quantity of chemical biological warfare agent to deliver through a ballistic wound. The initial work was with VX
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
, but found that it had to be thickened for the flechette to deliver a reliable dose. Eventually this was replaced by a particulate carbamate
Carbamate
Carbamates are organic compounds derived from carbamic acid . A carbamate group, carbamate ester, and carbamic acids are functional groups that are inter-related structurally and often are interconverted chemically. Carbamate esters are also called urethanes.-Synthesis:Carbamic acids are derived...
.
The 70mm Hydra 70
Hydra 70
The Hydra 70 rocket is a weapon derived from the 70 mm Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket developed by the United States Navy for use as a free-flight aerial rocket in the late 1940s.-Overview:...
rocket currently in service with the US Armed forces can be fitted with an anti-personnel (APERS) warhead containing 96 flechettes. They are carried by attack helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache and the AH-1 Cobra.
Small arms ammunition
During 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...
the United states employed 12 gauge
Gauge (bore diameter)
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound . Thus...
combat shotgun
Combat shotgun
A combat shotgun is a shotgun that is intended for use in an offensive role, typically by a military force. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I...
s that were used with flechette loads that consisted of around 20 flechettes per shell. The USSR/Russian federation had/has the AO-27 rifle
AO-27 rifle
AO-27 was a Soviet fully automatic assault rifle, chambered for the 7.62 mm fin-stabilized flechette sabot round. The flechette itself had a body diameter of 3 mm. The overall length of the round was 63 mm, and the flechette 55 mm. The weight of the round was 10.5 grams, with 2.4 grams the weight...
, and other countries have their own flechette rounds.
The US Biological Program also had a microflechette to deliver either botulinum toxin A
Botulinum toxin
Botulinum toxin is a protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and is considered the most powerful neurotoxin ever discovered. Botulinum toxin causes Botulism poisoning, a serious and life-threatening illness in humans and animals...
or saxitoxin
Saxitoxin
Saxitoxin is a neurotoxin naturally produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria Saxitoxin (STX) is a neurotoxin naturally produced by certain species of marine dinoflagellates (Alexandrium sp., Gymnodinium sp., Pyrodinium sp.) and cyanobacteria Saxitoxin (STX) is a...
, the M1 Biodart, which resembled a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge.
A number of prototype flechette-firing weapons were developed as part of the long-running Special Purpose Individual Weapon
Special Purpose Individual Weapon
The Special Purpose Individual Weapon was a long-running United States Army program to develop, in part, a workable flechette-based "rifle", though other concepts were also involved...
(SPIW) project. Some of these showed up as entries in the Advanced Combat Rifle
Advanced Combat Rifle
The Advanced Combat Rifle was a United States Army program to find a replacement for the M16 assault rifle. The program's total cost is approximately US$300 million...
project as well.
An interesting variation of the flechette that addresses its difficulties is the SCMITR, developed as part of the Close Assault Weapon System, or CAWS, project. This project involved selective-fire, flechette-firing shotguns. The SCMITR was designed to retain the exterior ballistics and penetration of the standard flechette, but increase wounding ability by providing a wider wound path.
External links
- How flechettes work The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper. - Pictures of air dropped flechette, from WWI through the 1970s.