Armour-piercing projectile (2024)

In ammunition

Special-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…\n

Read More

  • In bullet

    Armour-piercing bullets have a hardened-steel inner core. Expanding bullets, used in game hunting and long outlawed in war, are made with an exposed nose of soft metal, which will push back into the jacketed portion to deform it on impact, enlarging the wound and increasing…\n

    Read More
  • shells

    • Armour-piercing projectile (1)

      In shell

      An armour-piercing shell has a hollow pointed nose to act as windshield and a heavy, blunt armour-piercing cap and steel core, with the bursting charge located in the base of the projectile. In some high-velocity types, a tungsten carbide core is used. Steel has generally supplanted…\n

      Read More
    • Armour-piercing projectile (2)

      In tank: Ammunition

      …the development of more- effective antitank ammunition with armour-piercing, discarding-sabot (APDS) projectiles. These had a smaller-calibre, hard tungsten carbide core inside a light casing. The casing fell away on leaving the gun barrel, while the core flew on at an extremely high velocity. The APDS, which was adopted for the…\n

      Read More
    • Armour-piercing projectile (3)

      In warship: Armour

      Steel-armour-piercing shells came into use in the late 1880s, again threatening the armoured ship. Accordingly, an American engineer, Hayward Augustus Harvey, perfected a face-hardening process, applying carbon to the face of the steel plate at very high temperatures for an extended period and tempering. Harvey…\n

      Read More

    ","url":"Introduction","wordCount":0,"sequence":1},"imarsData":{"HAS_REVERTED_TIMELINE":"false","INFINITE_SCROLL":"35485|1,539650|1,21113|1,1973865|1,382397|14"},"npsAdditionalContents":{},"templateHandler":{"name":"INDEX"},"paginationInfo":{"previousPage":null,"nextPage":null,"totalPages":1},"uaTemplate":"INDEX","infiniteScrollList":[{"p":1,"t":35485},{"p":1,"t":539650},{"p":1,"t":21113},{"p":1,"t":1973865},{"p":14,"t":382397}],"topicLeftRail":{"topicInfo":{"id":35485,"title":"armour-piercing projectile","url":"https://www.britannica.com/technology/armour-piercing-projectile","description":"Ammunition: Special-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…","type":"TOPIC","titleText":"armour-piercing projectile","urlTitle":"armour-piercing-projectile","metaDescription":"Other articles where armour-piercing projectile is discussed: ammunition: Special-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…","topicClass":"technology","topicKey":"armour-piercing-projectile","articleContentType":"INDEX","ppTecType":"CONCEPT","gaTemplate":"INDEX","topicType":"INDEX","relativeUrl":"/technology/armour-piercing-projectile","assemblyLinkPrefix":"/media/1/35485/"},"topicLink":{"title":"armour-piercing projectile","url":"https://www.britannica.com/technology/armour-piercing-projectile"},"tocTitle":"Directory","tocEntry":"References","toc":null,"quoteLink":null,"indexLink":null,"factsLink":null,"mediaLink":null,"media":null,"studentLinks":null,"relatedQuizzes":null,"topQuestions":null,"readNext":null,"discover":[{"id":6381,"title":"Why New York Is Called \"The Big Apple\" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames","url":"/story/how-9-famous-cities-got-their-nicknames","description":"What’s so apple-y about New York, anyway?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/71/188471-131-4DF0E559/Sydney-Opera-House-Port-Jackson.jpg","altText":"Sydney Opera House, Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.","credit":"© Paul Liu/Fotolia","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/71/188471-131-4DF0E559/Sydney-Opera-House-Port-Jackson.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"#WTFact","url":"/stories/wtfact"},{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/stories/wtfact/Geography-Travel"}],"lastItemTitle":"Geography & Travel"},"superCategory":{"id":4,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Explore geography and travel; geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions","keywords":"geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions ","classId":"GEOGRAPHY","sortOrder":5},"hashtags":["geography","nicknames","major cities","famous cities","cities"],"hashtagsString":"geography, nicknames, major cities, famous cities, cities","displayDate":[2017,10,25],"urlTitle":"how-9-famous-cities-got-their-nicknames","featureSubType":"WTFACT","categories":[{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"#WTFact"},{"id":6241,"title":"Can Apple Seeds Kill You?","url":"/story/can-apple-seeds-kill-you","description":"Do you dare to take a bite of the poison apple (core)?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/95/182495-131-2AB8550D/apples-cut-apple-foreground.jpg","altText":"Several red apples with cut apple in the foreground.","credit":"© hacohob/Shutterstock.com","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/95/182495-131-2AB8550D/apples-cut-apple-foreground.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Demystified","url":"/stories/demystified"},{"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"/stories/demystified/Entertainment-Pop-Culture"}],"lastItemTitle":"Entertainment & Pop Culture"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["demystified","cyanide","apple","apple seeds","poison","toxic","fatal","death","danger","dangerous"],"hashtagsString":"demystified, cyanide, apple, apple seeds, poison, toxic, fatal, death, danger, dangerous","displayDate":[2017,5,29],"urlTitle":"can-apple-seeds-kill-you","featureSubType":"DEMYSTIFIED","categories":[{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},null],"mainCategory":{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Demystified"},{"id":5777,"title":"The Dope on Dope: 8 Facts About Marijuana","url":"/list/the-dope-on-dope-8-facts-about-marijuana","description":"Get the 411 on 420.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/163617-131-DAB1DD69/Cannabis-plants-cannabis-product-CanniMed-Prairie-Plant.jpg","altText":"CanniMed crop of medicinal marijuana. (cannabis sativa) Prairie Plant Systems Inc. is Health Canada's contracted manufacturer of medicinal marijuana.","credit":"Courtesy of Prairie Plant Systems","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/163617-131-DAB1DD69/Cannabis-plants-cannabis-product-CanniMed-Prairie-Plant.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"/list/browse/Entertainment-Pop-Culture"}],"lastItemTitle":"Entertainment & Pop Culture"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["marijuana","drug","THC","Cannabis","drugs","getting high","420","bongs","blunts","racism","music","movies"],"hashtagsString":"marijuana, drug, THC, Cannabis, drugs, getting high, 420, bongs, blunts, racism, music, movies","displayDate":[2016,7,22],"urlTitle":"the-dope-on-dope-8-facts-about-marijuana","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},{"id":3000,"title":"Health & Medicine","url":"Health-Medicine","description":"The study of the human mind and body, how these function, and how they interact—not only with each other but also with their environment—has been of utmost importance in ensuring human well-being. Research on potential treatments and preventive medicine has expanded greatly with the development of modern medicine, and a network of disciplines, including such fields as genetics, psychology, and nutrition, aims to facilitate the betterment of our health.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/07/192107-050-CE043374/anatomy-charts-human-body-muscle-systems-skeletal.jpg","altText":"Health & Medicine","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/07/192107-050-CE043374/anatomy-charts-human-body-muscle-systems-skeletal.jpg"}},{"id":6000,"title":"World History","url":"World-History","description":"Does history really repeat itself, or can we learn from the mistakes of those who came before us? History provides a chronological, statistical, and cultural record of the events, people, and movements that have made an impact on humankind and the world at large throughout the ages.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg","altText":"World History","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/05/84505-050-8BB58BE6/cave-art-Ennedi-Plateau-Chad.jpg"}}],"mainCategory":{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"},{"id":12712,"title":"How Many Countries Are There in the World?","url":"/story/how-many-countries-are-there-in-the-world","description":"Find out how many countries there are.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/27/238527-131-D73B3F08/flagpoles-world-countries.jpg","altText":"Flags of the countries of the world (flagpoles).","credit":"© Marcel Schauer/stock.adobe.com","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/27/238527-131-D73B3F08/flagpoles-world-countries.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Companion","url":"/stories/companion"},{"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"/stories/companion/Geography-Travel"}],"lastItemTitle":"Geography & Travel"},"superCategory":{"id":4,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Explore geography and travel; geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions","keywords":"geographic regions; historical places; people of the world; countries, states, provinces, cities, and towns; languages; deserts, islands, mountains, plateaus; lakes, oceans, seas, rivers; national parks, tourist attractions ","classId":"GEOGRAPHY","sortOrder":5},"hashtags":["companion","countries","world countries","united nations","Britannica","Encyclopedia Britannica","Encyclopaedia Britannica"],"hashtagsString":"companion, countries, world countries, united nations, Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica","displayDate":[2022,12,28],"urlTitle":"how-many-countries-are-there-in-the-world","featureSubType":"COMPANION","categories":[{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":5000,"title":"Geography & Travel","url":"Geography-Travel","description":"Planet Earth contains some extraordinarily diverse environments, some of which are easily habitable and some not so much. In different areas of Earth, one might find sweltering deserts, dense tropical rainforests, or bone-chilling tundras. Each biome and habitat comes with its own selection of flora and fauna, and it may include physical features such as canyons, volcanoes, rivers, or caves. Human beings have built homes in many different environments, settling the area and organizing it into units such as cities, states, regions, and countries, each with its own points of interest. Shifting trends in human migration have resulted in a human geography that is profoundly different from that of centuries ago.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg","altText":"Geography & Travel","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/17/2317-050-758D0E55/World-map-descriptions-Herodotus-Black-Sea.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Companion"},{"id":10170,"title":"All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained","url":"/list/all-119-references-in-we-didnt-start-the-fire-explained","description":"No, Billy Joel isn’t talking about the band U2.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/79904-131-6DCAD337/Elizabeth-II-speech-throne-Parliament-state-opening-1958.jpg","altText":"Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)","credit":"Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/79904-131-6DCAD337/Elizabeth-II-speech-throne-Parliament-state-opening-1958.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"/list/browse/Entertainment-Pop-Culture"}],"lastItemTitle":"Entertainment & Pop Culture"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["We Didn’t Start the Fire","Billy Joel","Harry Truman","Doris Day","China","communism","Johnnie Ray","rock music","Elvis","South Pacific","Rodgers and Hammerstein","Walter Winchell","Joseph McCarthy","Red Scare","Joe DiMaggio","McCarthyism","Richard Nixon","Studebaker","Studebaker-Packard","television","North Korea","South Korea","Korean War","Marilyn Monroe","Gentlemen Prefer Blondes","The Seven Year Itch","Julius Rosenberg","Ethel Rosenberg","H-bomb","hydrogen bomb","thermonuclear bomb","Sugar Ray","Sugar Ray Robinson","P'anmunjŏm","demilitarized zone","Marlon Brando","A Streetcar Named Desire","The Godfather","The King and I","Yul Brynner","Siam","Juan Peron","Eva Peron","Arturo Toscanini","Dacron","aorta","Dien Bien Phu","Indochina War","The Catcher in the Rye","Dwight D. Eisenhower","Reconstruction","civil rights","polio","vaccine","Jonas Salk","Elizabeth II","Rocky Marciano","boxing","Liberace","The Liberace Show","George Santayana","Joseph Stalin","Soviet Union","Malenkov","Nikita Khrushchev","Gamal Abdel Nasser","Sergey Prokofiev","Winthrop Rockefeller","Roy Campanella","Communist Bloc","Cold War","Donald Trump","Roy Cohn","Bill Haley and His Comets","Decca","Rock Around the Clock","Albert Einstein","James Dean","Brooklyn Dodgers","Jackie Robinson","Davy Crockett","Disney","Peter Pan","J.M. Barrie","Elvis Presley","Disneyland","Walt Disney","Brigitte Bardot","Hungarian Revolution","Budapest","Rosa Parks","Alabama","Montgomery bus boycott","de-Stalinization","Grace Kelly","Princess Grace","Prince Rainier","Rainier III","Monaco","Peyton Place","soap opera","Suez Canal","Little Rock Nine","Dwight D. Eisenhower","Boris Leonidovich Pasternak","Boris Pasternak","Doctor Zhivago","Mickey Mantle","Beat writer","Jack Kerouac","On the Road","Sputnik","Chou En-Lai","Zhou Enlai","China","Bridge on the River Kwai","Hollywood blacklist","Lebanon","Camille Chamoun","Charles de Gaulle","NATO","San Francisco Giants","Charles Starkweather","thalidomide","Buddy Holly","Ben Hur","","hula hoop","Fidel Castro","Cuba","U-2","Syngman Rhee","payola","Chubby Checker","the twist","Hank Ballard","American Bandstand","Psycho","Ed Gein","Alfred Hitchco*ck","Democratic Republic of the Congo","Belgium","colonization","Ernest Hemingway","Lost Generation","The Sun Also Rises","A Farewell to Arms","Adolf Eichmann","Holocaust","Stranger in a Strange Land","Robert A. Heinlein","Bob Dylan","Berlin Wall","Bay of Pigs","CIA","Lawrence of Arabia","Peter O’Toole","The Beatles","Beatlemania","Ole Miss","University of Mississippi","James Meredith","Robert F. Kennedy","John Glenn","Yuri Gagarin","Sonny Liston","Floyd Patterson","Pope Paul VI","Malcolm X","John Profumo","Christine Keeler","Profumo affair","Griswold v. State of Connecticut","birth control","Ho Chi Minh","Neil Armstrong","Apollo 11","Woodstock","Watergate","punk rock","Menachem Begin","Israel","Ronald Reagan","Palestine","Jimmy Carter","PLO","hijacking","Ruhollah Khomeini","Ayatollah Khomeini","Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi","shah of Iran","Afghanistan","Wheel of Fortune","Sally Ride","heavy metal","death metal","inflation","Vietnam War","AIDS","CDC","crack epidemic","crack cocaine","Bernie Goetz","hypodermic needle","medical waste","Tiananmen Square","martial law","Tank Man","Coca-Cola","PepsiCo","Paula Abdul","Michael Jackson"],"hashtagsString":"We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel, Harry Truman, Doris Day, China, communism, Johnnie Ray, rock music, Elvis, South Pacific, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Walter Winchell, Joseph McCarthy, Red Scare, Joe DiMaggio, McCarthyism, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Studebaker-Packard, television, North Korea, South Korea, Korean War, Marilyn Monroe, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Seven Year Itch, Julius Rosenberg, Ethel Rosenberg, H-bomb, hydrogen bomb, thermonuclear bomb, Sugar Ray, Sugar Ray Robinson, P'anmunjŏm, demilitarized zone, Marlon Brando, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Godfather, The King and I, Yul Brynner, Siam, Juan Peron, Eva Peron, Arturo Toscanini, Dacron, aorta, Dien Bien Phu, Indochina War, The Catcher in the Rye, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Reconstruction, civil rights, polio, vaccine, Jonas Salk, Elizabeth II, Rocky Marciano, boxing, Liberace, The Liberace Show, George Santayana, Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union, Malenkov, Nikita Khrushchev, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sergey Prokofiev, Winthrop Rockefeller, Roy Campanella, Communist Bloc, Cold War, Donald Trump, Roy Cohn, Bill Haley and His Comets, Decca, Rock Around the Clock, Albert Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, Davy Crockett, Disney, Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie, Elvis Presley, Disneyland, Walt Disney, Brigitte Bardot, Hungarian Revolution, Budapest, Rosa Parks, Alabama, Montgomery bus boycott, de-Stalinization, Grace Kelly, Princess Grace, Prince Rainier, Rainier III, Monaco, Peyton Place, soap opera, Suez Canal, Little Rock Nine, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago, Mickey Mantle, Beat writer, Jack Kerouac, On the Road, Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, Zhou Enlai, China, Bridge on the River Kwai, Hollywood blacklist, Lebanon, Camille Chamoun, Charles de Gaulle, NATO, San Francisco Giants, Charles Starkweather, thalidomide, Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, , hula hoop, Fidel Castro, Cuba, U-2, Syngman Rhee, payola, Chubby Checker, the twist, Hank Ballard, American Bandstand, Psycho, Ed Gein, Alfred Hitchco*ck, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium, colonization, Ernest Hemingway, Lost Generation, The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, Adolf Eichmann, Holocaust, Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein, Bob Dylan, Berlin Wall, Bay of Pigs, CIA, Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O’Toole, The Beatles, Beatlemania, Ole Miss, University of Mississippi, James Meredith, Robert F. Kennedy, John Glenn, Yuri Gagarin, Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Pope Paul VI, Malcolm X, John Profumo, Christine Keeler, Profumo affair, Griswold v. State of Connecticut, birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock, Menachem Begin, Israel, Ronald Reagan, Palestine, Jimmy Carter, PLO, hijacking, Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, shah of Iran, Afghanistan, Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, death metal, inflation, Vietnam War, AIDS, CDC, crack epidemic, crack cocaine, Bernie Goetz, hypodermic needle, medical waste, Tiananmen Square, martial law, Tank Man, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Paula Abdul, Michael Jackson","displayDate":[2023,5,9],"urlTitle":"all-119-references-in-we-didnt-start-the-fire-explained","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":10000,"title":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","url":"Entertainment-Pop-Culture","description":"Entertainment and leisure activities have been a part of culture in one form or another since the ancient times. Dance performances, live music, and storytelling have a long tradition throughout history, even as the styles and available methods of delivery have shifted dramatically.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg","altText":"Entertainment & Pop Culture","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/04/167104-050-A0D0F726.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"},{"id":13970,"title":"A Timeline of Environmental History","url":"/story/a-timeline-of-environmental-history","description":"A glimpse of some of our environmental successes and failures.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/41/193741-050-9F292343/Volunteers-garbage-park-spring-cleanup.jpg","altText":"Community service - volunteers picking up garbage in a park during a spring cleanup. Environmentalism","credit":"© dolgachov–iStock.com/Getty Images","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/41/193741-050-9F292343/Volunteers-garbage-park-spring-cleanup.jpg"},"type":"STORY","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"Spotlight","url":"/stories/spotlight"},{"title":"Science","url":"/stories/spotlight/Science"}],"lastItemTitle":"Science"},"superCategory":{"id":6,"title":"Science & Tech","url":"Science-Tech","description":"Explore science and technology; astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","keywords":"astronomy; biology; chemistry; earth science; mathematics; physics; technology, agriculture, cars, computers, engineering, industry, inventions, communication","classId":"SCIENCE","sortOrder":2},"hashtags":["spotlight","environmentalism","timeline","climate change","global warming","DDT","biodiversity","Chernobyl","legislation","extinction","climate crisis","Encyclopedia Britannica","Encyclopaedia Britannica","Britannica"],"hashtagsString":"spotlight, environmentalism, timeline, climate change, global warming, DDT, biodiversity, Chernobyl, legislation, extinction, climate crisis, Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica","displayDate":[2023,7,28],"urlTitle":"a-timeline-of-environmental-history","featureSubType":"SPOTLIGHT","categories":[{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},{"id":9000,"title":"Politics, Law & Government","url":"Politics-Law-Government","description":"The world today is divided territorially into more than 190 countries, each of which possesses a national government that claims to exercise sovereignty and seeks to compel obedience to its will by its citizens. Governments can be classified in any number of ways. For example, they might be classified by the number of rulers, thus distinguishing government by one (as in a monarchy or a tyranny) from government by the few (in an aristocracy or oligarchy) and from government by the many (as in a democracy). Governments can also be classified by mode of succession; for example, ascension to governmental leadership may follow the rules of hereditary succession, or it may be determined through elections or by force. Governments also vary in terms of the laws and rules of conduct that each political entity follows.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg","altText":"Politics, Law & Government","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/22/99622-050-E70BCD0A/Parthenon-Athens.jpg"}},{"id":8000,"title":"Lifestyles & Social Issues","url":"Lifestyles-Social-Issues","description":"It's easy enough to agree that human beings all around the world have certain basic requirements that must be fulfilled in order to ensure their individual and collective well-being. History has shown us, however, that it's not so easy to form societies or communities that fulfill these requirements for all members. The fight for human and civil rights has persisted for hundreds of years and remains alive today, both within the borders of nations and on an international scale. It has led to large-scale social movements and reforms concerning issues such as suffrage, slavery, women's rights, racism, environmentalism, gay rights, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/11/195611-131-4DFC1336/Belgian-pride-parade-People-streets-flags-Brussels-2017.jpg","altText":"Lifestyles & Social Issues","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/11/195611-131-4DFC1336/Belgian-pride-parade-People-streets-flags-Brussels-2017.jpg"}}],"mainCategory":{"id":1000,"title":"Science","url":"Science","description":"How can the sky be blue one day and stormy the next? Why do heavy objects tend to fall downwards when dropped? How are birds able to fly (and why can’t I do the same?)? Human beings have long been curious about the world in which we live, striving to identify connections among the phenomenons we witness and to understand how it all works. The field of science has developed over many centuries as a way of studying and understanding the world, beginning with the primitive stage of simply noting important regularities in nature and continuing through the rise of modern science. The modern-day sciences cover a vast range of fields, including biology, chemistry, meteorology, astronomy, physics, and much more.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg","altText":"Science","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/86/193986-050-7B2DBB6A/ball-and-stick-model-structure-atoms.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"Spotlight"},{"id":5778,"title":"12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”","url":"/list/12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written","description":"How many of these great novels have you read?","image":{"id":0,"url":"/55/142355-131-EFF621AF/books-Stack-literature-pile-reading-entertainment-society-2010.jpg","altText":"Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society","credit":"© Hemera/Thinkstock","width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/55/142355-131-EFF621AF/books-Stack-literature-pile-reading-entertainment-society-2010.jpg"},"type":"LIST","breadcrumb":{"homeLink":null,"items":[{"title":"List","url":"/list/browse"},{"title":"Literature","url":"/list/browse/Literature"}],"lastItemTitle":"Literature"},"superCategory":{"id":2,"title":"Arts & Culture","url":"Arts-Culture","description":"Explore arts and culture; entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","keywords":"entertainment and pop culture, actors, comics, dance, film, food, music, theatre, tv; visual arts, architecture, fashion, painting, photography, sculpture; literature, fiction, nonfiction, plays, poetry, short story; sports and recreation","classId":"ART","sortOrder":6},"hashtags":["novels","literature","books","Anna Karenina","To Kill a Mockingbird","Invisible Man","The Great Gatsby","A Passage to India","Don Quixote","Beloved","Mrs. Dalloway","The Color Purple","Jane Eyre","Charlotte Brontë","Alice Walker","Toni Morrison","Miguel de Cervantes","F. Scott Fitzgerald","E.M. Forster","Ralph Ellison","Harper Lee","Leo Tolstoy","best","greatest","top","Chinua Achebe","Gabriel García Márquez","Things Fall Apart","One Hundred Years of Solitude","Nobel Prize for Literature","African literature","Latin American literature "],"hashtagsString":"novels, literature, books, Anna Karenina, To Kill a Mockingbird, Invisible Man, The Great Gatsby, A Passage to India, Don Quixote, Beloved, Mrs. Dalloway, The Color Purple, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Miguel de Cervantes, F. Scott Fitzgerald, E.M. Forster, Ralph Ellison, Harper Lee, Leo Tolstoy, best, greatest, top, Chinua Achebe, Gabriel García Márquez, Things Fall Apart, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Nobel Prize for Literature, African literature, Latin American literature ","displayDate":[2023,6,23],"urlTitle":"12-novels-considered-the-greatest-book-ever-written","featureSubType":"REGULAR","categories":[{"id":12000,"title":"Literature","url":"Literature","description":"With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg","altText":"Literature","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg"}},null,null],"mainCategory":{"id":12000,"title":"Literature","url":"Literature","description":"With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.","image":{"id":0,"url":"/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg","altText":"Literature","credit":null,"width":null,"height":null,"fullUrl":"https://cdn.britannica.com/44/172844-131-9695C31F/word-communication-stress-accent-letters-syllable.jpg"}},"typeDisplayName":"List"}]},"byline":null,"citationInfo":null,"websites":null,"freeTopicReason":"COUNTRY_IS_FREE","articleSchemaMarkup":{"keywords":"armour-piercing projectile","wordcount":0,"url":"https://www.britannica.com/technology/armour-piercing-projectile","description":"Other articles where armour-piercing projectile is discussed: ammunition: Special-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…","publisher":{"name":"Encyclopedia Britannica","@type":"Organization","logo":{"url":"https://corporate.britannica.com/wp-content/themes/eb-corporate/_img/logo.png","@type":"ImageObject"}},"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"article"},"studentArticle":false,"initialLoad":true}

    armour-piercing projectile

    Directory

    References

    Discover

    Why New York Is Called "The Big Apple" and How 8 Other Famous Cities Got Their Nicknames

    Can Apple Seeds Kill You?

    The Dope on Dope: 8 Facts About Marijuana

    How Many Countries Are There in the World?

    All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

    A Timeline of Environmental History

    12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”


    Learn about this topic in these articles:

    bullets

    • Armour-piercing projectile (11)

      In ammunition

      Special-purpose ammunition includes armour-piercing rounds, which fire bullets that have cores of hardened steel or some other metal such as tungsten carbide. Tracer bullets have a column of pyrotechnic composition in the base that is ignited by the flame of the propellant; this provides a visible pyrotechnic display…

      Read More
    • In bullet

      Armour-piercing bullets have a hardened-steel inner core. Expanding bullets, used in game hunting and long outlawed in war, are made with an exposed nose of soft metal, which will push back into the jacketed portion to deform it on impact, enlarging the wound and increasing…

      Read More

    shells

    • Armour-piercing projectile (12)

      In shell

      An armour-piercing shell has a hollow pointed nose to act as windshield and a heavy, blunt armour-piercing cap and steel core, with the bursting charge located in the base of the projectile. In some high-velocity types, a tungsten carbide core is used. Steel has generally supplanted…

      Read More
    • Armour-piercing projectile (13)

      In tank: Ammunition

      …the development of more- effective antitank ammunition with armour-piercing, discarding-sabot (APDS) projectiles. These had a smaller-calibre, hard tungsten carbide core inside a light casing. The casing fell away on leaving the gun barrel, while the core flew on at an extremely high velocity. The APDS, which was adopted for the…

      Read More
    • Armour-piercing projectile (14)

      In warship: Armour

      Steel-armour-piercing shells came into use in the late 1880s, again threatening the armoured ship. Accordingly, an American engineer, Hayward Augustus Harvey, perfected a face-hardening process, applying carbon to the face of the steel plate at very high temperatures for an extended period and tempering. Harvey…

      Read More
    Armour-piercing projectile (2024)
    Top Articles
    Latest Posts
    Article information

    Author: Terence Hammes MD

    Last Updated:

    Views: 6347

    Rating: 4.9 / 5 (69 voted)

    Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

    Author information

    Name: Terence Hammes MD

    Birthday: 1992-04-11

    Address: Suite 408 9446 Mercy Mews, West Roxie, CT 04904

    Phone: +50312511349175

    Job: Product Consulting Liaison

    Hobby: Jogging, Motor sports, Nordic skating, Jigsaw puzzles, Bird watching, Nordic skating, Sculpting

    Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.