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shrapnel |
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shrapnelOriginally, a type of projectile invented by the British artillery officer Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), containing small spherical bullets and an explosive charge to scatter the shot and fragments of the shell casing. A time fuse set off the explosive charge late in the shell's flight, when it was near opposing troops. The resulting hail of high-velocity debris was often lethal; it caused most of the artillery-inflicted wounds in World War I. In World War II a high-explosive bursting charge that fragmented the shell's iron casing made shrapnel balls unnecessary; the term shrapnel came to be used for the shell-casing fragments. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Only a little way above his head a storm of shrapnel now was streaming from the lowered guns of the Admiralty. In roar of shell and shrapnel and in whine of machine-guns will our answer be couched. I have been thinking a great deal lately that some kind of shrapnel shell or ex-plosive bomb would be a most splendid innovation in their warfare. |
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