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Anair burst orairburst is the detonation of anexplosive device such as ananti-personnelartillery shell or anuclear weapon in theair instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over aground burst is that the energy from the explosion, including any shellfragments, is distributed more evenly over a wider area; however, the peak energy is lower atground zero.
Theshrapnel shell was invented byHenry Shrapnel of the British Army in about 1780 to increase the effectiveness ofcanister shot. It was used in the laterNapoleonic wars and stayed in use until superseded inArtillery of World War I. Modern shells, though sometimes called "shrapnel shells", actually producefragments and splinters, not shrapnel.[1]
Air bursts were used in theFirst World War to shower enemy positions and men with shrapnel balls to kill the largest possible number with a single burst. When infantry moved into deep trenches, shrapnel shells were rendered useless, and high-explosive shells were used to attack field fortifications.[2] The time fuses for the shells could be set to function on contact or in the air, or at a certain time after contact.
Earlyanti-aircraft warfare used time fuses to function when they reached the estimated altitude of the target. DuringWorld War II a "proximity fuze" was developed for antiaircraft use, controlled by aDoppler radar device within the shell that caused it to explode when near the target. The idea was later adapted for use against ground targets.
During theVietnam War, air bursting shells were used to great effect to defend bases. This tactic was known as "Killer Junior" when referring to 105 mm (4.1 in) or 155 mm (6.1 in) shells, and "Killer Senior" when employed with largerhowitzers.[3]
Some anti-personnelbounding mines such as Germany's World War II "Bouncing Betty" fire agrenade into the air, which detonates at waist level, increasing the blastradius and harm inflicted by detonation, shock wave, and flying splinters.
A relatively recent example of airburst munitions is theVOG-25P "jumping" 40 mm (1.6 in) caseless grenade, which contains a secondary charge to launch it up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) above its point of impact before the main charge detonates. Another recent development is a computer programmableair burst grenade withfire control system.Grenade launchers using this technology include theXM29,XM307,PAPOP,Mk 47 Striker,XM25,Barrett XM109,K11,QTS-11,Norinco LG5 / QLU-11, andMulti Caliber Individual Weapon System.
Orbital ATK developed air burst rounds forautocannons.[4][5]
The air burst is usually 100 to 1,000 m (330 to 3,280 ft) above thehypocenter to allow theshockwave of thefission orfusion driven explosion to bounce off the ground and back into itself, combining two wave fronts and creating a shockwave that is more forceful than the one resulting from a detonation at ground level. This "mach stem" only occurs near ground level, exists around the entire perimeter of the expanding wave front near ground level, and is similar in shape to the letter Y when viewed from the side (see sliced view). Airbursting also minimizesfallout by keeping thefireball from touching the ground, limiting the amount of debris that is vaporized and drawn up in the radioactive debris cloud. For theHiroshima bomb, an air burst 550 to 610 m (1,800 to 2,000 ft) above the ground was chosen "to achieve maximum blast effects, and to minimize residual radiation on the ground as it was hoped U.S. troops wouldsoon occupy the city".[6]
Some nuclear weapons have acontact preclusion fuzing feature to prevent the backup contact fuze from detonating the weapon if the air burst fuzing fails.[7]
In conventional warfare, air bursts are used primarily againstinfantry in the open or unarmored targets, as the resulting fragments cover a large area but will not penetrate armor or field fortifications.
Innuclear warfare, air bursts are used against soft targets (i.e. lacking the hardened construction required to surviveoverpressure from a nuclear explosion) such as cities incountervalue targeting, or airfields, radar systems and mobile ICBMs incounterforce targeting.
Killer Junior andKiller Senior are techniques of employingartillerydirect fire air bursts, first developed during theVietnam War.[8] The technique involves ahowitzer firing ahigh explosive (HE) shell using a mechanical time–super quick (MTSQ)artillery fuze set to cause an airburst over a target in very close proximity to the firing gun's position. Set properly, the shell would detonate approximately 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground at ranges of 200 to 1,000 m (660 to 3,280 ft).
The termKiller Junior was applied to this technique when used with 105 mm (4.1 in) or 155 mm (6.1 in) howitzers, and the termKiller Senior applied to its use with theM115 203 mm (8.0 in) howitzer.[9] The term "Killer" came from thecall-sign of thebattery which developed the technique. The technique was later perfected by Lieutenant Colonel Robert Dean, commander of the 1st Battalion,8th Field Artillery Regiment, of the25th Infantry Division Artillery.[citation needed]
Killers Junior and Senior were developed as alternatives to theBeehiveflechette rounds previously used against nearby enemy troops. The advantage of the Killer techniques over Beehive is that the airburst projects fragments in all directions, and is able to wound enemies crawling or lying indefilade, whereas the flechettes of a Beehive round would simply fly harmlessly over a low target.
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