List of explosives used during World War II
Almost all the common explosives listed here were mixtures of several common components:
- Ammonium picrate
- TNT (Trinitrotoluene)
- PETN (Pentaerythritol tetranitrate)
- RDX
- Powdered aluminium.
This is only a partial list; there were many others. Many of these compositions are now obsolete and only encountered in legacy munitions and unexploded ordnance.
| Name | Composition | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Amatol | Ammonium nitrate and TNT | Extensively used in bombs, shells, depth charges and naval mines |
| Baronal | Barium nitrate, TNT and powdered aluminium | |
| Baratol | Barium nitrate and TNT | Used in British hand grenades |
| Composition A | 88.3% RDX and 11.7% plasticizer | |
| Composition B | RDX, TNT and wax | |
| Composition H6 | 45% RDX, 30% TNT, 20% powdered aluminium and 5% wax | Replaced Torpex for use in naval applications. |
| DBX (Depth Bomb Explosive) | 21% RDX, 21% ammonium nitrate, 40% TNT, 18% powdered aluminium | An alternative for Torpex, that used less of the strategic material RDX |
| Minol | 40% TNT, 40% ammonium nitrate and 20% powdered aluminium (Minol-2) | Developed by the British Royal Navy and used in torpedoes, depth charges and naval mines. Unsuitable for shells because of a risk of detonation if subjected to very high accelerations. |
| Octol | 75% HMX (cyclotetramethylene-tetranitramine) and 25% TNT | Still in use |
| Pentolites | 50% PETN and 50% TNT | |
| Picratol | 52% ammonium picrate and 48% TNT | Used in armour-piercing shells and bombs as insensitive to shock |
| PIPE | 81% PETN and 19% oil | |
| PTX-1 | 30% RDX, 50% tetryl and 20% TNT | |
| PTX-2 | 41-44% RDX, 26-28% PETN and 28-33% TNT | |
| PVA-4 | 90% RDX, 8% PVA and 2% dibutyl phthalate | |
| RIPE | 85% RDX and 15% oil | |
| Tetrytols | 70% Tetryl and 30% TNT | |
| Torpex | 42% RDX, 40% TNT and 18% powdered aluminium | Developed for use in torpedoes, it was especially effective at producing destructive, underwater explosions. |
| Trialen 105 | 15% RDX, 70% TNT and 15% powdered aluminium | Used by the Luftwaffe |
| Explosive "D" | Ammonium picrate | US Army/Navy |
| Type 91 Explosive | Trinitroanisol (TNA) | Japanese Army/Navy |
Two nuclear explosives, containing mixtures of uranium and plutonium, respectively, were also used at the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
See also
This article is issued from
Wikipedia.
The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike.
Additional terms may apply for the media files.