ARTILLERY FUSES AND SHELLS

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But... what is a fuse ?
Artillery in WW1
Main types of munitions
Main types of fuses and their mechanism
Some fuses
NEW : Shells and fuses in 3D

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The french armies went to war with the strong conviction that infantry was "the queen of the battles", and that their 75mm field gun, whose manoeuvrability was exceptional indeed, would be enough to helping the conquests.

Artillery ammunitions waiting for the military collecting service near the ' Mont Sans Nom', in ChampagneGerman armies, who had a far more rich and various artillery, launched their offensive while giving to that arm a tactical role much more essential. The quick transformation of the movement war into a positions one made all the belligerent agree on that point, and WW1 became a gun's war.

Artillery fuses, that you can find in high amounts on the battlefields, are one of the best witnesses...


But... what is a fuse ?

More than 856 millions shells have been gunned by the artilleries of all the armies, during the first world war. Between 1914 and 1918, one estimates that the German guns shot more than 300 millions shells on their ennemies... Each of these projectiles was equipped with a 'fuse', intended to make the charge explode at the right time.

Organisation générale projectile d'artillerie

Those were really precision pieces, as much in terms of mechanism than in terms of pyrotechnique. They can still be found on the former battlefields, either alone (when the shell have exploded), or still screwed on intact projectiles (DANGER !).


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Guns, shells and fuses

A journey in their world, both fascinating and frightening ...

77mm German field gun in La Pompelle

Artillery in WW1

Find in this page the main characteristics of this weapon, Queen of Death between 1914 and 1918 : mechanisms of a gun, mortars, different calibers used by the different armies ...





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Section of a 75 mm shrapnell shell

Main types of munitions

'The only way of hurting someone with a gun is to pass the wheel on his feet... !' Strange military sense of humour, but this is an evidence : the projectiles only are dangerous. Shrapnel, explosive, gaz, anti-tanks, ... the shell types of WW1 are various. Let us make a quick inventory.











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Section of a German KZ14 fuse

Main types of fuses and their mechanism

You need a fuse to impulse at the right moment the explosion of the projectile that have been shot by a gun. Let us make a journey in this world of mighty precision. Discover the main functions and principles of those devices thanks to accurate 'home made' schemes.






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Some fuseS

Some of the most passionating items that can be found and identified on the battlefields...

German fuse

Some fuses

Carefully observed the battlefields, or bought in militaria flee markets, let me show you a WW1 artillery fuses selection. Their identification is passionating. Discover for each of them several commented pictures, and a description based on the principles exposed in the previous pages.






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NEW : 3D fuses pictures

GrZ04 rebuilt

3D fuses

Discover the breathtaking masterpiece of one friend of mine, passionated with WW1 era. A portrait gallery of several celeb German fuses, as you never saw them before !








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