100:
332:
175:
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111:
285:" rounds (so named for the very distinctive whistling buzz made by thousands of flechettes flying downrange at supersonic speeds) and intended for use against troops in the open – a ballistic shell packed with flechettes was fired and set off by a mechanical time fuse, scattering flechettes in an expanding cone.
190:
in the 1950s led to the development of the direct injection antipersonnel chemical biological agent (DIACBA), where flechettes were grooved, hollow pointed, or otherwise milled to retain a quantity of chemical or biological warfare agent to be delivered through a ballistic wound. The initial work was
268:
to maintain alignment with the bore axis, and supported by a metal disk to prevent penetration of the over-powder wad during acceleration down the bore. The tips of the flechettes were exposed in the
Federal cartridges, but concealed by a conventional star crimp in WCC's cartridges. The flechettes
129:
The weapons were designed to be dropped from an aircraft. They contained no explosive charge but as they fell they developed significant kinetic energy making them lethal and able to easily penetrate soft cover such as jungle canopy, several inches of sand or light armor. Lazy Dog munitions were
182:
The excellent ballistic performance and armor-piercing potential of flechettes have made the development and integration of this class of munition attractive to small-arms manufacturers. A number of attempts have been made to field flechette-firing small arms.
351:. A witness described munitions bursting overhead and littering the area with 3 cm flechettes. A British munitions expert reviewed photographs of the flechettes and concluded that they likely came from a 122 mm 3Sh1 artillery round. A speaker for the
85:. They have been used as ballistic weapons since World War I. Delivery systems and methods of launching flechettes vary, from a single shot, to thousands in a single explosive round. The use of flechettes as antipersonnel weapons has been controversial.
307:
also uses an Area
Defence Munition designed as a close-range anti-personnel round. It fires 1,100 flechettes over a wide area. The US Air Force used 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets with WDU-4/A flechette warheads.
241:, or CAWS, project. Selective-fire shotguns were used to fire flechettes designed to retain the exterior ballistics and penetration of standard flechettes, but increase wounding capacity through a wider wound path.
482:
May 1975 Vol. 31, No. 5 – 48 pages, "... using deliberately contaminated shrapnel or multiple-flechette – 'beehive' – munitions, as in the now defunct DIACBA development program of the US Army ..."
315:
rocket currently in service with the US Armed forces can be fitted with an anti-personnel (APERS) warhead containing 1,179 flechettes. They are carried by attack helicopters such as the
20:
288:
During the
Vietnam War 105 mm howitzer batteries and tanks (90 mm guns) used flechette rounds to defend themselves against massed infantry attacks. The ubiquitous
130:
simple and cheap; they could be dropped in huge numbers in a pass. Though their effects were often no less indiscriminate than other projectiles, they did not leave
643:
238:
618:
256:
using flechette loads. These plastic-cased shells were issued on a limited trial basis during the
Vietnam War. Cartridges manufactured by the
269:
demonstrated flatter trajectories over longer ranges than spherical buckshot, but combat effectiveness did not justify continued production.
126:
typically about 1.75 in (44 mm) in length, 0.5 in (13 mm) in diameter, and weighing about 0.7 oz (20 g).
758:
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719:
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63:
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During World War I, flechettes were dropped from aircraft to attack infantry and were able to pierce helmets.
134:(UXO) that could be active years after a conflict ended. Lazy Dog projectiles were used primarily during the
282:
114:
Two designs of the Lazy Dog bomb. (Top: early forged steel design; Bottom: later lathe-turned steel design)
808:
798:
523:(2nd ed.). Harvard University Press for Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. p.
260:
contained 20 flechettes, each 18.5 mm (0.73 in) long and weighing 7.3 gr (0.47 g);
594:
195:, which had to be thickened to deliver a reliable dose. Eventually this was replaced by a particulate
684:
364:
331:
261:
257:
187:
352:
555:
549:
524:
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250:
227:
427:
803:
780:—Pictures of air dropped flechettes, from World War I through the 1970s at big-ordnance.com
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A number of prototype flechette-firing weapons were developed as part of the long-running
8:
793:
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131:
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rounds contained 25. The flechettes were packed in a plastic cup with granulated white
123:
733:
724:
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428:"WWI Flechettes – The troop piercing arrows dropped from planes onto German trenches"
207:, the M1 biodart, which resembled a 7.62 mm rifle cartridge. The USSR had the
192:
34:
777:
320:
200:
174:
119:
94:
253:
78:
787:
737:
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619:"Dozens of Bucha civilians were killed by metal darts from Russian artillery"
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166:
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71:) is a pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile. The name comes from French
763:
702:
The
Patricia Lynn Project: Vietnam War, the Early Years of Air Intelligence
265:
387:
336:
208:
139:
644:"Lethal darts were fired into a Ukrainian neighborhood by the thousands"
347:, where samples of the projectiles were recovered in the mass graves in
199:. The US Biological Program also had a microflechette to deliver either
680:
Static and
Dynamic Stability Studies on Several Lazy Dog Configurations
226:
was a prototype flechette-firing assault rifle built for the US Army's
135:
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278:
223:
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151:
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stated that
Ukraine's military does not use shells with flechettes.
312:
196:
110:
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A variation of the flechette addressing its difficulties is the
296:
234:
388:"Peace group slams sale of Swedish 'meat grinder' ammunition"
19:
446:
554:(Second ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. p.
52:
43:
23:
Examples of various small-arms flechettes (scale in inches)
49:
463:
461:
303:
role with the use of flechette rounds. The widely used
215:, and other countries have their own flechette rounds.
81:", and sometimes retains the acute accent in English:
578:
Canfield, Bruce N. "Vietnam-Era
Military Shotshells"
249:
During the
Vietnam War the United States employed 12-
64:
37:
458:
55:
40:
103:
World War I air dropped flechettes, probably French
46:
494:Brassey's Encyclopedia of Land Forces and Warfare
434:
785:
517:Barnaby, Frank; Huisken, Ronald, eds. (1975).
516:
72:
676:
452:
272:
595:"Hydra-70 Rocket System - Army Technology"
717:
491:
467:
382:
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277:Smaller flechettes were used in special
178:Steyr-Mannlicher ACR flechette cartridge
173:
165:
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109:
98:
18:
16:Pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile
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299:. However, it could also be used in an
786:
699:
440:
377:
326:
720:"Bizarre Weapons for the Little Wars"
718:Pursglove, S. David (February 1962).
343:Flechettes have been used during the
339:after Russian shelling on 30 May 2022
305:Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle
13:
406:"Dropping Darts From An Aeroplane"
14:
820:
752:
677:Eades, J. B.; Powers, C. (1964).
480:Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
220:Special Purpose Individual Weapon
732:(2). Hearst Magazines: 107–112.
345:2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
290:105 mm M40 recoilless rifle
33:
670:
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611:
587:
572:
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492:Margiotta, Franklin D. (1996).
548:Di Maio, Vincent J.M. (1999).
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88:
1:
370:
77:, meaning "little arrow" or "
122:, which are small, unguided
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358:
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239:Close Assault Weapon System
237:, developed as part of the
10:
825:
224:Steyr-Mannlicher ACR rifle
170:Steyr-Mannlicher ACR rifle
149:
92:
685:Naval Ordnance Laboratory
365:Kinetic energy penetrator
292:was primarily used as an
262:Federal Cartridge Company
258:Western Cartridge Company
273:Rocket and artillery use
188:Johns Hopkins University
771:Missiles and Flechettes
453:Eades & Powers 1964
353:Ukrainian Ground Forces
700:Karmes, David (2014),
340:
179:
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759:"How flechettes work"
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228:Advanced Combat Rifle
191:with the nerve agent
177:
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146:Small-arms ammunition
113:
102:
22:
335:Flechettes found in
230:program of 1989–90.
222:(SPIW) project. The
213:APS amphibious rifle
161:APS amphibious rifle
118:Later the U.S. used
408:. 12 September 2014
327:Russo-Ukrainian war
132:unexploded ordnance
124:kinetic projectiles
809:Shotgun cartridges
799:Flechette firearms
776:2013-07-30 at the
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25:
725:Popular Mechanics
711:978-1-4917-5227-2
581:American Rifleman
520:Arms Uncontrolled
201:botulinum toxin A
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687:. DTIC AD0352807
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654:on 18 April 2022
650:. Archived from
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430:. 3 March 2018.
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394:. 6 March 2011.
392:www.thelocal.se
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311:The 70 mm
281:shells called "
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254:combat shotguns
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211:as well as the
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671:Bibliography
656:. Retrieved
652:the original
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623:The Guardian
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602:. Retrieved
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266:polyethylene
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140:Vietnam Wars
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804:Projectiles
691:27 November
441:Karmes 2014
337:Sumy Oblast
209:AO-27 rifle
89:Air-dropped
794:Ammunition
788:Categories
604:2018-07-03
371:References
321:AH-1 Cobra
93:See also:
767:newspaper
738:0032-4558
455:, passim.
294:anti-tank
279:artillery
205:saxitoxin
197:carbamate
152:Needlegun
83:fléchette
74:fléchette
29:flechette
774:Archived
658:18 April
628:24 April
359:See also
319:and the
313:Hydra 70
245:Shotguns
186:Work at
283:beehive
743:17 May
736:
708:
562:
531:
500:
412:29 May
297:weapon
235:SCMITR
136:Korean
349:Bucha
251:gauge
745:2018
734:ISSN
706:ISBN
693:2022
660:2022
630:2022
560:ISBN
529:ISBN
498:ISBN
414:2015
138:and
79:dart
67:SHET
65:fle-
730:117
556:320
525:109
203:or
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460:^
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379:^
323:.
193:VX
142:.
44:eɪ
27:A
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59:/
56:t
53:ɛ
50:ʃ
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41:l
38:f
35:/
31:(
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