Armor piercing bullet
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Armor Piercing Ammunition is used to penetrate hardened armored targets such as body armor, vehicle armor, concrete, and other defenses. Armor piercing ammunition consists of a hardened steel, tungsten carbide, or depleted uranium penetrator enclosed within a softer material, such as copper or aluminum. Armor Piercing Ammunition can range from rifle and pistol caliber rounds all the way up to tank rounds. Rifle and pistol rounds are usually of steel or tungsten. Aircraft and tank rounds are more often of the depleted uranium type. The penetrator is a pointed mass that is designed to retain its shape and penetrate through materials. Depleted uranium also has the advantage of being able to spall as it penetrates. This creates a fine, hot dust. This is employed in anti-tank warfare because this dust, at thousands of degrees, is able to quickly kill a tank's crew and ignite the ammunition and gas stores. Rifle Armor piercing ammunition is generally a hardened penetrator surrounded with a copper jacket, just as almost every type of modern bullet is. Upon impact on a hard target, the copper case is destroyed, but the penetrator continues its motion and penetrates the substance. The Russian/Soviet government did develop armor piercing ammunition for its pistols. It is of similar design to the rifle ammo above.
Contrary to common belief, teflon or other coatings on the bullet do not in any way help it penetrate deeper. Teflon bullets were meant to help reduce the wear on the barrel as a result of normal operation. Teflon bullets were a trend that has largely faded. Another common misconception was the moral panic over "Cop-killer bullets". Supposedly such ammunition was designed to penetrate the body armor worn by police.
