GDG- Arty Anti-personnel Effectiveness

[James Cameron]

<< Does anyone know of testing of ACW cannister effectiveness ( scatter 
pattern & range) for both Napoleons and 3 inch ordnance rifles conducted 
under controlled that might have produced reliable enough data to be used in 
computer simulation?
  Dick  >>


No, I don't.  I've seen a couple of History Channel or similar shows on CW 
artillery, where simulated cannister was fired against wooden targets cut in 
the shape of infantrymen.  It was interesting enough, although as I recall 
the "cannister" charges consisted of threaded bolts such as you'd buy at the 
hardware store.  How the resulting pattern spread and density would compare 
to real cannister might be a bit questionable, and I'm not sure how useful 
the "data" would be for purposes of computer simulation, if in fact any of 
it was even recorded.

I would imagine that there were contemporary tests done of how cannister 
preformed when fired at various ranges from different types of weapons. 
Whether or how much of this data has survived, I have no idea.

A related question might be how to model the spread pattern of case shot, 
since like cannister it depended on proper dispersal of the contents of the 
main projectile, and what if any contemporary data there is on its 
effectiveness.  Or even the anti-personnel effectiveness of exploding 
shells, where some would be time fused air bursts, and others, impact 
detonations by percussion fuse, and all with somewhat unpredictable and 
uneven fragmentation.

Jim Cameron