Editing Shell (projectile) (section)

==Early shells==
{{See also|History of gunpowder}}
[[File:Ming Dynasty eruptor proto-cannon.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.75|The "flying-cloud thunderclap-eruptor" cannon from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'']]
Cast iron shells packed with gunpowder have been used in warfare since at least early 13th century China. Hollow, gunpowder-packed shells made of [[cast iron]] used during the Song dynasty (960-1279) are described in the early [[Ming Dynasty]] [[China|Chinese]] military manual ''[[Huolongjing]]'', written in the mid 14th century.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 24 25 264">Needham, Joseph. (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. Pages 24–25, 264.</ref> The ''History of Jin'' 《金史》 (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general [[Subutai]] (1176–1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of [[Kaifeng]], the defenders had a "[[thunder crash bomb]]" which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container&nbsp;... then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than thirty miles, and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than [[Chinese units of measurement#Area|half a ''mou'']]. When hit, even [[Chinese armour|iron armour]] was quite pierced through."<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 24 25 264"/> Archeological examples of these shells from the 13th century Mongol invasions of Japan have been recovered from a shipwreck.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Delgado|first=James|title=Relics of the Kamikaze|journal=Archaeology|date=February 2003|volume=56|issue=1|publisher=Archaeological Institute of America|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/0301/etc/kamikaze.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229155139/http://archive.archaeology.org/0301/etc/kamikaze.html|archive-date=2013-12-29}}</ref>

Shells were used in combat by the [[Republic of Venice]] at Jadra in 1376. Shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in [[Corsica]]. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop.<ref name="Hogg pg 164">Hogg, p. 164.</ref> At least since the 16th century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe. A hoard of several hundred ceramic grenades dated to the 17th century was discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian city of [[Ingolstadt]], [[Germany]]. Many of the grenades contained their original black-powder loads and igniters. Most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped in the moat of the bastion before the year 1723.
<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Franzkowiak |first1=Andreas |last2=Wenzel |first2=Chris |title=Keramikgranaten aus Ingolstadt - Ein außergewöhnlicher Fund |journal=Waffen- und Kostümkunde - Zeitschrift für Waffen- und Kleidungsgeschichte |volume=60 |number=1 |date=2018 |issn=0042-9945 |pages=65–80 |language=de }}</ref> An early problem was that there was no means of [[accuracy and precision|precisely]] measuring the time to detonation{{snd}} reliable fuses did not yet exist, and the burning time of the powder fuse was subject to considerable trial and error. Early powder-burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire or [[slow match]] put down the barrel to light the fuse. Other shells were wrapped in [[bitumen]] cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Nevertheless, shells came into regular use in the 16th century. A 1543 English mortar shell was filled with "wildfire."{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

[[File:Boshin War mortar.jpg|thumb|upright=0.65|left|A [[mortar (weapon)|mortar]] with a hollowed shell from the [[Boshin war]]]]
By the 18th century, it was known that if loaded toward the muzzle instead, 
the fuse could be lit by the flash through the [[British ordnance terms#Windage|windage]] between the shell and the barrel. At about this time, shells began to be employed for [[direct fire|horizontal fire]] from [[howitzer]]s with a small [[propellant|propelling]] charge and, in 1779, experiments demonstrated that they could be used from guns with heavier charges.

The use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder, set off by a slow burning fuse. They were usually made of [[cast iron]], but [[bronze]], [[lead]], [[brass]] and even [[glass]] shell casings were experimented with.<ref>Hogg, pp. 164–165.</ref> The word ''[[bomb]]'' encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of ''[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]'' ("the bombs bursting in air"), although today that sense of ''bomb'' is obsolete. Typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter, and they were about two-thirds the weight of solid shot of the same caliber.

To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses toward the muzzle, they were attached to wooden bottoms called ''[[Sabot (firearms)|sabots]]''. In 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognized that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardized sabot thickness as a half-inch.<ref>Hogg, p. 165.</ref> The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading. Despite the use of exploding shells, the use of smoothbore cannons firing spherical projectiles of shot remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s.
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