Hexanite was a castable Germany German military explosive developed early in the 20th century before the First World War for the Kaiserliche Marine , intended to augment supplies of trinitrotoluene TNT , which were then in short supply. Hexanite is significantly more powerful than TNT on its own. Fact date October 2008 The most common hexanite formula by weight was 60 TNT and 40 hexanitrodiphenylamine . Typically, hexanite was used in underwater naval weapons e.g. warhead s for the G7a torpedo G7a and G7e torpedo G7e series torpedo es ref http www.navweaps.com Weapons WTGER WWII.htm ref ref http www.dutchsubmarines.com specials special torpedoes mines.htm ref and the 300 kilogram main explosive charge in aluminium cased ref http www.lhg.is english eod ref buoyant, moored EMF naval mine magnetic mine s capable of being laid by U boat s in 200, 300 or 500 metres of water. ref http www.navweaps.com Weapons WAMGER Mines.htm ref ref http www.lhg.is english eod mines ref This explosive is regarded as obsolete , so any hexanite filled munition s encountered will be in the form of unexploded ordnance dating from the Second World War . The Japanese used this in World War II as explosive compound type 97 & 98. ref http www.ibiblio.org hyperwar USN rep WDR WDR58 WDR58 3.html cn9 ref See also Minol explosive Minol Torpex Amatol References reflist Category Explosives explosive stub lt Heksanitas ... more details
Unreferenced date December 2008 Minol pronounced mine ol is a military explosive developed by the Admiralty early in the Second World War to augment supplies of Trinitrotoluene TNT and RDX , which were then in short supply. The aluminium component in Minol significantly prolongs the explosive pulse, making it ideal for use in underwater naval weapons e.g. sea mine s for which it was developed depth charge s and torpedo es where munitions with a longer explosive pulse are more destructive than those with high brisance . Minol must not be used in weapons fired from gun barrels e.g. artillery shell s because there is a risk of detonation when subjected to over 250 g force gs of acceleration. Fact date October 2008 Typically, four different Minol formulas were used. All percentages shown are by weight Minol 1 48 trinitrotoluene TNT , 42 ammonium nitrate and 10 powdered aluminium . Minol 2 40 TNT, 40 ammonium nitrate and 20 powdered aluminium. Minol 3 42 TNT, 38 ammonium nitrate and 20 powdered aluminium. Minol 4 40 TNT, 40 ammonium nitrate & potassium nitrate 90 10 and 20 powdered aluminium. Since the 1950s, Minol has gradually been superseded by more modern polymer bonded explosive PBX compositions, due to their superior explosive yield and stable storage characteristics. As a result, Minol is regarded as obsolete . Generally, any Minol filled munitions encountered will be in the form of legacy munitions or unexploded ordnance dating pre 1960s. See also Tritonal Composition H6 Amatol Torpex Hexanite Category Explosives Category British inventions explosive stub lt Minolas ... more details
File German WW2 torpedo.jpg thumb 300px German G7a torpedo The G7a or G7a T1 was the standard issue Kriegsmarine torpedo during the early years of World War II . Design The torpedo was 53.3cm 21in in diameter, 7.163 m 23 ft 6 in in length, and with a warhead of 280 kg 617 pd of Hexanite , and was standard issue for all U boat s of the war. The torpedo was of a straight running unguided design, stabilized by a gyroscope . The G7a was of variable speed, running a distance of 6,000 m at 81 km h 6,600 yd at 44kt , 8,000 m at 74 km h 8,800 yd at 40 kt , and 14,000 m at 55.6km h 15,300 yd at 30 kt . The 44 kt setting was used only by torpedo boats like the E boats Schnellboote . The G7a was the last torpedo of German design to use a wet heat method of propulsion. The torpedo was fueled by a mixture of compressed gas, decalin and water. The compressed gas was forced into a combustion chamber along with petrol and water, where the mixture was ignited after which the resulting superheated steam powered a four cylinder engine cylinder reciprocating engine , in turn powering a pair of contra rotating propeller s. Though this system of propulsion gave the G7a great speed and endurance the greatest of any production model German torpedo of World War II it had the distinct disadvantage of being very noisy and leaving a long wake of bubbles, common to most torpedoes of the period, with the exception of the Japanese Type 93 torpedo Type 93 and submarine Type 95 torpedo Type 95 , which were fuelled by enriched oxygen. This relegated the G7a for use mainly at night, when its wake was least noticeable, so as to not give away the element of surprise and the location of the submarine that fired it. The G7 was fitted with a magnetic exploder, which was inadequately tested like the U.S. Navy s Mark 14 torpedo Mark XIV , having never been live fired. ref Bekker, Cajus. Hitler s Naval War New York Zebra, 1977 , p.132. ref In addition, because the G7 s performance had been never been assesse ... more details
kg lb abbr on Hexanite Decahydronaphthalene Decalin wet heater convert 40 kn km h for convert 2 km ... 500 mm in abbr on convert 6 m ftin abbr on convert 164 kg lb abbr on TNT Hexanite Decalin or kerosene ... on convert 195 kg lb abbr on Hexanite Decalin wet heater convert 37 kn km h for convert 4 km yd abbr ... convert 533 mm in 0 abbr on convert 7.2 m ftin abbr on convert 320 kg lb abbr on Hexanite Decalin wet ... lb abbr on Hexanite Brotherhood wet heater convert 36 kn km h for convert 6 km yd abbr on Howell torpedo ... more details
Unreferenced date February 2008 The G7e or more appropriately the G7e T2 , G7e T3 , and G7e T4 Falke torpedo es were, with the exception of the T4 model, the standard torpedoes for Germany during World War II . All of the G7e models shared standardized dimensions for all German torpedoes designed for use by U boat s during World War II, they measured 53.3 cm 21 inches in diameter, 7.16 m in length, and carried a Hexanite warhead of 280 kg. All were powered by 100 hp 75 kW electric motors and lead acid battery electricity batteries which needed constant maintenance to maintain their reliability. Additionally, the batteries of these torpedoes needed to be preheated to a temperature of 30 C 85 F to operate with maximum speed and range, though generally this was a non issue as U boats had the element of surprise and often had the advantage of firing the first shot. G7e T2 The T2 model of the G7e was in service with German U boat fleets from the first day of World War II. In stark contrast with the G7a torpedo G7a steam driven torpedo, the T2 left no visible stream of bubbles to alert ships they were under attack, and was virtually silent however, these were the T2 s only advantages over the G7a torpedo. The T2 in all other respects performed abysmally when compared to the G7a. Its range was much shorter than the G7a s at only 3000 m, and it ran much slower at 30 kt 55 km h . Poor range and speed were not the T2 s only problems. Both of its exploders were terribly flawed. The magnetic influence mechanism, designed to allow the torpedo to run under the keel of a ship and detonate, breaking the ship s back, was totally inconsistent often a T2 would detonate prematurely, or not at all. This led the BdU to order all G7e T2 torpedoes be fired only for contact detonation. However, the contact pistol of the T2 often did not work, either. The depth keeping equipment of the T2 often failed as well, leading T2s to miss their targets by running too dee ... more details
with a 195 kg 430 lb Hexanite warhead. The torpedo had a range of 4,000 m 4,370 ... Hexanite warhead. The torpedoes had a range of 6,000 m 6,550 yd when set at a speed of 36 ... more details
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