(robert arndt) wrote in message . com...
Nepolit was an explosive used in experimental shelless grenades. I don't know
if it was ever fielded. While I have no proof one way or the other I seriously
doubt it was tried in caseless small arms ammunition. In any event the
technology flopped.

Dan, U.S. Air Force, retired


Stick to a/c Dan. Nipolit was invented by WASAG and experimented with
in a wide range of applications such as: shaped explosives, caseless
grenades, disc grenades (85mm diameter, 13mm thick with egg type
detonator inserted in core), anti-tank charges, and caseless
ammunition in the end. Original Nipolit grandes were used in combat
and examples are still found in museums today.
Dynamit-Nobel picked up where WASAG left off...

If you want military book references there are plenty around.

Rob


nipolit was also to be used in the next generation Panzerfaust
warheads of world war 2 (Panzerfaust 250 was essentialy an RPG7). It
was merely necessary to automatically machine the entire warhead
without any metal. Apart from maufacturing simplicity it would
overcome Germany's metals shortage. Although tested the factories
were never built. Interestingly the most powerfull unguided
shoulderlauched anti-tank weapon today is the current German
Panzerfaust-3 whose 'tube' is made of fiberglass, thus the possibility
of an weapon with zero metals content is raised. (With a future self
forging warhead the Panzerfaust-3 might even get past frontal modern
composit MBT armour )

There was a great deal of work in the use of composit
plastics/aluminium cartridges to overcome metal shortages as well by
the Germans during the WWII and presumably neopolit would have been
considered for cartridgeless ammunition as well. Its advantages in
aerial canon where space, weight and rate of fire are critical should
be apparent.

The G11 rifles ammunition is amazing. Not only is amunition
cartridgeless (the round is embeded in the plastics propellant without
a casing in effect the propellant IS the casing) but the propellant is
actually square thus allowing very compact amuntion storage.

The G11 equiped soldier can carry 2.5 times as much amunition for the
same weight as an M4. A 16lb including rifle gives nearly 600 rounds
with a super high velocity.