AMMUNITION

a term including projectiles for firearms, the explosives that propel them, fuses, fulminating caps and other igniting devices, and the cartridges in which the ammunition is made up for use. Cartridges for small arms were originally, as the word implies, small paper cases to hold the charge of gun powder. Paper or cardboard is now only used in making up ammunition for shotguns. The military cartridge has a case of thin metal (bra or copper), solid drawn, and with a rim on the base (Lee-Metford, etc.). or a groove close to it (Mauser, etc.), to give a grip to the extracting device which ejects the discharged cartridge case after firing. The percu ion cap, containing fulminating powder, is fixed in the center of the base. The cartridge is loaded with a smokele explosive (cordite in the Brit. army), and after being loaded, the bullet (ead, some times coated with nickel or copper, and round-nosed or pointed) is fixed in its fore end with a watertight joint. Machine guns are always constructed to carry the regulation rifle cartridge of the army with which they are used. Steel-pointed bullets have been employed for piercing defensive shields; bullets carrying an. easily ignited incendiary head, for the attack on war balloons, zeppelins, etc.; and bullets that leave a trail of smoke as they fly (‘tracer’ bullets), for indicating the direction and range of machinegun fire. Explosive bullets for small arms are forbidden by international agreement, the minimum legal weight for explosive projectiles being 500 grammes (about one pound). But rifle grenades of this weight are fired with the service rifle by attaching the grenade to a stick which is slipped into the rifle barrel, and fired off by a cartridge placed in the breech. Bombs thrown by hand are also in use, the bomb being made safe for carrying by a pin to be withdrawn before hurling it. Heavier bombs are discharged from small ‘trench mortars.’ Artillery ammunition may be divided into shrapnel and high-explosive (H.E.) shells. A shrapnel shell is loaded with bullets, and has a fuse and a small bursting charge, and the fuse is set so as to burst in the air above and in front of the! target. The action of the burst is simply to open the case and set the bullets free. These continue their flight forwards and downwards with their already acquired direction and velocity, falling over a large oval space, the longest diameter of which is in prolongation of the line of fire. H.E. shells are practically flying mines, steel cases loaded with lyddite or some other high explosive. Their action depends on the shattering effect of the explosion, and they are used for wrecking entrenchments, buildings, ete. For ee ons artillery of moderate calibre ammunition’ is used; that is, the shell fs fixed in a copper or bra case containing the driving charge, and having @ percu ion cap in its base. It is like a gigantic rifle cartridge. Ammunition for naval guns includes armor-piercing projectiles with a hardened steel point, often fitted with a soft iron cap to prevent the point glancing from the plate. The percu ion fuse of naval shells is often fitted with a delay- {ng action to secure a burst inside the enemy’s ship after ‘piercing her side. Gas shells contain a charge of compre ed gas, which is diffused as a blinding and asphyxiating cloud on the shell bursting. Shells for anti-aircraft guns include shrapnel, intended to riddle the hostile plane with a bullet shower, and H.E. shells, intended to wreck it with the explosion and the air disturbance thus caused. The projectiles dropped by aircraft include incendiary bombs, to start fires, and H.E. shells, these ranging in weight from a few pounds to nearly a ton. The fuse is set for action by a small revolving helical vane (like a miniature screw propeller), which is set in motion by the action of. the air as the bomb drops. Small-arm ammunition is carried in pouches and bandoliers by the men, with a first reserve in the regimental small-arms carts. These are refilled when required from the ammunition columns of the artillery, which convey reserve ammunition for both guns and small arms. A further reserve is kept in _ the ammunition parks of the line of communications. AMG , genus of rhizopod Protozoa (g.v.), occurring widely in stagnant water, the best-known species being A. proteus. It is one of the simplest animals, diameter about #/100 in., consisting of a nucleated ma of protoplasm densest in its outer part (ectosarc), ’ and moves, changing its shape, by protruding parts of itself called pseudopodia, which also serve for engulfing food (minute organisms, etc.). Respiration and excretion are carried on by contractile vacuoles. Divided into two