For the film producer, see Flechette (company). Flechette is an independent film and television production company operating from Glasgow, Scotland and Dublin, Ireland.

The French word flechette means "little arrow" or dart projectile of steel that is sharp and pointed with a vaned tail for stable flight.

Bulk use

World War I flechettes procured by the Swiss Air Force. The Swiss Air Force ( Schweizer Luftwaffe, Forces aériennes suisses, Forze Aeree Svizzere) is the air component

Flechettes were first used as an air-dropped weapon in World War I by combatants on both sides. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All These were about four inches long (10 cm) and weighed a couple of ounces (60 g). Dropped from aeroplanes or Zeppelins over enemy trenches or airfields, these gravity missiles were capable of penetrating a helmet and the wearer's skull. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. A Zeppelin is a type of Rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century based on designs he had outlined A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground Trenches are generally defined by being deeper than they are wide (as opposed to a wider Gully or Ditch Similar weapons were 'Lazy Dogs' (or 'Devil Dogs'), used by the U. S. in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. These 1 3/4" length (4. 5 cm) bomblets were air-dropped at height in canisters by aircraft or scattered from buckets by helicopter crews, reaching high sub-sonic speeds as they fell. Targeted at enemy personnel and unarmored vehicles, the flechette hit the targets with the force of a bullet.

Smaller flechettes were used in special artillery shells called "beehive" rounds (so named for the very distinctive whistling buzz made by thousands of flechettes flying downrange at supersonic speeds) and intended for use against troops in the open - a ballistic shell packed with flechettes was fired and set off by pressure-sensitive detonators, scattering flechettes and shrapnel in all directions. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine Beehive is an Anti-personnel round fired from an Artillery gun packed full of metal darts Flechettes, which are ejected from the shell in front of the They were used in the Vietnam War by artillery gunners to defend their positions against infantry attacks. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

Controversy

The use of artillery flechette rounds in populated areas has recently been criticized due to their use by the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) (צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, lit The Gaza Strip (قطاع غزة, רצועת עזה Retzu'at 'Azza) is a coastal strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Egypt on the south-west ^[1] These criticisms focus on the wide area of effect of artillery flechette rounds, and their use in areas with large civilian populations. Detractors argue that the such use of the rounds conflicts with the Fourth Geneva Convention provisions protecting non-combatants. The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of Civilians during times of War " in the hands " of an enemy and under ^[2][3]

10 civilians have been killed in the Gaza Strip by flechette shells since the start of the Palestinian intifada, in September 2000. The army argues that they have used the weapons very selectively in its fight against terrorism. Israeli media reports have said the army uses the shells mainly against mortar crews firing rounds at Israeli civilian settlements. ^[4]

IDF Spokespersons justify the use of flechette shells by claiming that the use of this weapon is permitted under international law and that "the use of various types of weapons is done according to the judgment of commanders in the field, and based on the threat posed to the security forces. " Haim Israeli, Assistant to the Defense Minister, wrote to B'Tselem that "the use of flechette shells in combat is not forbidden. In regards to when this weapon is used, the IDF is aware of the need to balance between military need on one hand, and humanitarian concerns and minimization of damage to the civilian population on the other. The policy regarding the use of various types of weapons is determined based on these considerations. "^[5]

In April 2008 Reuters reported that an Israeli tank killed a Reuters cameraman in the Gaza Strip along with 5 others. This article is primarily about Reuters prior to its 2008 merger with Thomson ^[6] The Israeli tank sprayed cameraman Fadel Shana and the others with darts (flechettes) as he was filming it on the 16th April. Fadel Shana'a (1984/1985&ndash 16 April[[ 008]] was a Palestinian journalist working as a Cameraman for Reuters. Mr Shana and 3 others died instantly whilst another two teenagers died some days later. The victims were aged between 13 and 24 years old. Despite Reuter's demand for an urgent inquiry, Israel has yet to confirm that its tank, filmed firing in the final seconds of the cameraman's surviving video, delivered the fatal round. The attack ripped off Mr Shana's press marked body armour, and medical examination showed several 38 millimetre flechettes had been thrust through his neck, shredding his flesh and severing his spine. He was standing next to his sport utility vehicle which bore "TV" and "Press" markings, filming a panoramic view of an area 1. 5 km away where an Israeli air strike had earlier killed several people. Mr Shana's soundman, Wafa Abu Mizyed, 25, was wounded in the wrist by a dart.

As this video and others of the incident show the kill range is large. In the court case brought against their use by the IDF it was stated "The flechette shell contains a bundle of metal arrows. It is unique in that when it explodes at a certain height above the ground, its arrows are dispersed across a surface that is a few hundred meters in width. "

Heavy flechettes

An APFSDS round discarding its sabot shortly after leaving the muzzle

Known by most forces as discarding sabot rounds, these anti-tank rounds can be more effective than high explosive devices; see kinetic energy penetrators. A kinetic energy penetrator (also known as a KE weapon) is a type of Ammunition which like a Bullet, does not contain Explosives and uses A kinetic energy penetrator (also known as a KE weapon) is a type of Ammunition which like a Bullet, does not contain Explosives and uses An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied A kinetic energy penetrator (also known as a KE weapon) is a type of Ammunition which like a Bullet, does not contain Explosives and uses For reasons why a smaller diameter projectile is desirable, see external ballistics and terminal ballistics. External ballistics is the part of the science of Ballistics that deals with the behaviour of a non-powered projectile in flight Terminal ballistics, a sub-field of Ballistics, is the study of the behavior of a Projectile when it hits its target

The M1A1/M1A2 (US Army Main Battle Tank) and the Challenger 2 (British Army MBT) both employ APFSDS (Armor-Piercing, Fin-Stabilized, Discarding Sabot) rounds as their primary AT capacity, fired from a 120-mm main gun. The M1 Abrams is a main battle tank produced in the United States. FV4034 Challenger 2 is a Main battle tank (MBT currently in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman.

The CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon is an air-dropped guided bomb containing 3,700 non-explosive steel and tungsten penetrator rods of various sizes. The CBU-107 Passive Attack Weapon is an air-dropped Guided bomb containing 3750 non- Explosive Steel and Tungsten penetrator rods of various It was designed to attack targets where an explosive effect may be undesirable, such as fuel storage tanks in civilian areas. ^[7]

Controversy

See also: Depleted uranium

Modern anti-tank penetrator rounds are most effective when made with the highest density materials practical, and a common choice depleted uranium, or DU, is in use by some NATO forces. Depleted uranium (DU is Uranium primarily composed of the Isotope Uranium-238 (U-238 Depleted uranium (DU is Uranium primarily composed of the Isotope Uranium-238 (U-238 The controversy involves the residue of the use of DU rounds. Uranium metal is chemically very reactive, and the force of impact causes the round to ignite and burn. The resulting ash is a mixture of various uranium oxides, all of which are either known or suspected toxins. Uranate is the chemical term for Oxide anions of the element Uranium. The depleted uranium in the round is radioactive, though less so than naturally occurring uranium ores. Radioactive decay is the process in which an unstable Atomic nucleus loses energy by emitting ionizing particles and Radiation. ^[8]

Small arms ammunition

Examples of various small arms flechettes. (Scale in inches. )

In the 1960s the U.S. Army began early developmental work on a flechette rifle cartridge. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. It fired steel darts that looked very much like steel nails with fins stamped into the back ("nails with tails"). The flechettes were 3 – 5 cm long, and 1 – 2 mm in diameter, with a 4 – 5 mm fin diameter. It was never fielded. Attempts have been made to develop a selective-fire flechette several times since, with mixed results. A selective fire Firearm can be fired in both semi-automatic and any number of automatic modes by means of a selector There were also experimental flechette rounds for the M203 grenade launcher and the 12-gauge shotgun, but the military eventually decided that standard ammunition worked best in both. A grenade launcher is a Weapon that launches a Grenade with more accuracy higher velocity and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand A shotgun (also known as a scattergun) is a Firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number

Flechette rounds were developed for small arms for a number of reasons. Small arms is a term used by the Armed forces to refer to Infantry Weapons such as the Firearms that an individual soldier can carry Being very small and light compared to traditional jacketed lead or steel bullets, flechette ammunition weighs less per round, and thus an infantryman can carry more. Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which Second is the issue of recoil — for the same amount of kinetic energy, a lighter bullet (with a higher muzzle velocity) produces less recoil, and thus less shot dispersion in automatic fire. The kinetic energy of an object is the extra Energy which it possesses due to its motion A gun's muzzle velocity is the speed at which the Projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun This article is about backward Momentum produced in firearms when fired The last reason was the emergence of lightweight, flexible body armor for the average infantryman. A very high velocity, small diameter projectile is able to easily penetrate body armor. Also its mass-to-piercing-area ratio was much better than that of regular bullets.

However, the flechette has a number of weaknesses that limit its effectiveness as small arms ammunition. They tended to penetrate heavy armor less deeply than heavier, higher momentum rifle bullets. In Classical mechanics, momentum ( pl momenta SI unit kg · m/s, or equivalently N · s) is the product Their extreme light weight caused them to be deflected extremely easily; a single leaf, or even a raindrop, could destabilize a flechette and cause it to tumble wildly. Because of the hard nature of the flechette, it does not deform on impact, and while it penetrates extremely well, it produces very little tissue damage. The last issue with small arms flechettes is accuracy. To fire the finned flechette out of a smoothbore requires the use of a sabot. A sabot (ˈseɪboʊ "saybow" or /ˈsæboʊ/ "sabbow" is a device used in a Firearm or Cannon to fire a Projectile, such as a Since flechettes do not achieve sufficient stability when spun by rifling alone, the main source of stabilization is the fins. Rifling refers to the Helix -shaped pattern in the barrel of a Firearm, which imparts a spin to a Projectile around its long axis When the sabot separates, it can disturb the effectively unstabilized flechette, and cause deviations in its flight. Experiments to reduce problems associated with sabot separation have been performed, such as placing the sabot on the forward portion of the flechette, rather than the rear, and by fitting a sabot stripper in the muzzle to remove it with less disturbance to flight.

An interesting variation of the flechette that addresses its difficulties is the SCIMTR, developed as part of the CAWS project. The Special Purpose Individual Weapon ( SPIW) was a long-running United States Army program to develop in part a workable Flechette -based "rifle" Also, in 1989 and 1990 the U. S. Army experimented with the Steyr ACR. The Steyr ACR was a prototype Flechette -firing " Assault rifle " built for the US Army 's Advanced Combat Rifle program of 1989 However, the rifle did not achieve the necessary performance to be considered a viable avenue to pursue.

In popular culture

• Flechette weapons see heavy use in science fiction, particularly in cyberpunk settings like William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy. Cyberpunk is a Science fiction genre noted for its focus on " High tech and low life. William Ford Gibson (born March 17 1948 is an American - Canadian writer who has been called the "noir prophet" of the Cyberpunk subgenre The Sprawl trilogy (also Neuromancer trilogy, Cyberspace trilogy) is William Gibson 's first set of Novels composed of Neuromancer They are called by a variety of names, including fletchers, needlers, needle guns, or named as 'flechette' variations of realistic weaponry (e. A needlegun, also known as a needler, Flechette gun or fletcher, is a Firearm that fires small sometimes fin-stabilized g. flechette rifle) . They are most often employed as pistols. They are typically characterized as having short range, high impact firing capabilities.
• Flechette weapons are standard weaponry among the human survivors in Terry Brooks's Genesis of Shannara series, ranging from small pistols like the Tyson 33 Flechette to large vehicle-mounted weapons capable of destroying guard towers. Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is a writer of Fantasy fiction. The Genesis of Shannara is the title of a series of Novels written by Terry Brooks. These flechettes resemble extremely powerful shotguns more than actual flechettes.
• In volume 26 The Attack of the book series Animorphs, the Howler soldiers sent to eliminate the Animorphs using an assortment of weapons, including flechette guns. The Attack is the twenty-sixth book in the Animorphs series written by K Animorphs is an English language Science fiction series of young adult books written by K
• Many video games feature guns that fire flechettes, including but not limited to Turok: Evolution, Battlefield 2142, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, UFO: Aftershock, Hexen, Hitman: Blood Money, Unreal Tournament, and Team Fortress 2. Turok Evolution is a First-person shooter Video game developed and published by Acclaim Entertainment. Battlefield 2142 is a First-person shooter computer game developed by Digital Illusions CE and is the fourth game in the ''Battlefield'' Star Wars Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast (often abbreviated JK2 or JO) is a first- and third-person Action game developed Star War Battlefront II is a First-person shooter / Third-person shooter Video game developed by Pandemic Studios, and published by Half-Life 2 Episode Two is the second installment in Valve Corporation 's series of episodes for the First person shooter Computer game UFO Aftershock is a computer real-time tactical Strategy game created by Altar and released in 2005. Hexen Beyond Heretic is a First-person shooter Computer game developed by Raven Software, published by Id Software, and distributed Hitman Blood Money is a Stealth game developed by IO Interactive, published by Eidos Interactive and directed by Rasmus Højengaard Unreal Tournament is a First-person shooter Video game co-developed by Epic Games and Digital Extremes.
• Additionally, an early novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child features a flechette small arm on a naval vessel.
• A common ammo for J.B. Dix a character in James Axler's Deathlands novels. JB Dix is a fictional character in James Axler's post-apocalyptic science fiction novels Deathlands J James Axler is a house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Books, the men's action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger's character in Eraser survives a flechette grenade by hiding behind a fridge door and is wounded when one of the flechettes pierces his palm. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger ( German ˌaɐnɔlt aloʏs ˈʃvaɐtsənɛɡɐ born July 30 1947 is an Austrian American Bodybuilder, Actor Eraser is a 1996 Action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vanessa Williams. It should be noted that the flechettes were similar in make to drill bits, making it more difficult to remove them.

References

External links

• How Flechets work The Guardian newspaper. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.
• Pictures of air dropped flechette, from WWI through the 1970s. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970.
• Israeli Supreme Court decision on the use of flechette rounds in the Gaza Strip; the petition to ban their use was rejected by the court.
• Carr center paper use on flechettes in urban environments
• Types of Ammunition