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Actually, AA shells are a common design and manufactured for all larger Japanese naval guns. I have more info on it but will have to dig it out.
Were these ever used BTW?
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"San Shiki" (the Beehive) Model 13 - Japan's Most Unusual Anti-Aircraft Shell
This remarkable anti-aircraft shell was designed to be fired from the 18-inch guns of the super battleship Yammamoto. The idea was pursued as Japanese capital ships could almost never count on friendly air cover and were forced to provide their own defense against allied aircraft. Called "San Shiki" (the Beehive) Model 13 the round weighed 2,998lb (kg) and was filled with 900 incendiary tubes (of rubber thermite) and 600 steel stays. A time fuze was set before firing that went off at a predetermined altitude causing the explosive and metal contents to burst in a cone extending 20 degrees forward, towards the oncoming aircraft. Instantly after detonating, the shell itself was destroyed by a bursting charge, increasing the quantity of steel splinters. The incendiary tubes ignited about half a second later and burned for five seconds at 3000 degrees C, producing a flame about 16ft (m) long.
Although quite impressive the weapon when used was a failure ruining several of the battleship's main guns and barely effecting the swarm of attacking allied aircraft.
http://www.ww2guide.com/flak.shtml
Actually, AA shells are a common design and manufactured for all larger Japanese naval guns. I have more info on it but will have to dig it out.
The "San Shiki" seems to have been some kinda miracle weapon so I´m not sure what all it should include here. Read on Yamato and it seems the Japanese were expecting (?) the chance to use it on those US planes. Seems it did not work or maybe never used at all...
Quite a lot of articles in the net but some say these were never used and some say the opposite...
[ 16. July 2005, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]
The 3 Shiki shell is common to all large caliber Japanese naval guns. It was often refered to as a "common fragmentation incendary" shell. The 20cm round for example weighed 125.86kg and used the 91 Shiki head time fuze. It had 255 incendary "pieces" in it. Maximum altitude was 10,000 meters with a flight time of 55 seconds. There was a 2kg burster charge in the base of the shell.
The shell worked much like a shrapnel round. The burster broke the shell open scattering the incendary charges ahead of it in an approxmately 13 degree cone. The charge also ignited the quick match in each incendary which, in turn, ignited the incendary material. Maximum effective distance from the initial burst was about 1000 meters with a 100 meter diameter dispersion.
The 12cm shell had a 10 degree dispersion with a max diamter of 54 meters with 66 pieces.
The Japanese thought these rounds were very effective as an antiaircraft round. US pilots found them more spectacular than effective.
The myth that these shells ruined the gun barrels in just a few rounds is purely that...myth. These rounds were fired from, as I have said, many different calibers of Japanese Navy gun and were used throughout the war.
OK!
Thanx alot T.A.!
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