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7.62 NATO depleted uranium rounds

Article about: Hi there, I came across a reference to use of depleted uranium in small arms ammo, and googling further, found they were in service. From what I could find , they were used by aircraft, but

  1. #1
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    Default 7.62 NATO depleted uranium rounds

    Hi there, I came across a reference to use of depleted uranium in small arms ammo, and googling further, found they were in service.
    From what I could find , their use was limited to aircraft, but I may be wrong (if it works better, why would it be limited to aircraft?).
    If anyone knows more, any info is welcome, I am trying to find out what in calibers DU was employed, by which nations, and what the projectiles look like to avoid them when relic hunting and buying. thanks
    R

    7.62 NATO depleted uranium rounds7.62 NATO depleted uranium rounds

  2. #2

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    I don’t think this was a real common round to use, more of a specialty ammo and I couldn’t see planes using this as regular full metal jacket bullets had no problem in penetrating aircraft aluminum. I could see the use of these against thinner bullet proof glass, lightly armoured vehicles or body armor due to its good penetrating power compared to the FMJ which will mushroom much easier, I know they made armor penetrating 30-06 but it wasn’t depleted uranium, this is the first time seeing this! Pretty interesting, possibly test rounds? The only depleted uranium round I heard of was the Abrams apfsds.

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    The only "Aircraft" to use the 7.62x51mm cartridge's were helicopters with crew mounted weapons.

    Like the M60 or the M134 minigun for US forces.

    Now looking into Pacific Technica, I ran across this interest conversation which just happens to have that same identical photo you posted of the box??
    Is that your box/photo's?

    The U.S., Pacific Technica version has a 72 gr. proj. with a 56 gr. penetrator, made by DARPA and TRW,

    Found here:
    Depleted Uranium 7.62 - General Ammunition Discussion - International Ammunition Association Web Forum

    Semper Fi
    Phil

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    DU was used in the first Gulf war by coalition forces against Iraqi armour predominantly. If you find one relic hunting I'd suspect you were in a location you should not be in.

  5. #5
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    Quote by BlackCat1982 View Post
    DU was used in the first Gulf war by coalition forces against Iraqi armour predominantly. If you find one relic hunting I'd suspect you were in a location you should not be in.
    Yes the Abrams shot a DU sabot spike. I remember reading how there was a clean up of these in the Sand box after hostilities ended.
    But I don't remember hearing or reading about DU small arms ammo being used by the ground forces.

    Semper Fi
    Phil

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    It was used in the Warthog too, the cartridges were clearly marked as such. I don't specifically recall it being used in small arms munitions either.

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    I was likewise surprised by DU in this small package, I doubt how many other collectors/traders know about this, increasing the likely hood that some of these are in casual circulation.

    although the danger posed is debateable, I wouldnt knowingly touch them with a barge pole, the pic i used came off the website mentioned by azPhil.
    I found DU is widely used in civil aviation, to balance aircraft, sort of like wheel balancing, they can have up to a ton in a 747, below is some (wiki) info regards a Dutch crash site from the 1990s.

    Dutch officials from government departments of transport and of public health asserted that at the time of the crash it was understood that there were no health risks from any cargo on the aircraft; Els Borst, minister of public health, stated that "geen extreem giftige, zeer gevaarlijke of radioactieve stoffen" ("no extremely toxic, very dangerous, or radioactive materials") had been on board. In October 1993, the nuclear energy research foundation Laka reported that the tail contained 282 kilograms (622 lb) of depleted uranium as trim weight, as did all Boeing 747s at the time; this was not known during the rescue and recovery process
    The first studies on the symptoms reported by survivors, performed by the Academisch Medisch Centrum, began in May 1998. The AMC eventually concluded that up to a dozen cases of autoimmune disorders among the survivors could be directly attributed to the crash and health notices were distributed to doctors throughout the Netherlands requesting that extra attention be paid to symptoms of auto-immune disorder, particularly if the patient had a link with the Bijlmer crash site.
    Click to enlarge the picture Click to enlarge the picture 7.62 NATO depleted uranium rounds  

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    I would also expect that notwithstanding the contamination issue, SAA of this nature would be a bit too specialised (ie bloody expensive) to be dished out in "ready ammunition" quantities to the average "puddle splashers" of the infantry plus it might just work out a tad heavier than standard ball or 4B1T which is never popular (been there, done that, got the Tee-shirt and ate the pie ).

    The short answer is "I dunno John, but it sound a bit odd"

    Regards

    Mark
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

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    DU SAA was definately trialed and there was a rumour going around in the 90's that SFOR snipers we're issued DU for use against Body Armour and heavy skinned vehicles, no one ever confirmed (or denied) it.

    Considering the problems a PKM causes using tungsten AP I'm not sure DU would be that much more of an Advantage. The bigger and slower the projectile the bigger the difference and under 20mm probably not worth the hassle because a simple increase in Velocity negates the DU benefit. Hypervelocity rounds are a Classic example of this

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