I believe many people are familiar with 155mm howitzers, and are even more familiar with various 155mm howitzers such as South Korea's K-9, the United States' M777A2, and China's PLZ-05. For a long time, everyone has been accustomed to focusing on the weight, range, sustained firing rate, and ammunition types of the 155mm howitzer. However, I am afraid that everyone has overlooked a crucial issue, which is the weight of a 155mm howitzer shell. How powerful is it?

To know the explosive power of a 155mm howitzer shell, you should first know how big it is. Generally speaking, the weight of a 155mm howitzer shell is between 40 and 50 kilograms, and its length is about 0.6 to 0.8 meters. The volume and weight are quite amazing. For comparison, here are some performance data of hand grenades. The Chinese Type 86 handleless grenade weighs 260 grams, and the explosion damage radius exceeds 6 meters; the US military M67 anti-personnel grenade has a diameter of 64mm, a weight of 397 grams, and is loaded with 184 grams of B mixture. Explosives with a maximum killing radius of 15 meters. Hand grenades are so small, they already have a very asymmetrical explosion damage range.

The explosive power of a 155mm shell weighing more than 40 kilograms and containing more than 10 kilograms of TNT/B explosives/ladder black aluminum and other explosives can naturally be imagined. Data shows that the fragmentation radius of an ordinary 155mm howitzer's shells is 60 meters, and the maximum damage radius reaches 350 to 360 meters. The explosion power is very amazing. The power of ordinary 155mm howitzer shells is so powerful, so the striking effect of special shells such as multi-purpose submunitions, terminally sensitive shells, and GPS/INS guided shells is even better. Battlefield casualty statistics also show that the explosive damage of artillery shells is the main cause of casualties among soldiers during combat, especially the lethal effect of large-caliber artillery shells.

However, the above data on the explosive power of 155mm howitzer shells are only experimental data. When used in actual combat, the killing effect of 155mm howitzer shells depends not only on the shell itself, but also on the strike accuracy and detonation. Factors such as the method and the location of the person being attacked cannot be generalized. It is worth mentioning that China currently has deep knowledge in the field of 155mm howitzers. China has developed PLZ-45, PLZ-05 155mm self-propelled artillery systems, ultra-light AH-4, SH-11, SH- 15. The PLC-181 vehicle-mounted 155mm howitzer and a series of 155mm howitzers for self-use/foreign trade, among which the third battalion of the PLZ-45 155mm self-propelled artillery was just delivered to a country in the Middle East some time ago, and the UAE military It has also been announced that it will purchase China's AH-4 155mm ultra-light 155mm howitzer. It is not difficult to imagine that they will usher in many bright moments in the future.