What Does Shelling Mean In War? - The Sun

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SHELLS are not just found at the beach, they also refer to a crucial part of warfare.

A shell, shortened from bombshell, is a projectile containing explosives or chemicals.

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What does shelling mean in war?

Shelling is another way to describe heavy bombing of an area.

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Normally you can find fragments or shell casing around the location which has been bombed.

It is a common occurrence in war, especially in invasions like Russia and Ukraine.

The shells are large projectiles fired by artillery or armoured vehicles such as tanks.

Usually a shell is a cylinder with a tapered tipped nose cone, this is for optimum aerodynamics as it must fly through the air.

What types of shells are there?

There are many types of shells varying from nuclear shells to non-lethal ones.

Each shell type can have many sub-types within the same category as improvements are made and specific shells are designed.

Some of the shells that have been used in warfare are:

Armour-piercing shells

Armour-piercing shells have been around since the 1850s and are a lighter shell often with a pointed tip.

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The projectile is designed to penetrate either body armour or vehicle armour.

High explosive shells

High explosive shells are filled with explosives such as TNT and are known simply as HE shells.

These have a steel case, a bursting charge and a fuse which detonates the charge.

The shell pieces cause more damage than the blast.

Shrapnel shells

Shrapnel shells are filled with bullets to reach greater ranges than a gun would be able to.

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They work on a timed fuse so they detonated before they hit the ground,.

It was deadly against soldiers on the ground, but no use against buildings, therefore it was replaced during World War I by the high-explosive shell.

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Chemical shells

Chemical shells contain a chemical agent, sometimes in the form of gas or liquid, there can be non-lethal shells which release smoke or lights.

Some militaries also have guided shells which can self-steer but these are much more expensive so are less common.