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This is a surprisingly interesting article about a time and place we don't hear much of. > In 1988, an A-10 went down over the little town of Remscheid, settin
by Isamu 9y ago
This is a surprisingly interesting article about a time and place we don't hear much of.
> In 1988, an A-10 went down over the little town of Remscheid, setting fire to several buildings and killing five people on the ground. I remember an evening news comment that the “images remind you of a bombing raid.” There were rumors that the A-10 had carried uranium-coated ammunition. On the internet, you can still find some Remscheid truthers convinced that it was so.
Well, the depleted uranium round was one of the options for the A-10. But "uranium-coated" sounds like a misunderstanding, as if they coated the bullets to spread something radioactive around. But depleted uranium is used because of its density. The fragments are highly toxic though.
From an A-10 site: Using the cannon, the A-10 is capable of disabling a main battle tank from a range of over 6,500m. The cannon can fire a range of ammunition, including armour-piercing incendiary rounds (API) weighing up to 0.75kg, or uranium-depleted 0.43kg API rounds.
- walshemj 9y agoThe du rounds are not highly toxic per se the radiation level is low you might have some problems if you inhaled dust with uranium particles - if for say you where in a tank hit by a du round - then again if you successfully bail out of a brewed up tank any life after that is a bonus. A mate of mine was in GW1 and told a story that he and some mates where investigating a brewed up Iraqi tank - they jumped out when they realised that not all the crew got out and one poor sods boots with feet inside where still in the tank. How ever the German Tungsten squeeze bore rounds used in ww2 also had the same problem and a crashed burning plane probably kicks out a lot of potential nasty chemicals
- Baeocystin 9y agoIs tungsten particularly toxic? I thought it was one of the metals that was comparatively easily eliminated from the body. Also, that squeeze-bore technique sounds like playing with fire by increasing the chance of an overpressure rupture of the barrel. Surprised that it apparently worked so well.
- walshemj 9y agoYes it was designed to get a beater ap performance out of a 50mm round of course there as not that much tungsten available to Germany in ww2 and what was better suited to other uses
- inferiorhuman 9y ago> The du rounds are not highly toxic per se the radiation level is low you might have some problems if you inhaled dust with uranium particles Uranium itself is toxic. It also decays to Radon which is itself toxic.
- nradov 9y agoDepleted uranium doesn't decay. That's kind of the whole point.
- lostlogin 9y agoAgreed, but it isn’t all depleted. And once it is I’d rather not have it around either.
- walshemj 9y agoI am sure a MBT crew would disagree - they want the best round for killing other MBT's
- inferiorhuman 9y agoRight, and uranium itself is toxic aside from its radioactivity. That's my whole point. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium#Effects_and_precautions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium#Effects_and_precaution...
- _0ffh 9y agoWell, it does, but very slowly. Depleted means it contains only a very small percentage of fissible U235. The bulk being made up of U238, which also decays - emitting alpha radiation - but with a half life of ~2.5 billion years.