Ampulomet on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Ampulomet (russian: 125-мм ампуломёт образца 1941 года, also rendered ''Ampulomyot'', ''ampulla mortar'', etc., lit. "ampule/vial thrower" cf. миномёт) was an expedient
The weapon consisted of an unrifled tube with a crude breech mounted on a Y shaped pedestal which pivoted on
anti-tank weapon
Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...
which launched a 125 mm incendiary projectile made of spherical glass. This weapon was introduced in 1941 and used (to a limited degree) by the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but by 1942 was largely obsolete.
Design
The weapon consisted of an unrifled tube with a crude breech mounted on a Y shaped pedestal which pivoted on trunnion
A trunnion (from Old French "''trognon''", trunk) is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development.
Alternatively, a trunnion is a shaft that positions a ...
s to provide elevation. Two breech mounted inverted horns were provided for traverse/elevation and a simple inclinometer
An inclinometer or clinometer is an measuring instrument, instrument used for measuring angles of slope, elevation, or depression (geology), depression of an object with respect to gravity's direction. It is also known as a ''tilt indicator'', ' ...
for targeting and range calculation. A black powder charge was inserted into the breech and fired by a percussion cap to propel the AZh-2 glass ampule. The ampules were filled with an incendiary mixture known as KS. KS was a mixture of 80% phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
and 20% sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
which ignited when exposed to air. The burning mixture created a bright flame, thick white smoke and would burn for up to three minutes at temperatures between . The burning liquid would seep through vision slots or engine grilles on a tank and ignite ammunition or fuel as well as choke and blind the crew.
See also
Northover Projector
The Projector, 2.5 inch—more commonly known as the Northover Projector—was an ''ad hoc'' anti-tank weapon used by the British Army and Home Guard during the Second World War.
With a German invasion of Great Britain seeming likely after ...
— A similar British weapon used by the Home Guard during World War II
References
{{Commons category, 125 mm ampulomet model 1941 World War II infantry weapons of the Soviet Union 125 mm artillery Grenade launchers of the Soviet Union Incendiary grenades Anti-tank grenades Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1941