Laboratory method of pyroxylin, how many grams are taken. Smokeless powder: history of invention, composition, application

Cellulose with nitric acid forms nitrate esters. The cellulose in our experience is ordinary cotton wool. Let's prepare a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids. Dip cotton wool into the mixture; after a while, the cellulose nitration process ends. Let's wash the received nitrocellulose water. Let's dry it. Nitrocellulose burns quickly when ignited. Nitrocellulose used to prepare smokeless gunpowder.

Nitrocellulose- fibrous loose mass white, By appearance similar to cellulose. One of the most important characteristics is the degree of replacement of hydroxyl groups with nitro groups. The best raw materials for the production of nitrocellulose are considered to be long-staple varieties of hand-picked cotton. Machine-picked cotton and wood pulp contain significant amounts of impurities that complicate preparation and reduce product quality. Nitrocellulose is produced by treating purified, loosened and dried cellulose with a mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids, called a nitrating mixture. The concentration of nitric acid used is usually above 77%, and the ratio of acids to cellulose can be from 30:1 to 100:1. The product obtained after nitration is subjected to multi-stage washing, treatment with weakly acidic and slightly alkaline solutions, and grinding to increase purity and shelf life. Drying nitrocellulose - difficult process, sometimes dehydration is used together with drying. Almost all nitrocellulose, after production, is used in the production of various products. If necessary, stored in a damp state with a water or alcohol content of at least 20%.

For the experiment you will need the following reagents:
- Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) 98% concentration
- Nitric Acid (HNO3) 68% concentration
- Vata

Mix the acids in a ratio of 7:3 (70% Sulfuric acid and 30% Nitric acid). I was counting on 300 ml, so I took 90 ml of 68% Nitric acid and added 210 ml of 98% Sulfuric acid. The whole thing warmed up a little and I closed the lid and put it in the freezer. The next day, I prepared ordinary cotton wool (cellulose) and a 500 ml glass + two Petri dishes on the table, one as a stand for the glass, and the second will later act as a lid. After I poured the contents of the bottle into a glass, I began to throw small pieces of cotton wool into it. I threw it until all the cotton wool filled the glass. The point is that all the cotton wool should be saturated with a nitration mixture (Nitrogen and sulfur).
Well, then I put it in the closet (a dark and cool place). This whole thing should be stored for at least 5-6 hours, but it can be a day or two (tested, it doesn’t get any worse). Once I had this in the closet for a week because I didn’t have time to take it out and wash it, and nothing got spoiled. Well, then we wash everything. Of course, we put on gloves on our hands and some kind of rag on our face + Safety glasses! Take the cotton wool out of the glass (in pieces) and quickly rinse it under cold water! It is very important to do everything quickly, since when water gets on the cotton wool, the acid in it heats up and can lead to loss of the product and its quality. The cotton wool begins to turn yellow or even worse, it simply “burns” in hot acid! Therefore, it is important to rinse small portions in order to avoid large amounts of acid, since it is much easier to wash off a small amount than a large one.
After washing, it is recommended to rinse the cotton wool with a solution baking soda, but also, of course, rinse again (from soda). After all these acid rinses, squeeze out the cotton wool thoroughly and dump it on a piece of paper. Then the most important detail - in order for the cotton wool to turn out as it should, it must be squeezed out thoroughly so that it is as airy as it was from the very beginning. In this photo, the cotton wool is still wet, but has already taken on its volume; after it dries, it will be very difficult to distinguish it from ordinary cotton wool, but it burns much better than ordinary cotton wool.

Due to the very high burning rate, it does not have time to burn your hand (the same as holding your finger over a lighter). Of course, first it is tested on an iron plate (or you never know) and only when you see that a piece of this cotton wool burns instantly with a slight pop, you can safely burn it on your palm!

Pyroxylin is a nitration product, i.e. processing cotton or cellulose with nitric acid, resulting in the so-called. nitrofiber. In Russian, the name “Pyroxylin” has taken root for this product, in German - Schiebaumwolle, in English - Pyroxylins or Nitrocotton, in French - La pyroxyline or La nitrocellulose. Externally, pyroxylin has the appearance of a pressed paper fibrous mass of white-gray color.

Pyroxylin as an explosive for blasting operations has not been used anywhere in the world since the Second World War. During the First World War, pyroxylin was used only for loading naval mines and torpedoes, as well as in Russia and Switzerland for loading shells of artillery systems (mainly naval) of large calibers of 152-203 mm.

As a military high explosive, pyroxylin was used from the eighties of the 19th century until the introduction of much safer and more reliable dynamite and melinite into explosive practice.

The last country to use pyroxylin for industrial blasting was Great Britain, which used pyroxylin bombs of various shapes and sizes produced by New-Explosives Co in the development of rocky soils in quarries in the late twenties and early thirties. In the USSR, Finland, and Italy, pyroxylin (obviously from old stocks) was used as military explosives back during the Second World War.

The sensitivity of pyroxylin very much depends on its humidity. Therefore, it is customary to divide it into dry and wet pyroxylin.

Dry pyroxylin contains no more than 3-5% water. It easily ignites from an open flame or the touch of hot metal, drilling, friction, or the impact of a rifle bullet. It burns energetically, but without explosion (if its mass does not exceed 280 kg). However, if heating to 180-190 degrees is carried out quickly, then dry pyroxylin will detonate. Dry pyroxylin (up to a moisture content of 5-7%) explodes reliably from detonator capsule No. 8. Wet but frozen pyroxylin has the same properties.

Wet pyroxylin, which can be used as an explosive, must have a moisture content of 10 to 30%. As humidity increases, its sensitivity decreases. At a humidity of about 50% or more, it completely loses its explosive properties.

When pyroxylin is used as a high explosive, it is advisable for safety reasons to use wet (10-25%) pyroxylin, while it is necessary to use dry pyroxylin (5 percent) with such a charge as an intermediate detonator.

The difficulty of ensuring the required moisture content of pyroxylin within the required limits ultimately led to the abandonment of its use. In addition, it turned out that it is difficult to press explosive charges weighing more than 1 kg from pyroxylin. During pressing, the density inside the charge turns out to be less than in the outer layers.

Pyroxylin was discovered in 1838 by Pelouze, who treated sawdust or paper with nitric acid. He gave the newly discovered compound the name pyroxylin and suggested its use as an explosive. Some historians put forward a different version of the discovery of pyroxylin. According to them, the German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein was the first to report on his discovery in March 1846 at a meeting of the Basel Society of Naturalists.

However, the production of pyroxylin as an explosive was very quickly suspended due to the great danger of its production in factory conditions. Thus, the Hall company, in Faversham, ceased its production due to an explosion in 1847. On October 11, 1865, the fabrication of pyroxylin was banned in Austria due to the terrible explosions in Simmeringerheide near Girtenborg (1862) and Steinfelderheide (1865).

After the dependence of the sensitivity of pyroxylin on humidity was revealed, it turned out to be possible to organize its fairly safe production.

Wet (50%) pyroxylin was pressed under a pressure of 400-2000 kg/sq.m. demolition bombs that had a humidity of 5-6% and a density of 1-1.28 g/cu. cm. Then the checkers were moistened to such an extent (20-30%) that the density was 1.3-1.45 g / cubic meter. cm.. Then the checkers were covered with a layer of paraffin in order to avoid further wetting and loss of detonation ability. However, in dry air conditions there was a danger of pyroxylin drying out, as a result of which its sensitivity increased. In addition, when it dried out, the release of acid and the decomposition of pyroxylin began.

To ensure complete combustion, barium and potassium nitrate were sometimes mixed into the pyroxylin. This mixture was called tonite. Even before the early thirties of the 20th century, explosives of this kind were used in England and Belgium as demolition agents and for naval signal cartridges.

English tonite consisted of 51 parts pyroxylin, 49 parts barium nitrate. Belgian tonite from 50 parts of pyroxylin, 37.5 parts of barium nitrate, 12.5 parts of potassium nitrate. Instead of barium nitrate during the First World War, sodium nitrate was also used in English tonite, and this mixture, which was close in effect to gelatin dynamite, was called sengit.

Dry pyroxylin explodes when a 2 kg load falls on it. from a height of 10 cm or 10 kg. from a height of 2 cm. It does not explode when shot by a bullet. Ignition temperature is 196-200 degrees. Combustion can turn into an explosion if more than 280 kg are burning at the same time. Detonation speed 6300 m/sec (TNT 6700). Brisance 79803 m/liter*sec. (TNT 86100). High explosiveness 3 mm. (TNT 3.6). Sensitive to friction. In terms of brisance and explosiveness, it is quite close to TNT.

In the Russian Army during the First World War, pyroxylin was used in sapper work in the form of checkers of four sizes. These checkers were in tin cases, the joints of which with the lids were coated with wax, or these checkers were simply coated with wax or doused with molten paraffin.

Large-caliber shells (152-203 mm) filled with pyroxylin were also stored in naval coastal batteries.

The Red Army used pyroxylin bombs of four sizes until its pre-revolutionary reserves were used up in 1942.

Checkers made of dry pyroxylin (humidity 5%) had sockets for standard No. 8 detonator caps and were called ignition caps. The bombs made of wet pyroxylinine (10-25%) did not have ignition sockets and had to be used with intermediate detonators made from the same dry bombs.

1. Pyroxylin block of cubic shape. Weight 400 grams. Dimensions 6.5 by 6.5 and 5.5 cm.
2. Pyroxylin checker of twelve-sided shape. Weight 250 grams. height 5 cm. Diameter of circumscribed circle 8 cm.
3. Pyroxylin checker of twelve-sided shape. Weight 120 grams. height 4.5 cm. Diameter of circumscribed circle 5.5 cm.
4. Pyroxylin block of cylindrical shape. Weight 60 grams. Height 7 cm. Diameter 3 cm.

The production of pyroxylin in the USSR was discontinued back in the twenties. During the war, all the pyroxylin produced before the revolution and in the twenties was used up, and it was not produced again.

Italian sappers on the Eastern Front used cylindrical bombs made of dry pyroxylin weighing 30 grams (Fulmicotone). Diameter 3 cm, length 4 cm. They were wrapped in paraffin paper.

The Finnish army used pyroxylin charges (Dionkit) made of wet pyroxylin of various sizes and weights, cylindrical in shape with rounded ends, as demolition charges. The dimensions, which coincide with the internal diameters of large-caliber artillery shells, suggest that these were explosive charges removed from artillery shells.

From the author. This assumption is very reasonable. It is known that before the end of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Russian naval and coastal artillery shells of large calibers were filled with pyroxylin, in contrast to Japanese shells, which were filled with melinite. During the Tsushima naval battle, explosions of trouble-free Japanese shells, in addition to direct high-explosive and fragmentation effects, poisoned Russian sailors poisonous gases(combat agent) formed during the explosion of melinite. Russian shells, equipped with pyroxylin that had become damp during the long journey from Kronstadt to the Tsushima Strait, had up to 65% failure rates. This was one of the reasons for the defeat in the Battle of Tsushima. After the Russo-Japanese War, all pyroxylin shells were removed from ships and transferred to coastal artillery, where storage conditions ensured the maintenance of the required humidity and had to be gradually reloaded with other explosives.

By the time Finland gained independence in 1918, coastal batteries that found themselves in new country, was still preserved a large number of pyroxylin shells. Apparently, the economic Finns replaced the pyroxylin in the shells with other explosives, and handed over the confiscated pyroxylin to their sappers.

Currently, it is almost impossible to find pyroxylin anywhere, since it is not manufactured anywhere, and perhaps the preserved filling of shells from the First World War, pyroxylin bombs from the Second World War have already decomposed. Gunpowder based on pyroxylin is currently used very widely as propellant charges for bullets. small arms and artillery shells.

Notes in the margins. The production of pyroxylin requires acutely scarce nitric acid, cotton, and corresponding equipment, which is loaded to capacity with the production of smokeless pyroxylin powder, which is urgently needed in the production of small arms cartridges and the production of artillery ammunition.

And at the same time, the produced explosive pyroxylin needs constant and careful monitoring. Either it became too wet and doesn’t want to explode, or it dried out and began to decompose. And by the beginning of the Second World War, there were much more reliable explosives, which were also much cheaper to produce. The same dynamite, melinite, TNT, ammonium nitrate and its derivatives.

• Articles » Ammunition
• Mercenary 9003 0

Gunpowder is an integral element that is used to load cartridges. Without the invention of this substance, humanity would never have known about firearms.

But few people are familiar with the history of gunpowder. And it turns out that it was invented completely by accident. And then for a long time they were used only for launching fireworks.

The emergence of gunpowder

This substance was invented in China. No one knows the exact date of the appearance of black powder, which is also called black. However, this happened around the 8th century. BC. In those days, the emperors of China were very concerned about their own health. They wanted to live long and even dreamed of immortality. To achieve this, the emperors encouraged the work of Chinese alchemists who tried to discover a magical elixir. Of course, we all know that humanity never received the miraculous liquid. However, the Chinese, showing their persistence, conducted many experiments, mixing a variety of substances. They did not lose hope of fulfilling the imperial order. But sometimes the tests ended in unpleasant incidents. One of them occurred after alchemists mixed saltpeter, coal and some other components. A researcher unknown to history received flames and smoke while testing a new substance. The invented formula was even recorded in the Chinese chronicle.

For a long period of time, black powder was used only for fireworks. However, the Chinese went further. They stabilized the formula of this substance and learned to use it for explosions.

In the 11th century The first gunpowder weapon in history was invented. These were combat missiles, in which the gunpowder first ignited and then exploded. These gunpowder weapons were used during sieges of fortress walls. However, in those days it had more of a psychological effect on the enemy than a damaging effect. The most powerful weapon that ancient Chinese explorers came up with were clay hand bombs. They exploded and showered everything around with fragments of shards.

Conquest of Europe

From China, black powder began to spread throughout the world. It appeared in Europe in the 11th century. It was brought here by Arab merchants who sold rockets for fireworks. The Mongols began to use this substance for combat purposes. They used black gunpowder to take the previously impregnable castles of the knights. The Mongols used a fairly simple, but at the same time effective technology. They made a tunnel under the walls and planted a powder mine there. Exploding, these military weapons easily made a hole even in the thickest barriers.

In 1118, the first cannons appeared in Europe. They were used by the Arabs during the capture of Spain. In 1308, gunpowder cannons played a decisive role in the capture of the Gibraltar fortress. Then they were used by the Spaniards, who adopted these weapons from the Arabs. After this, the production of gunpowder guns began throughout Europe. Russia was no exception.

Obtaining pyroxylin

Black powder until the end of the 19th century. they loaded mortars and squeaks, flintlocks and muskets, as well as other military weapons. But at the same time, scientists did not stop their research to improve this substance. An example of this is the experiments of Lomonosov, who established a rational ratio of all components of the powder mixture. History also remembers the unsuccessful attempt to replace the scarce nitrate with berthollet salt, which was undertaken by Claude Louis Bertholet. This replacement resulted in numerous explosions. Berthollet salt, or sodium chlorate, turned out to be a very active oxidizing agent.

A new milestone in the history of gunpowder production began in 1832. It was then that the French chemist A. Bracono first obtained nitrocellulose, or priroxiline. This substance is an ester of nitric acid and cellulose. The latter molecule contains a large number of hydroxyl groups, which react with nitric acid.

The properties of pyroxylin have been studied by many scientists. So, in 1848, Russian engineers A.A. Fadeev and G.I. Hess found that this substance was several times more powerful than the black powder invented by the Chinese. There were even attempts to use pyroxylin for shooting. However, they ended in failure, since the porous and loose cellulose had a heterogeneous composition and burned with difficulty. constant speed. Attempts to compress pyroxylin also ended in failure. During this process, the substance often caught fire.

Obtaining pyroxylin powder

Who invented smokeless powder? In 1884, the French chemist J. Viel created a monolithic substance based on pyroxylin. This is the first smokeless powder in the history of mankind. To obtain it, the researcher used the ability of pyroxylin to increase in volume while in a mixture of alcohol and ether. This produced a soft mass, which was then pressed, made into plates or strips, and then dried. The main part of the solvent evaporated. A small volume of it was preserved in pyroxylin. It continued to function as a plasticizer.

This mass is the basis of smokeless powder. Its volume in this explosive is about 80-95%. Unlike previously obtained cellulose, pyroxylin powder showed its ability to burn at a constant speed strictly in layers. That is why it is still used for small arms.

Benefits of the new substance

Viel's white powder was a real revolutionary discovery in the field of firearms. And there were several reasons explaining this fact:

1. Gunpowder produced virtually no smoke, whereas the previously used explosive significantly narrowed the fighter’s field of vision after just a few shots fired. Only strong gusts of wind could get rid of the clouds of smoke that appeared when using black powder. In addition, the revolutionary invention made it possible not to give away the fighter’s position.

2. Viel's gunpowder allowed the bullet to fly out at greater speed. Because of this, its trajectory was more straight, which significantly increased the shooting accuracy and its range, which was about 1000 m.

3. Due to the greater power characteristics, smokeless powder was used in smaller quantities. Ammunition became significantly lighter, which made it possible to increase their quantity when moving an army.

4. Equipping the cartridges with pyroxylin allowed them to fire even when wet. Ammunition based on black powder had to be protected from moisture.

Viel's gunpowder was successfully tested in the Lebel rifle, which was immediately adopted by the French army. Other European countries rushed to apply the invention. The first of these were Germany and Austria. New weapons were introduced in these states in 1888.

Nitroglycerin powder

Soon, researchers obtained a new substance for military weapons. It became nitroglycerin smokeless powder. Another name for it is ballistitis. The basis of such smokeless gunpowder was also nitrocellulose. However, its amount in the explosive was reduced to 56-57 percent. In this case, liquid trinitroglycerin served as a plasticizer. Such gunpowder turned out to be very powerful, and it is worth saying that it still finds its use in missile forces and artillery.

Pyrocollodion powder

At the end of the 19th century. Mendeleev proposed his recipe for a smokeless explosive. A Russian scientist has found a way to obtain soluble nitrocellulose. He called it pyrocollodium. The resulting substance released maximum amount gaseous products. Pyrocollodion powder has been successfully tested in guns of various calibers, which were carried out at a naval test site.

However, this is not the only contribution of Lomonosov to military affairs and the production of gunpowder. He made important improvements in the technology for producing explosives. The scientist suggested dehydrating nitro-fiber not by drying, but by using alcohol. This made gunpowder production safer. In addition, the quality of the nitro-fiber itself was improved, since less persistent products were washed out of it with the help of alcohol.

Modern use

Currently, gunpowder, which is based on nitrocellulose, is used in modern semi-automatic and automatic weapons. Unlike black powder, it leaves virtually no solid combustion products in gun barrels. This made it possible to automatically reload weapons when using a large number of moving mechanisms and parts.

Various varieties of smokeless powder are the main part of the propellant explosives used in small arms. They are so widespread that, as a rule, the word “gunpowder” means smokeless. The substance, invented by ancient Chinese alchemists, is used only in flare guns, grenade launchers and some cartridges intended for shotguns.

As for the hunting environment, it is customary to use a pyroxylin variety of smokeless gunpowder. Nitroglycerin types are only sometimes used, but they are not particularly popular.

Compound

What are the components of the explosive used in hunting? The composition of smokeless powder has nothing to do with its smoky appearance. It mainly consists of pyroxylin. It is 91-96 percent in the explosive. In addition, hunting powder contains from 1.2 to 5% of volatile substances such as water, alcohol and ether. To increase stability during storage, 1 to 1.5 percent diphenylamine stabilizer is included. Phlegmatizers slow down the burning of the outer layers of powder grains. They range from 2 to 6 percent in smokeless hunting powder. A small part (0.2-0.3%) consists of flame retardant additives and graphite.

Form

Pyroxylin, used for the production of smokeless powder, is treated with an oxidizing agent, the basis of which is an alcohol-ether mixture. The end result is a homogeneous jelly-like substance. The resulting mixture is subjected to mechanical processing. The result is a granular structure of the substance, the color of which varies from yellow-brown to pure black. Sometimes within the same batch a different shade of gunpowder is possible. To give it a uniform color, the mixture is treated with powdered graphite. This process also makes it possible to level out the stickiness of grains.

Properties

Smokeless powder is distinguished by its ability to produce uniform gases and burn. This, in turn, when changing the size of the fraction allows for control and regulation of combustion processes.

Among the attractive properties of smokeless powder are the following:

Low hygroscopicity and insolubility in water;
- greater effect and purity than its smoky counterpart;
- preservation of properties even at high humidity;
- possibility of drying;
- absence of smoke after the shot, which is fired with a relatively quiet sound.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that white powder:

When fired, it emits carbon monoxide, which is dangerous to humans;
- reacts negatively to temperature changes;
- promotes faster wear of weapons due to the creation high temperature in the trunk;
- must be stored in sealed packaging due to the possibility of weathering;
- has a limited shelf life;
- may be a fire hazard at high temperatures;
- not used in weapons whose passport indicates this.

The oldest Russian gunpowder

Hunting cartridges have been equipped with this explosive since 1937. Sokol gunpowder has a fairly high power that meets developed world standards. It should be noted that the composition of this substance was changed in 1977. This was done due to the establishment of stricter regulations for this species explosive elements.

Gunpowder "Falcon" is recommended for use by novice hunters who prefer to independently load cartridges. After all, this substance can forgive them a mistake with the weight. Sokol gunpowder is used by many domestic cartridge manufacturers, such as Polyex, Fetter, Azot and others.

The year 1846 became a turning point at the junction of two eras of European civilization: chemists and humanists proposed replacing the good old black gunpowder with two creatures of hell - nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose. The first gave the world dynamite and nitroglycerin gunpowder, the second - high explosive pyroxylin and pyroxylin gunpowder. As a result, the war finally lost its flair of romance and gentlemanliness.

Yuri Veremeev

In 1905, shells from naval guns of 6 inches and larger caliber were stuffed with pyroxylin. Yellow a charge made of wet (10%) pyroxylin is indicated; dark yellow indicates an intermediate detonator made of dry (5%) pyroxylin. The fuse socket is located in the screw bottom of the projectile. This design was determined by the fact that the pyroxylin charge was made according to the shape and size of the internal cavity, inserted into the projectile, and then the bottom was screwed in

During the First World War, pyroxylin was already used only where complete tightness could be ensured - mainly in torpedoes and sea mines

In World War I, the majority European countries abandoned the use of pyroxylin as an explosive filling for shells, opting for the poisonous, but safer in the manufacture of picric acid

Pyroxylin in shells remained only in Russia and Switzerland. And only because large reserves of this substance have been accumulated

In 1832, the chemist Braccono decided to see what would happen if nitric acid was used to attack the starch and fiber that make up wood. The acid dissolved these substances well, and when water was added to the solution, a precipitate formed. When dried, it was a powder that burned very well. The Parisian chemist Pelouz (later Nobel’s teacher) became interested in Braccono’s experiments. But, like Braccono, Pelouz did not attach any importance to the discovery of nitrocellulose. This substance was officially reported by the German chemist Christian Friedrich Schönbein in March 1846 at a meeting of the Basel Society; He called the resulting version of nitrocellulose pyroxylin.

First steps

They say that Shenbein invented pyroxylin by accident. Spill in the laboratory nitric acid, he allegedly wiped up the puddle with his wife's cotton apron, and then hung it up to dry by the stove. Once dry, the apron exploded. But this is a legend.

In fact, Schönbein was engaged in research on nitrocellulose purposefully, and this version of it was called Schiebaumwolle (“shooting cotton”; the name remained with pyroxylin in German). And although it was Shenbein who discovered the ability of pyroxylin to explode, his goal was to replace black smoky powder (at present, pyroxylin, along with nitroglycerin, remains the main component of smokeless powder).

When Schönbein made his famous report, the first gun shots with a new type of gunpowder had already been fired at the Kummersdorf training ground. It seemed that the world was on the verge of industrial production of pyroxylin gunpowder. But from the very beginning, pyroxylin, like nitroglycerin, showed its devilish character and rebellion. Making new gunpowder turned out to be just as dangerous as making nitroglycerin. Pyroxylin workshops exploded one after another.

The pyroxylin baton was taken over from Schönbein by the Austrian artilleryman Lenk, who determined that only a poorly washed product decomposes and explodes during storage. But it was too late: the Austrian emperor banned experiments with this dangerous substance. The work was continued in 1862 by the Englishman Friedrich Abel, who in 1868 managed to obtain pressed pyroxylin. The method was reminiscent of paper production. When wet, pyroxylin is completely safe. Abel crushed it in water, after which he formed sheets, bars and checkers. Then the water was squeezed out.

These products could already be used as high explosives. But commercial success was undermined by competition from the newly introduced Nobel dynamite, which was much more powerful than pyroxylin and much cheaper.

Safe explosive

Pyroxylin was appreciated only by the military, whose requirements for explosives were very different from the requirements for commercial use. Pyroxylin is stable in storage, does not decompose, and such dangerous nitroglycerin is not released from it, like from dynamite. Pyroxylin can be stored for decades without the slightest change, which means it can be created in advance in case of war required stock shells. The properties of pyroxylin are not affected by frost, while frozen dynamite becomes very dangerous. When wet, pyroxylin can be screwed, cut, sawed, or shaped into any shape—a property that is especially valuable for use in projectiles. It can be pressed, squeezing the water out of it and bringing it to the desired degree of sensitivity.

From an open flame, pyroxylin only ignites and burns without explosion, which is especially valuable on ships. After all, even black powder sent many ships to the bottom. Even in the days of the sailing fleet, the cruise chamber (the compartment of the ship where gunpowder was stored) was the most protected place from fire and the slightest spark.

Pyroxylin usually does not explode when shot by a bullet, while dynamite does so more than willingly. This property, completely insignificant for commercial explosives, has become extremely important in military applications.

Capricious competitor

In the last quarter of the 19th century, artillery shells, naval torpedoes and mines began to be filled with pyroxylin. However, with the advent of TNT and melinite, pyroxylin quickly disappeared from the arena. But why? The fact is that, despite all its positive qualities, pyroxylin is still significantly inferior to melinite, and especially TNT, in ease of use, safety and preservation.

First of all, pyroxylin is very capricious in terms of humidity. At a humidity of about 50% or more, it completely loses its explosive properties. On the other hand, when the moisture content drops below 3%, the pyroxylin “dries out” and begins to decompose. At a humidity of 5-7%, pyroxylin readily explodes from a standard detonator capsule No. 8; at 10-30%, an intermediate detonator is required for an explosion - a block of pyroxylin with a humidity of 5-7%. Such a strong dependence of explosives on humidity required constant and careful monitoring and the creation of special conditions. Even in warehouse conditions, this task is very difficult: you need warm rooms with good ventilation, with air dehumidifiers, which is often impossible to provide in front-line conditions.

The situation was partially resolved this way: after manufacturing, the checkers were brought to the required humidity, and then carefully covered with a layer of paraffin. However, even in this case, careful control was required. The dependence of pyroxylin on humidity played a cruel joke on the Russian squadron, which in 1905 sailed from Kronstadt to the rescue of Port Arthur, besieged by the Japanese.

Sinister contribution

Everyone believed that the pyroxylin in the shells was sufficiently protected from moisture. However, for safety reasons, the shells were stored without fuses, and moisture penetrated into the pyroxylin through the fuses. And in conditions of many months of sailing across two oceans, it was simply impossible to maintain the required humidity.

The Japanese shells were equipped with the then newfangled melinite, called shimose after the name of the inventor (Shimoze). Melinite is completely insensitive to dampness and explodes reliably in any conditions. In addition, when a shimosa explodes, a large amount of poisonous gases with a suffocating effect is released, in fact, a real chemical warfare agent.

After the Battle of Tsushima in Russia, it was fashionable to blame for this severe defeat at sea, unprecedented for the Russian navy, “mediocre admirals, stuck in the era of the sailing fleet,” “evil officers,” whose “only means of training and educating sailors was the fist ", incompetent royal shipbuilders. But careful examination by specialists of the combat maneuver schemes of both squadrons each time led to the conclusion that Admiral Rozhdestvensky did not make significant mistakes, and the level of design of the Russian ships was approximately equal to the Japanese ones. But more than 60% of the shells filled with damp pyroxylin did not explode when they hit Japanese ships, while the Japanese ones, with shimosa, exploded when they hit the water, showering Russian sailors with fragments and enveloping them in poisonous gases.

Many historians, without bothering to study the design of the shells, argue that the explosive charge of Russian shells was too small. In fact, the Japanese, not having enough armor-piercing shells, simply shot with what they had - mostly high-explosive fragmentation shells, the charge of which was, naturally, much larger. Other authors blame the supposedly bad fuses of Russian shells, not knowing that the fuse of an armor-piercing shell should fire with a delay when the shell penetrates the armored space, where the explosion is especially destructive and terrible, since it destroys the mechanisms and destroys the crew. It is worth noting that the “Filimonov pipe” of the 1884 model, reviled after Tsushima, subsequently proved itself to be excellent during the First World War.

Japanese "shimozas", exploding at the sides and on the decks of Russian ships, incapacitated sailors on the decks, destroyed superstructures and caused fires, but if not for damp pyroxylin, then the explosions of Russian armor-piercing shells inside vital compartments protected by armor would have caused much more terrible destruction. And although pyroxylin in Russian shells was not the only or even the main reason for the defeat, it made a fairly significant contribution to the tragedy of the Russian fleet.

This was one of the reasons that pyroxylin began to disappear from the stage very quickly. As the patriarch of explosives, the German professor Kast, wrote in his book Spreng und Zuendstoffe, published in 1921 in Berlin, already during the First World War, pyroxylin was used only in torpedoes and sea mines (where complete tightness was ensured), and only in Switzerland and Russia used it in shells of large calibers (152-210 mm), and only because at one time too large reserves of them were created.

Russian way

Why did pyroxylin turn out to be a more popular high explosive in Russia than in European countries? Why did both Japan and Europe choose to use poisonous picric acid (melinite)? Everyone who worked with melinitis noted that within a few hours they observed headache, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat and even loss of consciousness.

Ironically, one of the culprits of the Tsushima defeat turned out to be the great Russian chemist D.I. Mendeleev. He solved the main problem of making pyroxylin - how to make it dry safely. The great Russian chemist proposed dehydrating pyroxylin with alcohol, after which the alcohol evaporated on its own in the open air. In this way, the most dangerous stage was avoided, and already in 1880, according to the project of M. Cheltsov and naval lieutenant Fedorov, a plant for the production of pyroxylin using the Mendeleev method was launched.

First of all, this explosive was needed by the fleet, where by this time a clear discrepancy between the power of battleships and the range of naval guns with amazing abilities shells filled with black powder. Thus, at this moment Russia was ahead of Europe in artillery affairs.

In addition, Colonel A.R. Shulyachenko, studying the properties of dynamite in 1876, came to the conclusion that its use in sapping was dangerous due to its tendency to detonate from an air shock wave during close explosions of other charges or artillery shells. According to his proposal, back in 1896, the Russian military engineering department decided to exclude dynamite from the explosive materials supply sheets for sapper battalions and replace it with pyroxylin.

In Europe, where attempts to produce pyroxylin began much earlier than in Russia, and where numerous explosions of pyroxylin production took place, these explosives were treated with distrust and preferred to begin production of picric acid, albeit poisonous, but safe to make (in England in 1888 under the name "lyddite", in France in 1886 under the name "melinite"). However, it cannot be said that pyroxylin was not used at all in Europe.

In England, the so-called tonite was made (a mixture of 51% pyroxylin and 49% barium nitrate). This explosive was used as a sapper and in naval demolition cartridges. Belgian tonite contained 50% pyroxylin, 38% barium nitrate and 12% potassium nitrate. And during the First World War, the British made sengit (50% pyroxylin and 50% sodium nitrate).

In Russia, mass production of pyroxylin began in 1880 and large reserves were accumulated, so during the First World War it was used as sapper explosives. Pyroxylin was supplied to the troops in the form of pressed blocks that looked like hexagonal prisms. The large checker (250−280 g) had a height of 50.8 mm and fit into a circle with a diameter of 82 mm, the small checker (120 g) was 47 mm and 53 mm, respectively. So-called drill blocks (56 g, 70 mm high) were also made, the diameter of which coincided with the diameter of the hole punched by the drill in the stone (30 mm). They were used to crush stone and loosen frozen soil.

All these checkers were divided into ignition and working ones. The first contained 5% moisture and had drilled holes for the detonator cap. For the latter, the humidity reached 20-30%, and they did not have slots for detonator capsules. The charge was made from working blocks, and one ignition block was placed in its center. The incendiary tube (a detonator capsule with a piece of fuse cord) was inserted into it - this ensured the safety of blasting operations. And yet, the time of pyroxylin was already running out; it was being replaced by melinite and TNT.

Today, few people remember about pyroxylin, with the exception of historians studying the military events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The author came across the latest mentions of pyroxylin in the Soviet manual on enemy mine explosives, published in 1943, where it is written that Italian sappers on the Soviet-German front used cylindrical bombs (weighing 30 g, diameter 3 cm and length 4 cm) made of dry pyroxylin, wrapped in paraffin paper. The Finnish army used cylindrical charges made of wet pyroxylin as demolitions. The coincidence of sizes suggests that these were explosive charges removed from obsolete large-caliber artillery shells of the tsarist army. The Red Army apparently last used pyroxylin as a sapper explosive at the beginning of World War II. This is mentioned in the Soviet book on explosive means, published in 1941, and in the German leaflet on captured mine-explosive means, published in January 1942. Judging by the shape and size of the checkers, these were also remnants of pre-revolutionary pyroxylin stocks.

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