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Darts
- Thread starter SG500
- Start date
The grooves around the body of the dart engage the interior bore of the sabot pieces. They look like threads, but in most cases they are grooves. Typically the sabot is cut into 3 or four pieces that circle the dart. The firing gases push the large diameter (full bore) of the sabot. The grooves are just like a buttress thread arranged so that the flat part is on the point side so it pushes the dart forward, but can fall away from centrifugal force and gas pressure once the projo leaves the bore. The forward surface of the sabot is funnel shaped, so it catches the air and opens like a parachute, and the sabot pieces leave the dart. The dart continues on to target. These can't be fired over the heads of troops, as they would get hit by sabot pieces, or from jet aircraft, as the engines would suck in the sabots. Thats why there are a different type of API projos for jet aircraft.
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Lou
Well-Known Member
Well mine was sold to me as a 105 training/practice round.I really dont know alot about them.The main reasons for getting this was,1,it was cheap,and 2,I wanted to locate some sabot peices and put it together for display. I was mistaken however,Ive been looking for 3 years and havent yet been able to find a single set.
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Lou,
Is your dart really heavy for its size, or does it seem like it might be aluminum? There are 3 types, aluminum/ steel practice, Tungsten core, and staballoy (depleted uranium). If yours is really heavy, it will have a teardrop shaped piece of tungsten in the middle.
To find sabot pieces, you would need to find a contact at a scrap yard near a firing range or testing ground, since they are aluminum. They get beat up really bad when they leave the dart and hit the ground, so you need to pick through a bunch to find good ones. They are also serial numbered, but three or four should fit together fairly well. The bad thing is, that there are a number of different diameters of darts, with different grooves, so your dart might not fit the sabots you find. Good luck!
Is your dart really heavy for its size, or does it seem like it might be aluminum? There are 3 types, aluminum/ steel practice, Tungsten core, and staballoy (depleted uranium). If yours is really heavy, it will have a teardrop shaped piece of tungsten in the middle.
To find sabot pieces, you would need to find a contact at a scrap yard near a firing range or testing ground, since they are aluminum. They get beat up really bad when they leave the dart and hit the ground, so you need to pick through a bunch to find good ones. They are also serial numbered, but three or four should fit together fairly well. The bad thing is, that there are a number of different diameters of darts, with different grooves, so your dart might not fit the sabots you find. Good luck!
Lou
Well-Known Member
Yes mine if definently heavy.Way heavyer than steel.Unfired and has a tracer plug in the base.I figured it was a tungsten round.And it looks better in person than in the picture.Thanks for the scrapper info,Ive actually been trying to communicate with someone in Cali about parts but no luck yet. The round has actually kind of a good luck piece.Every time I make contact with some about sabot parts I end up purchasing some other type of ordnance.I do already have a shell for it too.I figured maybe a nice cutaway.
Very nice cutaways Hazord. Are any of them in your collection?
The dart I have is also heavy like Lou's so presumably its got the Tungsten core you mention.
Thanks for the information.
Dave
The dart I have is also heavy like Lou's so presumably its got the Tungsten core you mention.
Thanks for the information.
Dave
Well. since the older sabots were aluminum, as all the photos have shown, they can be anodized in any color, blue for practice or black for AP.
I'm told that the sabots for the newest 120mm APFSDS-T, the really long one, are made from carbon composite, to lower the weight even more, and that would reduce the overhead casualty range also.
The photos I enclosed earlier are off the internet. I will need to take some photos of my stuff in the near future.
Thats some really nice 120 UK APDS stuff in the photos just posted.
John
I'm told that the sabots for the newest 120mm APFSDS-T, the really long one, are made from carbon composite, to lower the weight even more, and that would reduce the overhead casualty range also.
The photos I enclosed earlier are off the internet. I will need to take some photos of my stuff in the near future.
Thats some really nice 120 UK APDS stuff in the photos just posted.
John
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