Subcaliber discarding sabot projectile

Abstract

A subcaliber, spin stabilized, discarding sabot projectile of the type including a projectile body, with a conically tapered tip, and a discardable sabot which completely encloses said projectile body and includes a base portion and a plastic hood portion connected to the base portion, and with the hood portion having an inner conical surface which contacts at least a portion of the conically tapered tip of the projectile body and being provided, on its circumferential surface, with a plurality of symmetrically disposed grooves which extend in the longitudinal direction of said projectile and form desired break locations along which the hood portion tears open into a plurality of segments after firing from a weapon and after the projectile has left the weapon muzzle. The plastic material of the hood portion of the sabot in the bottom of each of the longitudinal grooves, at least in the region of the conically tapered projectile tip, has such a small wall thickness that a given crack formation is already initiated when the discarding sabot projectile is introduced, in rapid succession, into a cartridge chamber of a weapon to cause the material to be slightly separated at the desired break locations.