The effects of a shaped charge warhead in an armoured personnel carrier. An experimental comparison with a Bosnian incident 1994

Authors:

  • Axelsson Håkan
  • Carlsson Tomas
  • Medin Andrew
  • Olsson Stefan
  • Persson Birgitta
  • Pettersson Ulf
  • Selin Börje

Publish date: 1998-04-09

Report number: FOA-R--98-00742-310

Pages: 64

Written in: Swedish

Abstract

During the UN mission in Bosnia 1994 two Swedish armoured personnel carriers were hit in the front part by an antitank missile with a shaped charge warhead. The vehicles were damaged and the personnel received some minor fragment injuries. One soldier got a permanent threshold shift to an unprotected ear. Some others were paralysed for a short while. Experiments have now been made with a similar shaped charge warhead and with the vehicle instrumented inside for measuring the blast overpressure, light flash, gases and fumes from the penetrating jet of the warhead. The results have been used to compare different risk criteria with the reactions of the personnel.