Ammunition facts for kids

Ammunition, often called ammo, is a term for the things used with guns and other weapons to hit a target. It comes from an old French word, la munition, which originally meant all items used for war. This word came from the Latin word munire, meaning "to provide."

Today, ammunition usually means the bullets, projectiles, or other objects that are shot from a gun. It also includes the gunpowder or other special chemicals, called propellants, that make the projectile fly.

The bigger group word for all types of ammunition is munitions. This includes any explosive items used in combat, like bombs, missiles, warheads, and different kinds of mines. These are often made in special factories called munitions factories.

Ammunition is mainly used to attack a target. However, it can also include things like flares, which make bright lights, or incendiary devices, which are designed to start fires.

Since the invention of the cartridge, ammunition has become simpler. A cartridge combines the projectile (the part that hits the target) and its propellant (the chemical that creates the force) into one easy-to-use package.

Ammunition is a complex topic because there are many different types for various weapons. It includes things like explosives and propellants, cartridges, high explosive projectiles (HE), warheads, and special shells designed to attack armored vehicles or aircraft. There are also fuses, mortar ammunition, small arms ammunition (for revolvers and pistols), grenades, mines, and even computer-guided munitions.

Images for kids

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  Different types of ammunition.

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  A belt of 0.50 caliber ammunition loaded into an M2 Browning. Every fifth round (red tips) is an M20 (armor piercing incendiary tracer).

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  Preparing 105mm M119 howitzer ammunition: powder propellant, cartridge, and shell with fuze.

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  The inside of a modern 12.7mm anti-materiel rifle bullet.

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  Female ordnance workers inspecting cartridge cases in Los Angeles, 1943.

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  Various rifle cartridges compared to the height of a US$1 bill.

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  M107 Shells.

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  Modern 120 mm tank gun cartridges with different projectiles.

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  Fourteen-inch ammunition on the deck of a battleship in 1944.

See also

In Spanish: Munición para niños