Existing comment:
Flechettes (on the right):
Flechette comes from the French word for small arrow. These small, fin-stabilized missiles are made of hardened steel. Flechettes penetrate extremely well, but since they do not cause extensive tissue damage, they have a low lethality. Flechettes are mostly effective when fired en masse. Experimental flechette-firing small arms have not been successful.
M580 90mm APERS-T warhead, c. 1976:
Modern antipersonnel projectiles known as "beehive" rounds are loaded with thousands of flechettes. They were given the name "beehive" because the flechettes make a sound similar to a swarm of bees when they are fired. This particular warhead is loaded with 4,200 flechettes, each of which is 1-1/8 inches long and 8 grams in weight. The time fuse allows the gunner to select when the flechettes will scatter -- when the round leaves the muzzle or as far as 300 meters from the muzzle. A tracer charge and a yellow dye charge help the gunner track the dispersion cone of the flechettes. |