ABSTRACT

When the projectile has left the environment of the gun, including the effects of the exiting propellant gases that momentarily surround it, it enters the realm of the exterior ballistician. Here, it is subject to the force of the pressure of the atmosphere that it is flying through, the force induced by its spin, and the force due to the acceleration of gravity. The projectile in flight is no longer constrained in lateral motions by the walls of the gun and, as a free body, can develop motions that are complex and occasionally inimical to the intent of its user and, embarrassingly, to its designer. The study of these motions and the progress of the projectile to its target are the subject of this part of the book.