My Q's on WilliePete got a great response, thank you, but

[floridablue]

I got no information on "Depleted Uranium" in Iraq used shells. What uses it, etc.

Your VN pics were great. I have already passed my 41st anniversary, and you were like spending a six pack worth of Bud at the VFW. Thanks again, for the information. Only in discussion does it sink in to just how little of the whole experience one person is exposed to. Life outside I-Corps is just a dream to me.

[TheWraith]

1. 20mm, 25mm, 30mm, and armor-piercing shells, such as for taking out tanks.

From the aircraft-borne 20mm cannons up to to the 105 and 120mm saboted AP rounds for tank cannons. They're used for the Apache and Cobra helicopter gunships; Harrier and Thunderbolt airplanes; Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and the Abrams tank.

[floridablue]

2. Wow

I had no idea it was to universally used. I thought it was just the Abrams tank.

[TheWraith]

3. Not all rounds in those calibers use depleted uranium, but it's been used in at least some batches.

It's ideal for piercing heavier vehicle armor since it's extremely dense, and also easier to melt and shape than the alternative, which is tungsten-cobalt alloys. Also, while depleted uranium is carcinogenic (as all heavy metals are), tungsten-cobalt and tungsten-nickel-cobalt are far more so.