Editing Flechette

{{Short description|Pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile}}
[[File:Flechettes.jpg|thumb|250px|Examples of various small-arms flechettes (scale in inches)]]

A '''flechette''' or '''flèchette''' ({{IPAc-en|f|l|eɪ|ˈ|ʃ|ɛ|t}} {{respell|fle|SHET|'}}) is a pointed, fin-stabilized steel projectile. The name comes from French {{lang|fr|flèchette}} (from  \''[[wikt:flèche|flèche]]''), meaning "little arrow" or "[[Dart (missile)|dart]]", and sometimes retains the [[grave accent]] in English: '''flèchette'''. They have been used as ballistic weapons since [[World War I]]. Delivery systems and methods of launching flechettes vary, from a single shot, to thousands in a single explosive round. The use of flechettes as antipersonnel weapons has been controversial; however in war is not prohibited by the [[Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907|Hague Convention]].<ref name="Hague">{{cite web |title=Declaration (IV,3) concerning Expanding Bullets. The Hague, 29 July 1899|url= https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/assets/treaties/170-IHL-14-EN.pdf |website= ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/|date=15 April 2025 }}</ref>

==Air-dropped==
{{see also|Lazy Dog (bomb)}}
The weapons were designed to be dropped from an aircraft. They contained no explosive charge but as they fell they developed significant kinetic energy making them lethal and able to easily penetrate soft cover such as jungle canopy, several inches of sand or light armor.{{sfn|Eades|Powers|1964|loc=passim}}{{sfn|Pursglove|1962}}
[[File:Image-Flechettes, probably French, c1914, Royal Armouries, Leeds.jpg|thumb|left|World War I air dropped flechettes, most likely French]]
During World War I, flechettes were dropped from aircraft to attack infantry and were able to pierce helmets.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://av8rblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/dropping-darts-from-an-aeroplane/ |title=Dropping Darts From An Aeroplane |date=12 September 2014 |access-date=29 May 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/03/03/the-flechettes/ |title=WWI Flechettes – The troop piercing arrows dropped from planes onto German trenches |date=3 March 2018}}</ref>

Also during World War II, a version of the flechette with feathers was dropped, and now resides in the Imperial War Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |title=feathered flechette |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30000305 |access-date=2025-02-18 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref>

[[Image:Lazy dog bombs.jpg|thumb|Two designs of the Lazy Dog bomb. (Top: early forged steel design; Bottom: later lathe-turned steel design)]]
Later the U.S. used [[Lazy Dog (bomb)|Lazy Dog bombs]], which are small, unguided [[kinetic projectile]]s typically about {{cvt|1.75|in}} in length, {{cvt|0.5|in|mm}} in diameter, and weighing about {{cvt|0.7|oz}}.{{sfn|Karmes|2014|p={{pn|date=January 2025}}}} Lazy Dog munitions were simple and cheap; they could be dropped in huge numbers in a pass.{{sfn|Pursglove|1962}} Though their effects were often no less indiscriminate than other projectiles,{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}} they did not leave [[unexploded ordnance]] (UXO) that could be active years after a conflict ended. Lazy Dog projectiles were used primarily during the [[Korean War|Korean]] and [[Vietnam War]]s.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Small-arms ammunition==
{{Main article|Needlegun}}
[[File:APS underwater rifle REMOV.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[APS amphibious rifle]]]]
[[File:Steyr-Mannlicher ACR Rifle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Steyr-Mannlicher ACR rifle]]
[[File:Steyr-Mannlicher ACR Cartridge.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Steyr-Mannlicher ACR flechette cartridge]]

The excellent ballistic performance and armor-piercing potential of flechettes have made the development and integration of this class of munition attractive to small-arms manufacturers. A number of attempts have been made to field flechette-firing small arms.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Work at [[Johns Hopkins University]] in the 1950s led to the development of the direct injection antipersonnel chemical biological agent (DIACBA), where flechettes were grooved, hollow pointed, or otherwise milled to retain a quantity of chemical or biological warfare agent to be delivered through a ballistic wound.<ref>''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' May 1975 Vol. 31, No. 5 – 48 pages, "...&nbsp;using deliberately contaminated shrapnel or multiple-flechette – 'beehive' – munitions, as in the now defunct DIACBA development program of the US Army&nbsp;..."</ref> The initial work was with the nerve agent [[VX (nerve agent)|VX]], which had to be thickened to deliver a reliable dose. Eventually this was replaced by a [[EA-4056| highly toxic carbamate insecticide]]. The US Biological Program also had a microflechette to deliver either [[botulinum toxin|botulinum toxin A]] or [[saxitoxin]], the M1 biodart, which resembled a 7.62&nbsp;mm rifle cartridge. The USSR had the [[AO-27 rifle]] as well as the [[APS amphibious rifle]], and other countries have their own flechette rounds.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

A number of prototype flechette-firing weapons were developed as part of the long-running [[Special Purpose Individual Weapon]] (SPIW) project. The [[Steyr ACR|Steyr-Mannlicher ACR rifle]] was a prototype flechette-firing assault rifle built for the US Army's [[Advanced Combat Rifle]] program of 1989–90.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

A variation of the flechette addressing its difficulties is the [[SCMITR]], developed as part of the [[Special Purpose Individual Weapon#Close-Assault Weapon System (CAWS)|Close Assault Weapon System]], or CAWS, project. Selective-fire shotguns were used to fire flechettes designed to retain the exterior ballistics and penetration of standard flechettes, but increase wounding capacity through a wider wound path.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Shotguns===
During the Vietnam War the United States employed 12-[[gauge (bore diameter)|gauge]] [[combat shotgun]]s using flechette loads.<ref>{{cite book |title=Brassey's Encyclopedia of Land Forces and Warfare |first=Franklin D. |last=Margiotta |publisher=Brassey's |year=1996 |isbn=1-57488-087-X}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Arms Uncontrolled |editor-last1=Barnaby |editor-first1=Frank |editor-last2=Huisken |editor-first2=Ronald |edition=2nd |publisher=Harvard University Press for Stockholm International Peace Research Institute |year=1975 |isbn=0-674-04655-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/armsuncontrolled00barn/page/109 109] |url=https://archive.org/details/armsuncontrolled00barn/page/109}}</ref> These plastic-cased shells were issued on a limited trial basis during the Vietnam War. Cartridges manufactured by the [[Western Cartridge Company]] contained 20 flechettes, each {{cvt|18.5|mm}} long and weighing {{cvt|7.3|gr}}; [[Federal Cartridge Company]] rounds contained 25. The flechettes were packed in a plastic cup with granulated white [[polyethylene]] to maintain alignment with the bore axis, and supported by a metal disk to prevent penetration of the over-powder wad during acceleration down the bore. The tips of the flechettes were exposed in the Federal cartridges, but concealed by a conventional star crimp in WCC's cartridges.<ref>{{cite book |last=Di Maio |first=Vincent J.M. |title=Gunshot Wounds |publisher=CRC Press |edition=Second |date=1999 |location=Boca Raton, Florida |page=[https://archive.org/details/gunshotwoundspra00dima/page/320 320] |isbn=0-8493-8163-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/gunshotwoundspra00dima/page/320}}</ref> The flechettes demonstrated flatter trajectories over longer ranges than spherical buckshot, but combat effectiveness did not justify continued production.<ref>Canfield, Bruce N. "Vietnam-Era Military Shotshells" ''[[American Rifleman]]'' July 2015 p. 44</ref>

==Rocket and artillery use==
Smaller flechettes were used in special [[artillery]] shells called "[[Beehive anti-personnel round|beehive]]" rounds (so named after the very distinctive whistling buzz made by thousands of flechettes flying downrange at supersonic speeds) and intended for use against troops in the open – a ballistic shell packed with flechettes was fired and set off by a mechanical time fuse, scattering flechettes in an expanding cone.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

During the Vietnam War 105&nbsp;mm howitzer batteries and tanks (90&nbsp;mm guns) used flechette rounds to defend themselves against massed infantry attacks. The ubiquitous [[M40 recoilless rifle|105&nbsp;mm M40 recoilless rifle]] was primarily used as an [[anti-tank]] [[weapon]]. However, it could also be used in an [[antipersonnel|anti-personnel]] role with the use of flechette rounds. The widely used [[Carl Gustaf 8.4 cm recoilless rifle]] also uses an Area Defence Munition designed as a close-range anti-personnel round. It fires 1,100 flechettes over a wide area.<ref name="LocalSE">{{cite web |title=Peace group slams sale of Swedish 'meat grinder' ammunition |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20110306/32424 |website=www.thelocal.se|date=6 March 2011 }}</ref> The US Air Force used {{cvt|2.75|in}} rockets with WDU-4/A flechette warheads.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The 70&nbsp;mm [[Hydra 70]] rocket currently in service with the US Armed forces can be fitted with an anti-personnel (APERS) warhead containing 1,179 flechettes.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.army-technology.com/projects/hydra-70-rocket-system-us/ |title=Hydra-70 Rocket System - Army Technology |work=Army Technology|access-date=2018-07-03 |language=en-GB}}</ref> They are carried by attack helicopters such as the [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 Apache]] and the [[Bell AH-1 Cobra|AH-1 Cobra]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Israel-Palestine conflict===
Israeli authorities have reportedly used flechettes in [[Gaza Strip|Gaza]] since at least 2001.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Dart bombs 'killed four Palestinians' |language=en-UK |work=BBC |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2225706.stm |access-date=12 January 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Israel using flechette shells in Gaza |language=en-UK |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/20/israel-using-flechette-shells-in-gaza |access-date=12 January 2024 }}</ref>  In 2001, Israeli officials stated that "The Israeli military obtained these weapons from the USA after the 1973 war and we have thousands of old shells in warehouses." <ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rodan |first=Steve |date=22 May 2001 |title=Israel's military debates use of flechette round |magazine=Jane's Defence Weekly |location=UK |publisher=	Janes Information Services}}</ref>

=== Russo-Ukrainian war ===
[[File:Russian flechettes in Sumy Oblast, 30 May 2022 (1).jpg|thumb|Flechettes found in [[Sumy Oblast]] after Russian shelling on 30 May 2022]]
Flechettes have been used during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], where samples of the projectiles were recovered in the mass graves in [[Bucha, Kyiv Oblast|Bucha]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Dozens of Bucha civilians were killed by metal darts from Russian artillery |language=en-UK |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/dozens-bucha-civilians-killed-flechettes-metal-darts-russian-artillery |access-date=24 April 2022 }}</ref> A witness described munitions bursting overhead and littering the area with 3&nbsp;cm flechettes. A British munitions expert reviewed photographs of the flechettes and concluded that they likely came from a 122 mm 3Sh1 artillery round. A speaker for the [[Ukrainian Ground Forces]] stated that Ukraine's military does not use shells with flechettes.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lethal darts were fired into a Ukrainian neighborhood by the thousands |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/18/flechette-projectile-ukraine-russia/ |access-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220418140942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/18/flechette-projectile-ukraine-russia/ |archive-date=18 April 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Kinetic energy penetrator]]
* [[Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Eades |first1=J. B. |last2=Powers |first2=C. |date=1964 |title=Static and Dynamic Stability Studies on Several Lazy Dog Configurations |publisher=[[Naval Ordnance Laboratory]] |url=https://archive.org/details/DTIC_AD0352807 |access-date=27 November 2022 |id=DTIC AD0352807}}
* {{citation |last1=Karmes |first1=David |title=The Patricia Lynn Project: Vietnam War, the Early Years of Air Intelligence |date=2014 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=978-1-4917-5227-2}}
* {{cite journal |last=Pursglove |first= S. David |date=February 1962 |title=Bizarre Weapons for the Little Wars |journal=[[Popular Mechanics]] |volume=117 |issue=2 |pages=107–112 |publisher=Hearst Magazines |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reEDAAAAMBAJ&q=lazy%20dog%20weapon&pg=PA107 |access-date =17 May 2018 |issn=0032-4558}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|flechette}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150418133719/https://www.theguardian.com/graphic/0,,2274464,00.html "How flechettes work"]—''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper
* [http://www.big-ordnance.com/Flechettes/Flechettes.htm Missiles and Flechettes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730214139/http://big-ordnance.com/Flechettes/Flechettes.htm |date=2013-07-30 }}—Pictures of air dropped flechettes, from World War I through the 1970s at big-ordnance.com
* [US7823509B2 - https://patents.google.com/patent/US7823509B2/en Flechette cartridge]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flechette}}
[[Category:Ammunition]]
[[Category:Flechette firearms]]
[[Category:Projectiles]]
[[Category:Shotgun cartridges]]