What Is an HE Shell? High-Explosive Ammunition Explained

# What Is an HE Shell? High-Explosive Ammunition Explained

Quick answer: An HE (High-Explosive) shell is the most common artillery and tank round. It’s basically a metal pot filled with explosive (typically TNT or RDX-based). When it lands, it explodes — and the metal casing shatters into thousands of high-velocity shrapnel fragments that kill troops and damage soft vehicles in a wide area.

What’s Inside an HE Shell

Part	Job
Casing (steel/cast iron)	Becomes the shrapnel
Filler (explosive)	TNT, Composition B, Comp H6, RDX-mix
Fuse	Triggers detonation (timed, impact, proximity, etc.)
Driving band (copper)	Grips rifling, spins shell for stability
Booster	Small explosive that triggers main charge

A typical 155 mm artillery HE shell weighs about 45 kg and contains 8–10 kg of explosive (TNT or Composition B).

How HE Damages

Two effects, both deadly:

1. Blast (overpressure) — destroys nearby structures and ear drums
2. Fragmentation (shrapnel) — sprays jagged metal pieces at supersonic speed for tens of meters

For infantry without armor or cover, even a 81 mm mortar HE has a lethal radius of ~30 meters. A 155 mm howitzer shell: 50 meters lethal, 100 meters wounding.

Different Fuse Types

The same HE shell with a different fuse becomes a different weapon:

Fuse Type	When It Detonates	Best Used For
Point Detonation	On impact	Hard targets
Delay	Slightly after impact	Bunker-busting
Proximity (VT)	When close to ground/target	Airburst, anti-aircraft
Time	After set seconds	Airburst at known range
Smart / Programmable	Programmable burst	Infantry behind cover

The most lethal vs infantry: proximity-fused airburst about 10 meters above ground. Shrapnel rains down in a 100-meter circle.

HE vs HEAT vs APFSDS

Confusion is common. Here’s the clear chart:

Round	Designed For	Mechanism
HE	Infantry, trucks, buildings	Blast + shrapnel everywhere
HE-Frag	Same, optimized for shrapnel	Pre-fragmented casing
HEAT	Tanks	Focused shaped-charge jet
APFSDS	Tanks	High-velocity dart, kinetic

A modern tank gun fires all of these — different rounds for different missions.

Famous HE Calibers

Caliber	Common Use	Famous Examples
60 mm	Mortars	Light infantry support
81 mm	Mortars	Most NATO mortars
105 mm	Howitzers, old tanks	M119, L7
120 mm	Mortars, modern tanks	M256, RH-120
122 mm	Russian artillery	D-30, 2S1
155 mm	Standard NATO artillery	M777, K9, T-155 Fırtına, M109 Paladin
152 mm	Russian artillery	Msta-S
203 mm	Heavy artillery	M110, 2S7 Pion
240 mm	Russian mortars	2S4 Tyulpan
460 mm	Yamato battleship guns (historic)	WW2 era

Modern Smart HE — Excalibur

Old HE shells were “dumb” — fired in the general direction, hoped for the best. Modern precision-guided artillery uses GPS-corrected HE shells to land within 4 meters of a target.

Famous examples:

M982 Excalibur (USA) — 50+ km range, GPS-guided
BONUS / SMART 155 — submunition with thermal sensor
Vulcano (Italy/Germany) — GPS + IR
Krasnopol (Russia) — laser-guided

Cluster vs Unitary HE

A “unitary” HE is one big shell that explodes once. A “cluster” shell releases dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions over a wider area. Cluster munitions are now banned by the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (110+ countries), but some major militaries (USA, Russia, China, Türkiye) didn’t sign.

Both Ukraine and Russia have used cluster munitions extensively in the 2022–2025 war.

HE in Modern Wars

The 2022–2025 Russia–Ukraine war became the largest artillery war since WWII. Estimates suggest Russia fired 20,000+ shells per day at peak; Ukraine 5,000+. The shell shortage forced Western countries to dramatically expand 155 mm production.

This proved that even in the drone and missile age, HE artillery remains the queen of the battlefield.

HE in Aircraft

Air-dropped bombs: Mk-82 (500 lb), Mk-83 (1,000 lb), Mk-84 (2,000 lb) — basically big HE shells
Aircraft cannons: 20 mm and 30 mm HE rounds for strafing
Air-to-ground missiles: HE warheads for soft targets

A Kid-Friendly Analogy

A HEAT round is like a single sharp needle — pierces one thing precisely. An HE shell is like a glass bottle filled with marbles, dropped on the floor — pieces fly everywhere, hitting everything nearby.

For one tank, you want the needle. For ten soldiers in the open, you want the bottle.