Back To The BIG Suff

Thanks you guys - for the comments on the 30mm ammunition thread. I dunno why this has gotten under my skin - curiosity has always been a big problem for me. So we have definitive answers on the dimensional differences between the 30mm ammo used by the Warthog and the Apache helicopter. Makes sense: the autocannon on the Hog is a can opener but I *think* the one on the Apache might fire explosive rounds as well...? 

And what has me wondering is this electronic primer business on the shells. The pernicious but  perceptive  PeteF plausibly opines:

"Probably a Piezoelectric primer... Then again, who am I to know? I'm just an aging telephone man..."

Hmpffffff. I did a shallow fact finding mission and don't really know how to pursue this inquiry without ending up on JL's domestic terrorist watch list. It would make sense that info on it is sketchy precisely so that hooligans like me don't get ahold of it, HAR HAR HAR!!! Our gubbimint assholes already live in terror thinking that I can violently overthrow the democratically elected liberal Canadian gubbimint and its armed forces - with a .243 single shot rifle! Whadda fuggin country, eh?

Retards. But I digress: the Innernet Of Things has this to say:

How electric primers on 30mm shells work

Electric primers on 30mm shells work by using an electric current to ignite the propellant within the cartridge. This method is preferred for its reliability and safety, especially in high-g environments. The electric current heats a resistance filament, which in turn ignites the primer explosive train, initiating the firing sequence. The electric primers on 30mm shells are designed to be safe and efficient, making them suitable for military and aircraft applications.

So obviously a filament of some sort sets off the powder that propels the bullet. I'd read that the Hog does not eject spent cases for fear they'll end up in the rear mounted jet engines.  Even I have heard the distinctive "BRRRRRRRRRRTTT!!!" the Hog's cannon makes as it unloads on a target. It literally sounds like a wet fart from a distance because it fires so rapidly. I just marvel at the engineering behind it. To get the filament so hot to set off the powder? The filament must be consumed in the firing process because the primers are not reloadable. And all that has to occur literally in microseconds given the firing rate! I'd love to see a detailed view or schmeatics of the apparatus involved.

Just interesting trivia to keep in mind next time we are reloading for apes like WL and Tiny that go offhand with such weapons at the rod and gun club, I suppose.

Thanks again for all the info, fellas.