Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!leah!bingvaxu!sunybcs!rutgers!bellcore!faline!thumper!ulysses!att!cbnews!wesommer@ATHENA.MIT.EDU From: wesommer@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Sommerfeld) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Caseless weapons. Message-ID: <6186@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 3 May 89 03:12:29 GMT Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Lines: 21 Approved: military@att.att.com From: Bill Sommerfeld Pardon my ignorance about such matters, but a friend described caseless small arms ammunition to me recently, and I had one question about it which he couldn't answer. I assume that the propellant isn't perfect, and hence leaves some solid residue behind after firing. If the propellent is contained in a casing, and the casing is ejected, then the "gunk" which would be in the way of the next round is ejected along with the casing. Without a casing, it seems that hot residues would tend to build up in the chamber, making it possible that a subsequent round would be set off prematurely (perhaps while the breech was still open), which would be a Bad Thing. Does anyone out there know how this problem is dealt with? Thanks in advance. - Bill