Shimose powder
Shimose powder (下瀬火薬, Shimose kayaku) was a type of explosive shell-filling developed by the Japanese naval engineer Shimose Masachika (1860–1911).
Shimose, born in
Tokyo Imperial University and became one of Japan's earliest holders of a doctorate in engineering. In 1887, the Imperial Japanese Navy hired him as a chemical engineer, and from 1899 he headed a research unit tasked with developing a more powerful type of shell-filling for use by naval artillery.[1]
Shimose developed a new explosive based on
high explosive available at the time.[2] The Imperial Japanese Navy adopted Shimose powder, with its composition treated as top secret, from 1893 – not only for naval artillery but also for naval mines, depth charges and torpedo warheads. It played an important role in the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905.[3]
References
Look up shimose powder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- ISBN 0-8108-4927-5.
- ^ Koike, Shigeki (2006). "The Russo-Japanese War and the system of SHIMOSE gunpowder" (PDF). Bulletin of Papers (in Japanese). Takasaki City University of Economics. 1 (49).
- ^ "Shimose, Masachika". National Diet Library, Japan. Retrieved 2008-10-01.