Shellite (explosive)
file:HMAS Australia 12 inch shells Closeup.JPG|thumb|right|British, 12 inch shells displayed at the Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre. On the right is a Mk 6A Capped Common pointed shell, filled with Shellite 70/30
Shellite is an explosive mixture of picric acid and dinitrophenol or picric acid and hexanitrodiphenylamine in a ratio of 70/30. It was typically used as a filling in Royal Navy armour-piercing shells during the early part of the 20th century.
History
Shellite originated after World War I as a development of lyddite. During the war, lyddite-filled, armour-piercing shells had been found to be shock-sensitive, with a tendency to prematurely detonate upon impact rather than after penetrating the target's armour plate. Shellite was less sensitive, and also had the advantage of a low melting point, that allowed it to be easily melted and poured into shell casings during manufacture. The first trials of shellite took place in 1921, when the British monitor experimentally fired different types of 15 inch (381 mm) shell at, point-blank range against the surrendered German battleship.During World War II, Shellite continued to be used in naval shells. It was used in the British Disney bomb, a type of concrete-piercing bomb.