Like what I make? Want fewer sponsorship ad reads? Consider contributing to my Patreon at https://patreon.com/OurOwnDevices

Flechettes (French for "small arrows") are fin-stabilized projectiles originally developed in the 1910s to be dropped from aircraft, but which have since been adapted to a variety of weapons systems, from artillery shells and air-launched rockets to shotguns and infantry rifles. In this video, we look at a Vietnam War-era "Lazy Dog" antipersonnel flechette and a pair of tungsten armour-piercing flechettes from a CRV7 unguided rocket and discuss the long and fascinating history of this unusual weapon.

SOURCES:

https://av8rblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/12/dropping-darts-from-an-aeroplane/
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/REL%3A05361
https://www.amnestyusa.org/a-bloodstained-wall-full-of-flechettes/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/18/flechette-projectile-ukraine-russia/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/sask-dundurn-crv-7-rocket-1.6104294