Product Code Database
Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of trinitrotoluene and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts ammonium nitrate) were known as Schneiderite in France. Amatol was used extensively during World War I and World War II, typically as an explosive in military weapons such as aircraft , shells, , and .Brown, G. I. (1998). The Big Bang: A History of Explosives. Sutton Publishing . pp. 158-163. It was eventually replaced with alternative explosives such as Composition B, Torpex, and Tritonal.
Amatol allowed supplies of TNT to be expanded considerably, with little reduction in the destructive power of the final product, so long as the amount of TNT in the mixture did not fall below 60%. Mixtures containing as little as 20% TNT were for less demanding uses.
TNT is 50% deficient in oxygen. Amatol is oxygen balanced and is therefore more effective than pure TNT when exploding underground or underwater. Relatively unsophisticated cannery equipment can be adapted to amatol production. TNT is gently heated with steam or hot water until it melts, acquiring the physical characteristics of a syrup. Then the correct weight ratio of powdered ammonium nitrate is added and mixed in. Whilst this mixture is still in a Melting state, it is poured into empty bomb casings and allowed to cool and solidify. The lowest grades of amatol could not be produced by casting molten TNT. Instead, flaked TNT was thoroughly mixed with powdered ammonium nitrate and then compressed or extruded.
Amatol ranges from off-white to slightly yellow or pinkish brown depending on the mixture used, and remains soft for long periods of storage. It is hygroscopic, which complicates long-term storage.Davis, Tenney L. (1943) The Chemistry of Powder & Explosives Angriff Press pp.141-153&494 To prevent moisture problems, amatol charges were coated with a thin layer of pure molten TNT or alternatively bitumen. Long-term storage was rare during wars because munitions charged with amatol were generally used soon after manufacture.
Amatol should not be stored in containers made from copper or brass, as it can form unstable compounds sensitive to vibration. Pressed, it is relatively insensitive but may be detonated by severe impact, whereas when cast, it is extremely insensitive. Primary explosives such as mercury fulminate were often used as a detonator, in combination with an explosive booster charge such as tetryl.
The explosive charges hidden in HMS Campbeltown during the St. Nazaire Raid of 1942 contained amatol. The British X class which planted explosive charges beneath the German battleship Tirpitz in September 1943 carried two "saddle charges" containing four Long ton of amatol. Warheads for the German V-1 flying bomb and V-2 rockets also contained amatol.
A derivative of amatol is amatex, consisting of 51% ammonium nitrate, 40% TNT, and 9% RDX (which also has a negative oxygen balance).
Because the proportion of TNT is significantly lower than in its military counterpart, ammonite has much less destructive power. In general, a 30 kilogram charge of ammonite is roughly equivalent to 20 kilograms of TNT.
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