Previously, explosive shells were thick iron containers filled with black powder and fit with a match fuze. Beginning in the mid-19th century, the advent of rifled breech-loading cannons allowed shells to take a more ballistically predictable shape, which could be fit with a percussion cap at the tip. Furthermore, Alfred Nobel's invention of dynamite in 1867 allowed explosive shells to become far stronger and more reliable. High-Explosive shells are the bread and butter of all cannon artillery, and make up anywhere from 50-70% of a regular tank's combat load.
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