Korean War United Nations tanks experienced close-range massed infantry attacks from Communist forces. As a consequence a canister-type tank round was introduced to "sweep" enemy infantry off friendly tanks without harming friendly tank crews, who were behind canister-proof armor. UK weapons known to have fielded a canister round are the 76mm and 105mm tank guns and the 120mm MOBAT and WOMBAT recoilless anti-tank guns. Similar multi-projectile ammunition Shrapnel shells were developed from canister during the Napoleonic Wars and were intended to deliver the same canister effect, but at much longer ranges. As a result, its early designation was "spherical case shot". Instead of a tin can filled with metal balls, the shrapnel shells carry a small powder charge to break open the case and disperse the shrapnel. Grapeshot was a geometric arrangement of round shot packed tightly into a canvas bag and separated from the gunpowder charge by a metal disk of full bore diameter. Grapeshot used fewer larger projectiles than were contained within canister or shrapnel shells. Case shot broadly describes any multi-projectile artillery ammunition. The canister round is known as a case, so canister was sometimes called case shot and the term has confusingly become generic for grapeshot and shrapnel shells. However, the term case shot is also used to describe a hollow ball containing a powder charge and bullets. After firing the iron ball the powder would explode, scattering the bullets. See also Beehive anti-personnel round Chain shot Heated shot Field artillery in the American Civil War References Cole, Philip M., Civil War Artillery at Gettysburg, Da Capo Press, 2002, . External links "Tin Canister or Case Shot in the 18th Century" by Adrian B. Caruana The Civil War Artillery Projectile and Cannon Home Page—Several detailed pages on specific types of canister Artillery page—AmericanRevolution.ORG Mardi Gras Shipwreck American Civil War artillery Artillery ammunition Projectiles