shell containing lead pellets that explodes in flight
Lead balls of about 12mm diameter once fired from a carrier-type shell against troops in the open. Invented by Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel (1761 - 1842) in 1784. Originally called 'spherical case'. More details.
Fragments from a projectile containing small pellets such as a bullet or a shell
Metal fragments from shell/bomb explosion
A hollow cast-iron projectile filled with lead bullet set in a sulphur matrix and equipped with a time or percussion fuse that would set off a bursting charge and scatter the balls. "It is thus calculated to extend all the advantages of canister shot, to distances far beyond the reach of that projectile" according to Roberts (p.113). The only practical problem in the way of this theory was the unreliability of Civil War fuses. Shrapnel is often called case shot or spherical case shot.
A shell which bursts in the air and scatters bullets or pieces of metal.
pieces of metal sent flying by an explosion
Shrapnel is the term commonly used to describe the metal fragments and debris thrown out by any exploding object, be it a high explosive (HE) filled shell or a homemade bomb wrapped with nails or ball bearings. The word shrapnel is derived from the name of Major-General Henry Shrapnel (1761–1842), an English artillery officer, whose experiments — initially conducted in his own time, and at his own expense — designed a shell specifically for the purpose. The term "Shrapnel" originally referred only to the the spherical shot or musket balls dispersed when a shrapnel shell bursts, and this is still the technical meaning of the term, although it is now used to describe all types of high velocity debris thrown out from an explosion, and makes no differentiation to the process which created or produced the debris.