The explosive filled in these shells is fairly significant amount of their mass.
Not really - the explosive charge is less than half an ounce when the whole shell (the projectile part, not including the cartridge casing and the propellant) is about 3.5 ounces. So the explosive charge is about 10% of the weight of the shell.
when the cases of ammunition are 20% lighter than they should be
The entire cartridge weighs about 11 ounces, so a cartridge with an empty charge cavity would be only about 2-3% lighter than normal. A case would also include the belt(s) and the weight of the box, so a case of sabotaged cartridges would be almost imperceptibly lighter than normal, with a difference probably less than 1%.
I agree that story is likely bullshit, but not for that particular reason. I don’t see why workers would risk calling added attention to their sabotage by putting little notes into each shell - not to mention the writer’s cramp this would produce.
Not really - the explosive charge is less than half an ounce when the whole shell (the projectile part, not including the cartridge casing and the propellant) is about 3.5 ounces. So the explosive charge is about 10% of the weight of the shell.
The entire cartridge weighs about 11 ounces, so a cartridge with an empty charge cavity would be only about 2-3% lighter than normal. A case would also include the belt(s) and the weight of the box, so a case of sabotaged cartridges would be almost imperceptibly lighter than normal, with a difference probably less than 1%.
I agree that story is likely bullshit, but not for that particular reason. I don’t see why workers would risk calling added attention to their sabotage by putting little notes into each shell - not to mention the writer’s cramp this would produce.