INFO ONLY. NOT FOR SALE. P88-16.JPG
ONE STICK PE4 INERT. British ,
IN THE US IT IS REFERRED to As C4.
C-4 (explosive)
Preparing C-4 explosiveC-4 or Composition C-4 is a common variety of military plastic explosive.
The term composition is used for any stable explosive, and "Composition A" and "Composition B" are other known variants. C-4 is 1.34 times as explosive as trinitrotoluene (TNT)
Composition
C-4 is made up of explosive, plastic binder, plasticizer and, usually, marker or taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane (DMDNB) to help detect the explosive and identify its source.
As with many plastic explosives, the explosive material in C-4 is RDX (cyclonite or cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) which makes up around 91% of the C-4 by weight. The plasticizer is diethylhexyl or dioctyl sebacate (5.3%) and the binder usually is polyisobutylene (2.1%). Another plasticizer used is dioctyl adipate (DOA). A small amount of SAE 10 non-detergent motor oil (1.6%) is also added.
C-4 detonates with a pressure wave of about 8,040 meters per second (26,400 ft/s) equaling 28,900 km/h (18,000 mph).
C-4 is manufactured by combining RDX slurry with binder dissolved in a solvent. The solvent is then evaporated and the mixture dried and filtered. The final material is an off-white solid with a feel similar to modeling clay.
Advantages
A major advantage of C-4 is that it can be molded into any desired shape. C-4 can be pressed into gaps, cracks and voids in buildings, bridges, equipment or machinery. Similarly, it can easily be inserted into empty shaped-charge cases of the type used by special forces.
International usage
When a military team or a commercial demolition company employs C-4 at a demolition site, typically 3 to 5 kg (8 to 10 pounds) of C-4 are used to destroy 20 cm (8-inch) square steel beams. The amount of explosive will deliberately be more than required, leaving a suitable margin for successful completion of the task.
British Military plastic explosive is referred to as PE4. Like C-4, it is an off-white colored solid and its explosive characteristics are nearly identical to C-4. The only difference between C-4 and PE4 is the type and proportion of plasticizer used.
Because C-4 burns slowly when it is ignited with a flame rather than detonated with a primary explosive, soldiers would sometimes during the Vietnam War era use small amounts of C-4 as fuel for heating rations while on long patrols. While many soldiers used C-4 safely in this manner, there are several anecdotes about soldiers attempting to put out the fire by stamping on it — causing it to detonate.
Michael Herr in Dispatches, his famous book about the Vietnam War, relates that a soldier would occasionally ingest C-4 from a claymore mine in order to cause temporary illness and be sent on sick leave. Although the ruse might work with an inexperienced commander, experienced officers were usually aware of the trick and would keep the man on board.
Modern forms of C-4 incorporate a highly toxic tracer chemical which causes death if ingested
