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From ARRSEpedia

High Explosive Squash Head

A type of projectile developed by Dennis Burney in WW2 as a "wall buster" for use against concrete pillboxes and the like. The HESH projectile is usually a very thin-walled shell filled with plastic high explosive.

The shell is fired at the wall, where the explosive spreads out like a cow pat onto the surface. The explosive then detonates, creating extreme stresses in the wall which cause a scab to fly off the far side causing grief for anyone in the room.

It didn't take long for folk to realise that if it has that effect on concrete, it has a similar effect on metal, and it began to be used as an AP projectile. British guns that used HESH include:

• 76mm as used on Scorpion
• 105mm Light Gun
• 105mm as used on Centurion
• 120mm Wombat
• 120mm as used on Chieftain and Challenger
• 165mm as used on AVRE

Due to the increasing use of anti-spall liners on armour, HESH has become less effective.