Patrick Senft
Editor’s Note: This blog post is linked to entries in the Open-source Munitions Portal (OSMP), a joint project between ARES and Airwars, available at https://osmp.ngo/.
OSMP Entry Nos. 644, 645, 646 & 647
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has spawned an ecosystem of Russian- and Ukrainian-language military bloggers who share their views on the war with large numbers of followers on social media—most notably Telegram. These commentators often claim to be on the front line or in direct contact with soldiers who are, and therefore often provide information rapidly and with greater immediate detail than traditional news media outlets. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the insights provided are generally unreliable and often support one side of the conflict, depending on the identity of the user. Nevertheless, military bloggers play a critical information warfare role, including supporting recruitment, acquiring donations, and shaping public perception of the war.
On 18 July 2024, the popular Russian military blogger Archangel of the Special Forces Z (‘Архангел Спецназа Z’) published a brief manual on countering exposure to chemical weapons. This manual gives general advice on decontamination and avoiding exposure to chemical agents. However, it also purports to show an example of Ukrainian armed forces using chemical munitions (see Figure 1). In reality, the munition depicted is a standard German DM 105 155 mm artillery gun projectile. Nevertheless, according to the War in Ukraine: Military Blogger Dashboard, the Archangel of the Special Forces Z telegram channel had amassed close to 14.5 million views by 22 July, and several other military bloggers had spread the manual even further.
The images shown in the manual originate from a Telegram post by another Russian military blogger posted three days before the manual’s publication, on 15 July 2024. This post features the same images as those in the Archangel manual, as well as a video of a cargo projectile expelling four objects trailing smoke in mid-air (see Figure 2).
As noted, what the Russian bloggers claim to be a chemical weapon was, in reality, a correctly functioning 155 mm DM 105 smoke projectile. The DM 105 projectile was developed in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s and is a conventional base-ejection artillery gun carrier projectile. It consists of a 155 mm separate-loading carrier body fitted with a time fuze and loaded with four DM 1216 smoke elements (‘smoke pots’). When the nose-mounted time fuze functions, it initiates a black powder ignition train, which functions an expelling charge that causes the smoke elements to be ejected through the base of the munition. Each of these four elements is then ignited by a central flash tube before falling to earth.
The smoke elements consist of a metal cylinder filled with a hexachloroethane/zinc (HC) white smoke mixture. Each unit begins to emit significant quantities of smoke around 4.5 seconds after expulsion and continue to do so for about 3 to 3.5 minutes (depending on circumstances). The resulting smokescreen can measure up to 200 m long, 50 m wide, and 10 to 15 m high, obscuring all visible light (0.4-0.7 µm).
In the example shown in the Archangel manual, the use of a DM 105 projectile can be positively identified by the markings visible on one of the smoke elements (see Figure 3). Each smoke canister carries the marking “NBK DM 1216”—the ‘NBK’ standing for the German Nebelkörper (‘smoke element’)—followed by a marked LOS number. Both markings are visible with the LOS number reading “BCK –2– 24” (see Figure 4). Thus, the four objects seen trailing smoke in the video and Figure 2 are the four DM 1216 smoke elements being ejected and falling to the ground.
In the example shown in the Archangel manual, the use of a DM 105 projectile can be positively identified by the markings visible on one of the smoke elements (see Figure 3). Each smoke canister carries the marking “NBK DM 1216”—the ‘NBK’ standing for the German Nebelkörper (‘smoke element’)—followed by a marked LOS number. Both markings are visible with the LOS number reading “BCK –2– 24” (see Figure 4). Thus, the four objects seen trailing smoke in the video and Figure 2 are the four DM 1216 smoke elements being ejected and falling to the ground.
Smoke mixtures based on hexachloroethane/zinc (HC) are commonly used in base-ejection-type artillery projectiles. Many armed forces have partially replaced smoke projectiles relying on white phosphorus with those using HC for a similar effect. When HC is burning, the powdered zinc reacts with the hexachloroethane and produces a number of compounds, including zinc chloride, zinc oxychlorides, and hydrogen chloride (HCI) vapour. The HCI vapours rapidly absorb moisture from the air and form the characteristic white smoke.
However, several by-products of the hexachloroethane-zinc reaction have been found to be irritating or toxic, and several studies have found that exposure of unprotected soldiers to high concentrations of HC smoke has resulted in injuries and fatalities. Nevertheless, the concentrations required to cause these injuries rarely occur in combat situations, as HC smoke projectiles are generally employed in the open field for marking or screening purposes. All documented cases of injuries sustained via HC exposure occurred when the smoke was released in enclosed areas or buildings. Thus, when HC smoke projects are employed correctly, they pose a limited risk of injury.
Technical Specifications
DM 105 155 mm artillery gun projectile
Total weight: 43.5 kg
Calibre: 155 mm
Length (incl. Fuze): 875 mm
Length (excl. Fuze): 779 mm
Fuze: DZ DM153 (S)
Smoke compound: Hexachloroethane/zinc (HC)
Weight of smoke element: 3.5 kg
Weight of HC mixture: 2.1 kg
Payload: 4 smoke elements
Source: Munitionsmerkblatt 1320-2115-10
Special thanks to Charles Randall, N.R. Jenzen-Jones, and Simon Arens for their assistance with this piece.
Sources
Alliance for Securing Democracy. n.d. ‘War in Ukraine: Military Bloggers’. The German Marshall Fund. <securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/war-in-ukraine-military-bloggers/>.
ARES (Armament Research Services). n.d. Conflict Materiel (CONMAT) Database. Confidential. Perth: ARES.
Department of the Army. 1999. Howitzer, Medium, Self-Propelled: 155mm, M109A6. Operator’s Manual TM 9-2350-314-10 (Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army).
Dresdner Sprengschule GmbH. 2012. ‘155 mm Nebel-HC-Geschoß DM 105’.
Eaton, James C., Richard J. Lopinto & Winfred G. Palmer. 1994. Health Effects of Hexachloroltrhane (HC) Smoke. (Fort Detrick: U.S Army Biomedical Research & Development Laboratory).
Logistikamt der Bundeswehr. 155 mm Nebel-HC-Geschoß DM 105. Munitionsmerkblatt 1320-2115-10. Sankt Augustin.
Loh, Ching-Hui, Yaw-Wen Chang, Saou-Hsing Liou, Jun-Hei Chang & Hong-I Chen. 2006. ‘Case Report: Hexachloroethane Smoke Inhalation: A Rare Cause of Severe Hepatic Injuries’. Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 114 No. 5 (May), pp. 763–765.
Ness, Leland & Anthony G. Williams. 2006. Jane’s Ammunition Handbook, 2005–2006. London: Jane’s Information Group.
OSZE. 2008. OSZE-Praxishandbuch „Konventionelle Munition“. (Vienna: OSCE). <osce.org/files/f/documents/0/1/33373.pdf>.
Remember, all arms and munitions are dangerous. Treat all firearms as if they are loaded, and all munitions as if they are live, until you have personally confirmed otherwise. If you do not have specialist knowledge, never assume that arms or munitions are safe to handle until they have been inspected by a subject matter specialist. You should not approach, handle, move, operate, or modify arms and munitions unless explicitly trained to do so. If you encounter any unexploded ordnance (UXO) or explosive remnants of war (ERW), always remember the ‘ARMS’ acronym:
AVOID the area
RECORD all relevant information
MARK the area from a safe distance to warn others
SEEK assistance from the relevant authorities