Barrel assembly

A barrel assembly including:

• a barrel;
• a plurality of projectile assemblies axially disposed in end to end abutting relationship within said barrel in sealing engagement with the bore of said barrel, said plurality of projectiles being disposed in axially abutting relationship to form a compression resistant column, each projectile assembly including a projectile head and extension means for at least partly defining a propellant space, said extension means including a spacer assembly which extends axially from said projectile head and abuts an adjacent projectile assembly;
• complementary wedging surfaces disposed on said spacer assembly and projectile head respectively, said projectile head defining a tapered aperture at its rearward end into which is received a complementary tapered spigot disposed on the leading end of said spacer assembly such that relative axial movement between the tapered aperture and the complementary tapered spigot causes a radially expanding force to be applied to the projectile head;
• said projectile head and spacer assembly being loaded into said barrel, and thereafter an axially compressive load being applied to ensure sealing between said projectile head and the barrel,
• discrete propellant charges for propelling respective projectile assemblies sequentially through the muzzle of said barrel;
• ignition means disposed externally of the barrel for igniting said discrete propellant charges;
• ignition apertures through the barrel at positions between adjacent projectile heads and providing communication between the externally disposed ignition means and the respective discrete propellant charges, and
• control means for selectively and sequentially actuating said ignition means.