Beehive anti-personnel round

Beehive was a Vietnam War era anti-personnel round packed with metal flechettes fired from an artillery gun most popularly deployed during that conflict.

However, during the Vietnam War, there was a demand for a munition that could be fired directly at enemy troops, in cases where an artillery unit was attacked.

The flechette rounds were developed under a contract administered by Picatinny Arsenal and let to the Whirlpool Corporation in April 1957.

It was commonly assumed by users in the service that the term referred to a supposed 'buzzing' sound its darts made when flying through the air.

[1] The first example was the 105mm howitzer M546 anti-personnel tracer (APERS-T), first fired in combat in 1966[2] and thereafter used extensively in the Vietnam War.