Pentolite

Pentolite is a composite high explosive used for military and civilian purposes, e.g., warheads and booster charges.

It is made of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) phlegmatized with trinitrotoluene (TNT) by melt casting.

[1] (Unlike other compound explosives, the number before the slash is the mass percentage of TNT and the second number is the mass percentage of PETN.)

Pentolite is a common explosive for cast boosters for the blasting work (as in mining).

These civilian pentolites have a detonation velocity of about 7,800 metres per second.

Cross-sectional view of Oerlikon 20 mm cannon shells (dating from circa 1945) showing color code for pentolite filling