Look at your photo of the projectile weapon in question and write down the numbers and information from the head of the weapon down. In order, from the top down, this information equates to: type, model, and action of fuze; weight zone marking; symbol for containing high explosive burster (yellow); caliber and type of weapon; type of projectile; model of cartridge or shell; symbols (explained in following steps), and finally, the lot number.
Identify a band of diamond-shaped symbols around the circumference of the projectile. The color of the diamonds tells you what kind of payload the weapon is carrying. White diamonds tell you that the weapon is filled with inert items that will cause damage but don't explode. An accompanying yellow band means there is an explosive charge to scatter the inert items on detonation. Yellow diamonds indicate that the projectile expels grenades during flight.
Identify a band of yellow triangles around the circumference of the projectile. This will tell you that the weapon expels explosive mines during flight.
Look for a broken band of squares painted around the weapon. This will tell you that the weapon is known as a binary weapon and requires two mixtures to come into contact with each other in order to detonate and cause an explosion. Dark green means toxic chemicals are present in the weapon. Do not confuse this marking with the weight zone markings.
See if there is a broken band of Ts painted on the weapon. This tells you that the projectile operates a tracer element. The symbols will always be painted the same color as the tracer flame.
Look for a broken band of Cs painted on the weapon if the weapon is a flash-signal projectile. This tells you that the weapon contains a color bursting element. Again, the color of the Cs will match the color of the exploding burst.
Identify a broken band of Ds painted on the weapon. This tells you that it contains a dye load. Again, the dye used will match the color of the broken band of Ds.
Check for a solid band painted on the weapon. This tells you that the weapon contains a specific and hazardous payload not indicated by the primary color code. The color codings are such: Yellow - high explosive, Brown - low explosive, Dark Green - toxic chemical, Dark Red - control chemical, Violet - incapacitating chemical, White - illuminating charge, Black - armor defeating.