The present invention relates to an armour piercing explosive shell of the kind which comprises a hollow charge and an impact contact member placed in the nose cone of the shell and arranged to provide electrical contact for initiation of the hollow charge upon impact of the shell against the target. To improve the penetrative performance of the shell against targets protected by active armour the nose cone of the shell is provided with a reinforced tip for mechanical penetration of the active armour and the impact contact member does not extend all the way to the tip of the shell, so that upon impact of the shell against the active armour, contact is obtained only when the reinforced tip has penetrated the active armour.
