author
Carlos De Zafra
1882–1967
A military engineer and lecturer, he wrote with unusual clarity about the science and history behind armor-piercing shells at a time when modern warfare technology was changing fast. His surviving work blends technical detail with a strong sense of how engineering problems evolve in response to real-world demands.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1882, Carlos de Zafra is remembered for The Development of Armor-piercing Shells (With Suggestions for Their Improvement), published in 1915. The book presents a concise history of projectile design and explains the engineering challenges behind making shells strong enough to penetrate armor, showing his gift for turning specialized material into readable prose.
Contemporary editions of the work identify him as Carlos de Zafra, M.E. and a faculty lecturer at New York University. Other records connect him with military service as Maj. Carlos DeZafra Sr., which fits the practical, ordnance-focused perspective of his writing.
He died in 1967. Though not widely known today, de Zafra left behind a distinctive early-20th-century technical work that will appeal to listeners interested in military history, engineering, and the way scientific ideas are shaped by their era.