nose cap

nose cap (plural nose caps)

1. (now historical) A protective cap on the end of a gunstock. [from 19th c.]
2. (aeronautics) The protective covering on the end of an aircraft fuselage. [from 20th c.]
3. The nose cone of a missile or shell, often containing explosives or a timer. [from 20th c.]
   • 1929, Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, Folio Society, published 2008, page 107:

     This was a shrapnel shell used by the Austrians in the mountains with a nose-cap which went on after the burst and exploded on contact.

• Capones