The fuze is of the direct action type and is used in conjunction with a gaine in hollow charge shell. It weighs 14 1/2 drams. The portion of the fuze protruding from the impact cap of the shell is dome shaped with a flat circular disc of aluminium at the top. The marking "A.Z. 38" is stamped in the side of the fuze above the flange.

The body of the fuze is screwthreaded externally to 0.69 inch gauge with a pitch of ap-proxuimately 1 mm for insertion in the shell. A recess formed in the underside is screw-threaded to receive the magazine which contains a 6.2 grain filling of P.E.T.N. under a 5.9 grain detonator of lead azide/calcium silicide 65/35. The upper part of the body is recessed to accommodate six pivoted centrifugal segments and threaded internally to receive the aluminium head of the fuze. A central channel is formed between the upper and lower recess for the needle.

The steel neelde is carried in an aluminium pellet supported by the centrifugal segments which are retained in the supporting position by an expanding spring ring.

The aluminium head of the fuze is recessed in the underside to accommodate the needle pellet and recessed at the nose to take the hammer which passes through a hole in the diaphragm between the recesses. The hammer is of wood and rests on the head of the needle pellet. The recess containing the hammer is closed at the nose against air pres-sure by an aluminium disc sealed with a fillet of synthetic resin.

During flight the coil of the expanding spring ring is enlarged and the segments rotated clear of the needle pellet by centrifugal force. The needle is then held off the detonator by the creep action resulting from deceleration. On impact the hammer and needle are driven in and the detonator is pierced. The impulse set up by the detonation is communi-cated through the aluminium tube in the shell to the gaine in the base of the shell cavity. The construction of the detonator in the gaine is such that it could be initiated either by a flash or a pressure pulse.

Fig. 10