U.S. EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE |
PART 6 - BOMBS AND BOMB FUZES |
Chapter 20 - BOMB FUZES |
Section 2 - ARMY-DESIGNED BOMB FUZES |
AN-M110A1, AN-M126A1, M110 (Obsolete), and M126 (Obsolescent) (Nose Mechanical Impact) |
Bombs |
20-lb. Frag. AN-M41A1 115lb. M70 Chemical |
AN-M126A1 |
100-lb. Chemical AN-M47A2 |
Functioning |
Instantaneous |
Armed condition |
When safety block is gone |
Fuzes used with |
None |
Arming time |
260 vane revolutions |
Vane span, inches |
3.0 |
Body diameter, inches |
1.7 |
Over-all lenght, inches |
AN-M110A1 - 3-5/8 AN-M126A1 - 3-1/16 |
Material |
Aluminum body with steel safety blocks and striker |
General: Thiese two fuzes are identical in both construction and operation. The only difference is that the booster is eliminated from the AN-M126A1. Instead of the booster, a steel cylinder, having the same dimensions as the booster, is screwed into the base of the fuze body. This steel cylinder contains an enlarged firing train consisting of primer, upper detonator, and lower detonator, which is seated against the tetryl burster of the chemical bombs. |
Operation: When the bomb is dropped and the arming wire pulled, the vanes rotate. The vanes are positively attached to the upper part of the stationary gear, which can rotate but cannot move in a vertical plane, because of a collar which rides in a groove in the fuze body. As the vanes and stationary gear rotate about the ball race, the movable gear, which is threaded up inside the stationary gear, also rotates. Both gears mesh with an idler gear, and (since the movable gear has one more tooth than the stationary gear) for each rotation the movable gear lags one tooth, thus unscrewing downward from the stationary gear. As the sleeve of the movable gear moves down, it releases the safety block, allowing the block to be expelled by centrifugal force. The sleeve is moved down far enough in 260 rotations of the vanes to arm the fuze. On impact, the striker is driven down, overcoming the resistance of the firing-pin spring; and the firing pin initiates the explosive action instantaneously. |
Remarks: The original designs, M110 and M126, had more teeth on the gears, and consequently required 570 vane revolutions to arm. They also had three safety blocks, each 120° segments, and the arming sleeve fitted in a groove in the blocks in the unar-med position, preventing them from falling out. The original designs also has larger vanes. |
If the striker head is flush with the fuze body, the fuze is in a fired condition. In such condition, the striker should not be pulled away from the fuze, as the firing pin is sensi-tive and withdrawal might create sufficient friction to ignite the primer. |
Figure 334. Nose Fuze AN-M110A1 |
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