T723 (Tail Mechanical Pistol)

Bombs

Functioning

Armed condition

When arming spindle is out of fuze; no external evidence

General: The Tail Mechanical Impact Fuze T723 is designed as a replacement for the Pistol T708 (Britsh No. 58) in the G.P. Bombs T10 and T14, to provide air-travel arming.

Description: This fuze has its windmill vanes mounted outside the tail cone, and con-nected to the fuze arming spindle by a slotted sleeve, which allows the spindle to thread out into the slot. The fuze is detonator safe, the detonator being housed in a rotor which lines up after the arming spindle is out of the fuze. A larger auxiliary booster is used with this fuze, because of the size of the bomb.

Operation: The shipping plug is removed when the fuze is inserted in the bomb. Re-lease from the plane pulls the arming wire and allows the vanes to start rotating. They thread the arming spindle out, the spindle's connecting pin riding up the groove in the slotted sleeve. When the spindle is out, the spring-loaded plunger moves up, freeing the rotor, which is turned by its spring until the detonator is in position under the delay pel-let. The rotor spring then acts as a lock to hold it in position. The fuze is now armed, and on impact the heavy inertia weight will overcome the creep spring and striker the primer, which will set off the delay pellet and then the detonator.

Figure 358. Tail Fuze T723