Filling: Illuminating composition, black powder expellant charge; smokeless powder igni-tion disk.

Fuzing: 89 B fuze.

CONSTRUCTION. The body is a cylinder of sheet metal with a constant external diame-ter. A truncated cone of concrete is firmly fixed to the nose by a 0.75-inch bolt. (See fig. 76.)

The fuze pocket contains a drilled hole to allow passage of flame to the rear of the con-tainer. Immediately to the rear of the fuze pocket is the charge containing plate, so po-sitioned that the hole in it is directly over the flame port in the fuze pocket. A bag of black powder lies in the charge containing plate.

To the rear of the charge and resting on the charge retaining plate is the pressure plate. This pressure plate has a central flash hole through it and also has an extension welded to a cutaway semicircle on its circumference to allow for movement of the plate without hindrance from the internal portion of the suspension eyebolt.

Resting on the pressure plate is the first of three ignition partitions. Each partitions con-sists of two perforated cardboard plates, between which are pressed discs of smoking powder.

A bundle of 20 target indicating flares rests on the ignition partitions. Each flare is ap-proximately 6 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The outer covering of each flare is waxed cardboard and there is a smear of quickfire composition at one end. The flares are placed so that the end on which the quick-fire composition is located is toward the fuze pocket.

Above the layer of 20 flares there is another ignition partition, then a bundle of 21 flares, followed by still another ignition partition and 21 flares, making a total of 62 individual flares contained in the body.

To the rear of the last bundle of flares are two pads of felt and one cardboard pad. The top plate retains all the contents in the container and is fixed to the body by means of four light aluminum shear rivets. The tail consists of four stabilizing fins welded at 90° in-tervals around the body.

SUSPENSION. A single standard German eye-bolt screwed to the side of the body sup-ports the "MK 50 Kask" in the plane.

REMARKS. As the missile falls to earth after release, it maintains a nose down position in flight due to the weight of the concrete nose piece. The fuze functions while falling. The expellant charge is ignited, blows the pressure plate to the rear, shearing the retaining rivets, and top plate falls free, ejecting the individual flares. At the same time that the ejection is occuring, the flash from the propellant charge is transmitted to the ignition partitions which ignite the target flares. Once ignited, the flares burn with a white flame for 1 second and then with a red flame.

Figure 76 – Mark 50 Kask Target Identification Flare