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| ITALIAN AND FRENCH EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE |
| Chapter 2 |
| ITALIAN BOMB FUZES |
| Types I and T - Mechanical Time Nose Fuzes |
| Data |
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Bombs used in |
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Type I |
3-kg and 20-kg Antisubmarine |
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Type T |
250 - 400-kg Chemical |
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Fuzes used with |
Alone |
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Over-all length |
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Type I |
8.0 in. |
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Type T |
6.6 in. |
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Over-all length of vanes |
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Type I |
4.7 in. |
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Type T |
4.2 in. |
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Width of fuze body |
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Type I |
1.9 in. |
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Type T |
1.6 in. |
| Description |
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The T fuze has not been recovered, as the Italians used no chemical bombs. The internal assembly of the fuze is nit known, but it is believed that it is similar to Type I, differing only in the vane assembly. The T fuze has a scale reading from 0 to 6, which are read-ings in meters of altitude by one-thousands. The scale is set to vary the pitch of the va-nes to increase or decrease the time of functioning. Vanes of the I fuze remains at one pitch, but a series of vanes with different pitches is used with the fuze, so that functio-ning will take place at different altitu-des. Both fuzes hase an air pressure plate beneath the vanes. The pressure plate on the I fuze is 2.4 in. in diameter. Vanes are attached to turn the reduction gears which operate the arming spindle. |
| Operation |
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Operation of the T fuze is Unknown. The operation of the I fuze follows: The safety col-lar is removed when the bomb is dropped, the vanes rotate; after some 400 revoltuions, the gears cause the arming spindle to use in the internally threaded tube. When the arm-ing spindle has withdrawn 1 in., the balls are free to fall into the channel and free the striker, which rests on the creep spring. Air pressure against the pressure plate forces the striker down to contact the primer caps, detonating the bomb and giving aerial burst. If air pressure should fail, then, on impact, the detonator cap and striker would contact, exploding the bomb. |
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Figure 61 |
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Figure 62 |
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