FUZING

COLOR & MARKINGS

OVERALL LENGTH

MAX. BODY DIAMETER

TOTAL WEIGHT

WT. THERMITE

QUANTITY MAIN FILLING

BURNING TIME

1 minute approx.

DESCRIPTION:

Cylindrical steel body with dished steel nose plate having a central spigot welded on, a steel ring welded to nose plate and a wooden nose secured by screws to the ring and having a thin metal protecting cap. Near the other end of the body a tail plate is wel-ded and a steel central tube, projecting through the tail plaite, is welded to the tail plate and the spigot on the nose plate. A magnesium-alloy striker is screwed to the central tube and retains a detonator holder in position. The striker is supported by a two-armed brass cross which engages the top of the housing, and a spring-loaded safety plunger contained in a sleeve projects into the path of the striker. The safety plunger is held in position by a retaining sleeve which is secured to the parasheet con-tainer. As automatic valve is fitted to the tail plate and has an auto-valve body screw-ed into a socket welded into the tail plate. A tube extension screwed into the inner end to the auto-valve body holds a flexible tube which extends to within 3" of the bottom of the bomb. A jet having its outlet hole pointing vertically out of the tail is screwed into the side of the auto-valve body. The valve chamber houses a spring-loaded piston having a rubber sealing disk at its inner end which normally seals the central hole in the valve body. The parasheet is housed in a container held in the tain end of the bomb body by six retaining screws, and its rigging lines are anchored to the container. The container is closed by a loose metal cover held in position by the end plates of the cluster projectile. A safety pin retaining sleeve, secured to the cover, is fitted into a central guide tube in the parasheet container and houses a spring retainer in which is a compressed spring.

SUSPENSION:

Carried in batches of 14 in Cluster Projectiles, 500 lb. No. 4 Mk I.

FILLING:

The main filling consists of a solution of methane in petrol, the bomb being filled un-der pressure, so that the normal pressure in-side the bomb is from 90 to 110 lbs. per sq. in.

FUNCTIONING:

As the bomb falls free of the container, the spring in the spring retainer of the para-sheet container forces the cover away and releases the safety plunger, thus arming the bomb. The cover is blown aft and withdraws the parasheet. When the parasheet is fully withdrawn, the darg on the cover breaks the linen threads, to that the cover falls away. On impact the striker moves forward, bending up the arms of the brass cross, and fires the detonator. The flash from the detonator passes through the paper disk covering the hole in the cellophane washer and ignites the primings in the central tube. The primings ignite the thermite and this heats the interior of the bomb, thus raising the internal pressure. The magnesium-alloy striker housing burns away to afford addi-tional venting to the filling in the central tube. When the pressure has risen to about 300 lbs., per sq. in., the piston in the automatic valve is raised and the methane and petrol solution passes through the flexible tube, into the valve chamber, through the outlet hole in the jet, and through the hole in the bottom of the parasheet conatiner. As it passes out of the jet, the liquid is ignited by the flame issuing from the vent holes in the striker housing as a result of the burning of the thermite. Due to the lead weight, the free end of the flexible tube always falls to the lower side of the bomb as it comes to rest, so that almost all of the liquid charging passes out of the bomb through the jet. It emits a flame 15 ft. high and 2 ft. wide.