FUZING

COLOR & MARKINGS

OVERALL LENGTH

MAX. BODY DIAMETER

WALL THICKNESS

TOTAL WEIGHT

ILLUMINATING POWER

BURNING TIME

DESCRIPTION:

These flares are designed for the use of intercepting aircraft for illuminating attack-ing enemy planes at night.

The flares consists of a cylindrical body which houses three illuminating stars. At the lower end of the body is a conical wooden nose which insures easy entry of the flare into the funnel tube of an ignition chute. The upper end of the body is closed by a wooden plug and a metal disc, the weight of which facilitates the passage of the flare through the chute and offsets the up-draught and air drag as the flare leaves the air-craft.

Each star is primed at both ends and has a short strip of primed fabric which is pas-sed around the star, the strip being held in position by two threads. A long strip of pri-med fabric extends along the sides of the three stars and is held in position by three additional threads, one around each star, at a position between the threads securing the short strip.

Between the metal disc and the top of the upper star is an apertured felt washer which contains a charge of gunpowder. A primed fabric disc is located between the bottom of the lower star and the upper surface of the nose. Vent holes are provided in the nose, their open ends being sealed with paper sealing discs.

Two copper strips pass along the outside of the body, beneath a paper wrapper sur-rounding the body, their lower ends being connected to the leads from the electric fuze and their upper ends emerging from and secured by wire staples to the wrapper. The portion of the outer surface of the paper wrapper surrounding the staples is sprayed with zinc to form contact bands.

FUNCTIONING:

When the flare is launched through the ignition chute, the contact bands make rub-bing contact with the spring wiper contacts in the chute, and the electric fuze is fired. This fuze ignites the safety delay fuze, which ignites the priming composition, which in turn fires the long primed fabric strip. This strip initiates the short primed fabric strips, igniting the stars. The gunpowder charge ejects the stars from the body.

REMARKS:

1. A delay of approximately two secs. occurs between the release of the flares and its ignition.

2. No. Mk. II: (illustrated) is identical to the Mk. I flare with the following except-ions:

a. The upper end of the body is closed by a metal cap, and the nose is made of moulded plastic material;

b. A pellet of delay composition is used instead of the length of delay safety fuse, and a length of quickmatch is located between the bottom of the lowest star and the priming composition;

c. When the flare is launched, the electric fuze fires the pellet of delay composi-tion, initiating the priming composition. This ignites the quickmatch, which in turn fires the long primed fabric strip;

d. The Mk. II flare is 11.2" long.