M6A4

OVERALL LENGTH

TOTAL WEIGHT

HEAD LENGTH

BODY LENGTH

BODY DIAMETER

BODY WALL THICKNESS

OGIVE LENGTH:

M6A1 (cone shaped)

M6A3 (hemispherical)

OGIVE DIAMETER (at flange)

MOTOR TUBE LENGTH

MOTOR TUBE (inner diameter)

MOTOR TUBE WALL THICKNESS

MAXIMUM RANGE

EFFECTIVE RANGE

MUZZLE VELOCITY

COLOR

EXPLOSIVE

Pentolite

TARGET:

Pill boxes, tanks, and armored vehicles. Can also be used in stationary emplacement for demolition or as an anti-tank mine or a booby trap. The rocket can penetrate 3" of homogeneous-steel armor plate at all ranges and at angles of impact as low as 30 de-grees, employing explosive in the form of a shaped charge.

LAUNCHER:

The Rocket, Launcher, M1A1, commonly called the "bazooka", is an electrically operated weapon of the open tube type, fired from the shoulder, and weighing 13.25 lbs.

CONSTRUCTION:

The M6A1 and M6A3 are identical except for difference in the ogive and the tail as-sembly. In other respects the two rockets are similar, consisting of a hollow ogive crim-ped onto the body, a body union fitting into the base of the body with internal threads to receive the motor, and a fuze which is located in the forward end of the motor tube. The M6A1 has a conical ogive, whereas the M6A3 has a hemispherical ogive which gives better penetration by forming a stronger stand-off piece for the shaped charge effect of the explosive.

TAIL ASSEMBLY:

The M6A1 has six fins (5 ½" long) spot welded to the nozzle, a steel cup internally threaded at the forward end to screw onto the motor tube. The M6A3 has a different type of tail assembly to obtain a greater fin area and thereby conteract the change of the center of gravity effected by the use of the hemisperical nose. This tail assembly consists of four sheet steel fins 2-5/16" long, each of which is curved over an arc of 90 degrees on its outboard edge to form a blade. Each fin is joined to the other by weld-ing, with an overlap of approximately 1/2 inch to form a circular drum which is actually nothing more than a continuation of the four fins. The bases of the fins are spot wel-ded to the nozzle.

PROPELLANT:

The propellant consists of five sticks of ballistite, each 0.36" in diameter and 4.15" long. On an average, the propellant weighs approximately 61 ½ grams, though it is not loaded by weight but by length of powder stick to keep the pressure for various rounds at a relatively constant value.

FUZE:

The fuze consists of a steel firing pin which slips into the central cavity of the fuze body, where it is held in a rearward position by the firing pin spring. A circumferential groove midway down the length of the firing pin receives the safety pin, which extends through the motor tube. When the safety pin is removed the firing pin is free to move forward restrained only by the action of the firing pin spring. After the safety pin has been removed, the firing pin will overcomes the spring and detonate the rocket if it is dropped over four feet. The fuze body contains the M18 detonator of lead azide and tetryl, and the booster charge of tetryl.

PRACTICE ROCKETS, M7A1, M7A3:

These are similar in design and construction to the M6A1 and the M6A3 rockets res-pectively. A steel rod 5.33 inches long is fitted into the fuze body to make up the weight of the explosive charge and the fuze.

M6A4 and M7A4 ROCKETS:

The M6A4 is similar to the M6A3, differing only in that high strength alloys were used to reduce the weight and improve performance, and the rope safe fuze, M400, was in-corporated (See drawing of fuze page 10). The M7A4 is the practice rocket.