GB477733A - Improvements in or relating to bombs and similar projectiles and percussion fuzes therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

477,733. Projectile fuzes. MANUFACTURE D'ARMEMENTS ET DE MUNITIONS ARMU SOC. ANON. Jan. 11, 1937, No. 852. Convention date, Jan. 9, 1936. [Class 9 (i)] A projectile, such as a bomb or grenade, is provided with a percussion fuze 6 comprising a first movable mass 8 having re-entrant upper and lower faces, the former fitting against the conical wall of a depression 7 in the head of the fuze and the latter against the conical face of a freely mounted ring or washer 9 which carries on its opposite face the firing pin 10. A further conical ring or washer 11 bearing the percussion cap 12 is disposed opposite the washer 9 and a light spring 13 is interposed between these two washers. A second mass 14, similar in shape to the mass 8, is arranged between the washer 11 and a conical washer 15, the rim of which is clamped between the lower edge of the fuze head and a shoulder 16 on the bomb body 5. The percussion cap 12 is connected to the detonator 18 by means of retarding means, such as the cord 19, which passes through the central passage 17 in the mass 14. A housing 20, which separates the fuze from the charge in the body 5, is held by its edge between the washer 15 and shoulder 16. According to a modification, Fig. 3 (not shown), the detonator is mounted in a central aperture in the housing 20 and the cord 19 is dispensed with. In order to prevent accidental firing of the bomb, a resilient blade or strip 21 is held in position on the head of the fuze by a rigid U-shaped hood 24 so that pins 22 on the ends of the strip 21 engage in holes 23 in the fuze head and interpose themselves between the washers 9 and 11. The blade 21 and hood 24 are disposed one above the other in a bracket 25 on the fuze head and are held therein by means of a safety-pin 26. The bomb shown may be fired from a mortar or released from a tube on an aircraft, in which case the hood 24 is removed at the moment of introduction of the bomb into the firing or launching tube, the wall of which then maintains the blade 21 in the compressed state. When the bomb leaves the tube, the blade opens under the action of its elasticity and disengages itself automatically. The bomb may also be used as a hand grenade, in which case the hood may be first removed and the blade kept in place by the pressure of the hand or the hood may be removed only at the moment when the grenade is thrown. At whatever angle the bomb strikes an obstacle, the masses 8, 14 are displaced towards one another and cause the washers 9, 11 to move towards one another against the action of the spring 13, thus producing the instantaneous firing of the percussion cap 12.