Fuzes mortar shell

S.H. Liff, "Examination and Evaluation of Shell, 60-mm Mortar, HE, Long, High Capacity, W/LG Warhead (Comm Chinese) FMAM-1883 and Fuze, PD Impact, Type ( ) for 60-mm Mortar Shell, HE, Type ( ) Long, High Capacity, W/LG Warhead, (Comm Chinese) FMAM-1883A PAMR 78 (July 1955)... 

A.J. Marhefka, "Examination and Evaluation of Fuze, PD, Impact, Model MKE 101 for Mortar Shell (Copy of French Brandt Type), with Adapter and Booster (Turkish) , PAMR 102 (March 1956) (Conf)... 

Nonsmokeless Powder. Composition is not given. Used by the Army as a Main Charge in 20-mm Machine Gun Ammo, as an ejector chge in 70-mm Mortar Shells, Shrapnel Shells Pyrotechnics in Delays, Relays Igniters for Bomb Projectile Fuzes and as a Substitute Charge for some Bombs, Grenades and Projectiles (Ref 1, p 27 Ref 5, p 366)... 

Type 89 58-mm HE Mortar Shell was a light steel cylinder with conical nose housing a Fuze. 

Type 95 50-mm Smoke Mortar Shell was a forged steel cylinder with conical nose housing a Fuze. It contd 3.7 oz Hexachloroethane Smoke Mixture and was fired by NC-DPhA flaked proplnt.. Fired from Type 89 Grenade Discharger (pp 374—75, Fig 297)... 

III) Detonation or Explosion., It can be conducted either by initiating the expls contained in ammo, or by the force of detonation of other expl material s placed in contact with the item. Ammo items which can be destroyed by these methods include artillery shells, aerial bombs, mortar shells, shrapnel shells, photoflash bombs, antitank mines, rockets, grenades (hand and rifle), loaded metal components (such as fuzes, primers, detonators, boosters bursters) and pyrotechnic... 

The number of bad fuzes which caused premature shell explosions plagued both CWS and Ordnance throughout the war. During the winter of 1943-44, Barker was forced to set up a line near San Pietro, Italy, to disassemble all chemical mortar shell fuzes and check and clean the components. Coblentz later established a similar line at Naples. 

There was little difficulty with mortar maintenance during the operation as the equipment was new and not seriously overtaxed. Ammunition was in good supply in Sicily although inadequate waterproofing initially resulted in numerous corroded fuzes. And transportation difficulties resulted in low ammunition reserves at forward positions, even though the over-all supply of mortar shell in Sicily was ample. ... 

At least one difficulty with mortar shells was not brought on by the weather. This was the occasional absence of the steel balls which prevented the premature arming of the fuze. Despite close inspection of mortar ammunition short rounds and premature bursts resulted in several casualties to both mortarmen and infantry. ... 

For delivery of mustard by ground troops the CWS had 4.2-inch mortar shells, artillery shells, and land mines. The land mines were simply rectangular 1-gallon tin cans, such as were commonly used to hold varnish or syrup. They had a capacity of ten pounds of mustard. When exploded with a slow-burning fuze or by electrical means, the mines spread mustard over a considerable area. They were intended for use as booby traps or in contaminating fields, roads, and buildings. The CWS procured and stored (but did not fill) almost two million such mines. For possible use by troops, 540,746 4.2-inch mortar shells were filled and stored. For the artillery, 1,360,338 75-mm. Mk 64, 1,983,945 105-mm. M60, 784,836 155-mm. Mk 2Al, 290,810 155-mm. Ml 10, and smaller quantities of other shells, were readied. ... 

Five days after Gellman met Garsson and one day after Erie Basin Metal Products, Inc., was certified as a New York corporation. Colonel English, now Chief, Industrial Service, OC CWS, as CWS contracting officer, issued a letter of intent to the new company at 75 West Street, New York, N.Y. This letter was an order for 15,000 4.2-inch chemical mortar shell bodies and 15,000 chemical mortar shell fuzes, "the shell bodies f.o.b. common carrier, Brooklyn, N.Y., or Elgin, 111, the fuzes, f.o.b. common carrier, point of loading and assembly. A provision to manufacture an item at either of two locations was seldom if ever included in government contracts. The provision for the manufacture of fuzes was deleted as of 27 April 1942. ... 

Trench mortars, historical) 276 (Ignition cartridge and fuze for 3-inch trench mortar ammo) 279 283 (Ignition cartridges for 81-mm trench mortar) 291-318 (Trench mortar fuzes) 319-23 (Artillery fuzes-his-torical, classification and forces available to cause artillery fuzes to function) 326-28 (Percussion primers American M36 and Berdan M37 for 2 0-mm shells) 328, 337, 340-42, 356-57, 369-76, 383-99, 435-44, 455-56, 462, 469-71, 484, 497-502, 525 532-33 (Fuzes for various caliber artillery ammo) 331-35, 364-66, 403-07, 510, 528 541-45 (Primers, percussion for various caliber artillery ammo) 557-62, 580-91 606 (Bomb fuzes) 579-80 (Primer-detonators for bombs) 623-32 (Depth bomb fuzes) 643-52 (Fuzes for fragmentation bombs) 668-71 (Chemical bomb fuzes) ... 

The mortar units in combat soon discovered that fuzes had corroded in many of the shells, causing premature bursts. Tenth Army called for replacement fuzes. The USAFPOA responded to eleven emergency requests by air, shipping 46,502 pounds of fuzes from the United States and from Hawaii. 

In January 1945 Fifth Army received reports of the hardships encountered in other theaters and in the United States with the fuzes for the M3 4.2-inch mortar ammunition which, unfortunately, made up the bulk of 4.2-inch ammunition in the theater. Nonetheless, during February the 84th and looth Battalions used over 11,000 roimds of the suspected ammunition without particular difficulty. On 9 March a shell burst three feet from the barrel of one mortar, killing one man and wounding four others. Thereafter, mortar crews used lanyards to fire suspected ammunition, a precaution which at first reduced the efficiency of mortar crews. ... 

Adoption of a rifled barrel made it necessary for engineers to redesign each component of the mortar, from baseplate to shell fuze. World War I shells had had an allways fuze to make certain that the tumbling shell would explode no matter whether it landed on its base, side, or nose. Fuzes of this type could not be used in a spinning shell since centrifugal force would activate the fuze and cause the shell to burst as it left the muzzle of the mortar. After considerable experimentation, engineers developed a safe, dependable fuze that could be set for impact or time. 

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