Rocket, chemical 7.5-inch

The time it takes for an internal degree of freedom to adjust to the change in state, caused in the rocket nozzle by the expansion, is called a relaxation time. For rocket motors of less than 50 lbs. thrust which have nozzles less than 2 inches long, expansion times of 10"4 sec. or less occur and there can be appreciable dissociation or chemical lag. For motors of 100 lbs. thrust or more, the effects are not as important until one deals with high energy or low chamber pressures as may occur in motors to be used for space applications. Thus chemical lags are of concern and will be treated here. 

Even though 1 was having serious problems with my vision by that time, 1 was involved in an amateur rocket group. These rockets weren t the little four-inch rockets you buy through the mail and send up a couple of hundred feet. One rocket for which 1 mixed the chemical propellant reached an altitude of 42 000 feet. 1 loved the idea of propelling a vehicle into space—and 1 still do. In fact, if anyone offered me a ticket to another planet, Td only pause long enough to pack a toothbrush ... 

These three types of chemical agents are contained in various munitions. M55 rockets contain GB or VX M23 mines and spray tanks contain VX bombs contain GB and 105-mm, 155-mm, 4.2-inch, and 8-inch projectiles contain GB, VX, or HD. All three agents are stored in 1-ton containers for possible future transfer to chemical munitions. None of these agents or munitions have been manufactured since 1968. All are at least 26 years old, and some are more than 50 years old. 

Bottom photos of ordnance typically found in old munitions ranges Left top to bottom 3.5-inch rocket 2.5-inch bazooka. Right top to bottom 81-mm illumination mortar 3-inch Stokes chemical mortar 60-mm high explosive mortar. 

Weapons available to American ground troops for delivering toxic agents included Livens projectors, grenades, land mines, mortars, rockets, and artillery shells. If gas warfare had broken out, the burden would have fallen chiefly on the 4.2-inch chemical mortars of CWS mortar battalions. 

J. J. Jungbauer, Development of the 2.36-inch Chemical Rockets. TDMR 850, 24 Jun 44. 

The CWS used white phosphorus as a filling for shells, rockets, bombs, and grenades, all of which the armed forces employed extensively in World War II. Artillery and chemical mortar companies hurled shells to set fire to enemy held buildings and cane fields, to drive enemy soldiers from fortified positions, to unnerve enemy troops, to support infantry attacks, and to shield flame thrower operators. Naval vessels threw WP at shore installations on Saipan, Eniwetok, and other places to support amphibious assaults. The Army fired a sizable portion of the two and one-half million 2.36-inch rockets filled during the war to screen operations, to start fires, and to wound and unnerve the enemy. Airplanes dropped WP bombs on enemy installations to start fires or aid infantry. For infantrymen and... 

White phosphorus was loaded into artillery shells, 4.2-inch chemical mortar shells, 30-pound M46 bombs, and 100-pound M47 bombs, M15 hand grenades, explosive type igniters, and 3.5-inch and 4.5-inch rockets. It was also loaded into catalin, bakelite, or glass containers, which in turn... 

Photo 8.1 Plastic casing for a 4.2-inch chemical mortar shell. Also, a disposable (one shot) fiberglass and aluminum launch tube for a Light Antitank Weapon (LAW). Many are likely buried in this closed position with the rocket inside. The point is that plastic casings found on a military site may contain live ordnance. 

---