FUZE, PERCUSSION No 944

FUZE, PERCUSSION No 944 is a small nose fuze with a ball shutter, for use in the 30mm Aden gun HE shell. The design No is L5/8679/GF, which was sealed on 15/09/1958.

The fuze is stamped “BE 944 Mk1”, and has a hand-painted inscription “L3/1667” which is possibly from development trials.

It has a rotor arming ball which houses the firing cap; however, the firing cap is set out of line with the firing pin. Only after firing the projectile, the centrifugal force rotates the ball in line with the centreline of the projectile and firing pin. The firing pin is placed above the arming ball, and is prevented from moving down by two pins in a downward angled hole which hook behind the collar on the lower part of the firing pin. These pins are held in position by a brass rolled up collar which bends open when the pins are thrown outward. After firing, inertia keeps the pins in a downward position, until inertia diminishes and the centrifugal force allows the pins to move outward, climbing upward in the holes, pushing open the brass collar; only then is the firing pin  released to move downward on impact. The top of the fuze consists of a top piece which is locked in position by a sheet aluminium cap. Upon straight impact, the firing pin is hammered down by the top piece. With a glancing shot, the top piece is thrown sideways -breaking through the sheet aluminium cap, after which the angled sides on the lower side of the top piece force the firing pin down, exploding the shell. The projectile has no self-destruct device.

This example is in MINT condition, but unfortunately the rotor arming ball is missing.

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