Painted fuzes

[collector]

Dear fellow collectors,

Does anybody have any idea what the reason was, why some fuzes like the one shown on the photo are painted a certain color?
The no.117 fuze has been painted bright orange, also the the transit plug has been painted the same color.

I have found many transit plugs with different colors too, blue, red etc...

Anybody a suggestion?

Thank you all for your advise again.

Regards,

Robert

 

[AMMOTECHXT]

Hello Robert,

I don't know about the blue & red you speak of but I believe the `orange' was a waterproof varnish, presumably to prevent or reduce the chance of chemical reaction between explosives and the metal of the fuze or plug, to reduce the chance of sensitive crystals developing in shell. Otherwise if crystals of explosive compounds were present when removing a fuze or plug then there could be an explosion as the crystals are crushed against the metal. I once found crystals in a 25 Pr shell after I had removed the No 13 plug and, believe me, it was a high pucker factor. XT

 

[collector]

Hi Xt,
Thank you for you reply, I never thought of that being a possibility, but when you come to think of it, quite logical..

Thanks for your suggestion..!

Robert