butterfly
HONOURED MEMBER RIP
Hi all,
I have a soft spot for shell/bomb fragments, incendiaries/tail fins and fuzes that were eagerly collected to form small collections by many a child during WW2. I don't actively seek them out, but occasionally buy bits and this is one such piece that caught my eye.
This was listed as a 3.7 inch fuze but is actually a No700 II fuze which was used with the 3inch UP ground to air rockets, used for AA protection and manned mainly by Home Guard units during WW2. It wasnt particularily successful as a weapon, but would have certainly been a moral booster to those under attack during the early years of the war.
What I like about this one is that it hasn't been messed around with or any attempt to clean it up. I have literally given it a going over with soapy water and a toothbrush tidy it up a bit. You can see clearly that it has functioned as intended and has various damage and although not everyones 'cup of tea' it certainly has character.
A little communication with the person that sold it to me, has revealed that it was found by himself a few years ago in a field around the St Margarets Bay area of Dover. After searching the internet I have found that there are some tunnels in the area called Z battery, these are associated with some 5.5 inch guns (originally mounted on HMS Hood).......I couldnt work out why there were all the references to Z battery rockets and yet by all intense and purposes the tunnels were for the 5.5 inch guns. However, a little more delving suggests that the battery was protected at some time by a Z rocket battery, in fact one of the first to be used in the UK. It would be interesting to find out when it was there as the fuze has both a 1941 date and 1/42 date, so I would presume it was still there sometime after January 1942?
As can be seen in the photographs below the time delay is set to 13.75 seconds ; I would be interested to know how far a 3inch UP rocket would travel in that time?
As a footnote I ought to add that this fuze has functioned as intended and is inert, however as a general rule dont assume that an item is safe. Indeed many items found still contain explosive and unless you are 100% sure leave well alone.
regards Kev
I have a soft spot for shell/bomb fragments, incendiaries/tail fins and fuzes that were eagerly collected to form small collections by many a child during WW2. I don't actively seek them out, but occasionally buy bits and this is one such piece that caught my eye.
This was listed as a 3.7 inch fuze but is actually a No700 II fuze which was used with the 3inch UP ground to air rockets, used for AA protection and manned mainly by Home Guard units during WW2. It wasnt particularily successful as a weapon, but would have certainly been a moral booster to those under attack during the early years of the war.
What I like about this one is that it hasn't been messed around with or any attempt to clean it up. I have literally given it a going over with soapy water and a toothbrush tidy it up a bit. You can see clearly that it has functioned as intended and has various damage and although not everyones 'cup of tea' it certainly has character.
A little communication with the person that sold it to me, has revealed that it was found by himself a few years ago in a field around the St Margarets Bay area of Dover. After searching the internet I have found that there are some tunnels in the area called Z battery, these are associated with some 5.5 inch guns (originally mounted on HMS Hood).......I couldnt work out why there were all the references to Z battery rockets and yet by all intense and purposes the tunnels were for the 5.5 inch guns. However, a little more delving suggests that the battery was protected at some time by a Z rocket battery, in fact one of the first to be used in the UK. It would be interesting to find out when it was there as the fuze has both a 1941 date and 1/42 date, so I would presume it was still there sometime after January 1942?
As can be seen in the photographs below the time delay is set to 13.75 seconds ; I would be interested to know how far a 3inch UP rocket would travel in that time?
As a footnote I ought to add that this fuze has functioned as intended and is inert, however as a general rule dont assume that an item is safe. Indeed many items found still contain explosive and unless you are 100% sure leave well alone.
regards Kev
