Torpedo Fuse???

[Dronic69]

Hi All,

Sorry couldn't resist the "torpedo" reference - actually this was the reference used on Fleabay a couple of years back when I bought it!

Well, it is unfortunately NOT anything related to a torpedo. My thoughts are that it is an aerial bomb fuse of some type - reasoning is that when the propeller spins the "cut-in" vanes (one shown in the photo) produce a whistling sound and in addition are not used to access any recessed screws etc.

All thoughts are welcome!
Thanks
Cheers
Drew

 

[Dronic69]

Fellow Fusilliers,

Has anyone seen this type of fuse before?
Any ideas????

Any theories on the long snout?
(Perhaps to penetrate bunkers?)

All thoughts and comments welcome!

Thanks
Cheers
Drew

 

[dano1917]

Hi Drew, I think you have an aerial bomb tail fuze. No explanation for extention shaft. While I know just about absolutely nothing about these. The ones I have seen with a propeller were a tail fuze.....Dano

 

[Dronic69]

Hi Dano,

Thank you for your thoughts!

I recall that most large aerial bombs (>250kg) were all "twin fused" (nose + tail) - this was certainly the case with WW2 Japanese aerial ordnance, however I'm having a mental blank as to which other countries also "twin fused" (probably lots!!!).

Interesting, the Japanese nose and tail fuses both had propellers, so I'm not fully convinced that it is a tail fuse - but definitely aerial! ...and that snout!!!!! grrrr
Thanks
Cheers
Drew

I intend to post some pics of my collection of fuses - small but I have some great bits!!

 

[pzgr40/42]

Hey Drew,

Are you quite certain this is a fuze, to me the brass vanes make no sense at all for an aerial bomb, why waste a "scarce" material like brass on that when plain iron or steel would do the job just fine.

The protruding rod does not make sense whatsoever penetration wise, as at impactspeed, providing this is a nose fuze, it would simply snap/bend decreasing penetrative power rather than enhancing it.

I'm by no means sure this is not a fuze, but I doubt it would be an aerial bomb fuze. A gut feeling tells me this is either a naval design for some use in "aquatic environments" or something like a gauge for measuring speed of flow in pipelines or something like that (in which case the brass would make more sense to me).

greetz,

Menno.

 

[dano1917]

Drew, Would love to see you post your fuzes as next to WW1 German grenades I guess the fuzes would be my favorite....Dano

 

[waffenamt]

Dronic,
Are there any makers marks/date stamps on the item please?

cheers

waff

 

[Dronic69]

Guys,

Firstly thank you all for the feedback....great stuff!

Menno,
You raise an interesting point - i.e. is it a fuse at all?

Well, it maybe and then again it may not be!
Over the years I have sent photos of it to a number of specialised fuse collectors who all reported having "seen it before" but the information trail stops there...(there was no indication that it wasn't a fuse though) :tinysmile_angry_t:

You are right - it does resembles some sort of flow measuring device - but what? ....and may have an "aquatic" functions - when it comes to aerial bomb fuses, there's a HUGE spectrum of designs - allow me to illustrate with a couple of examples.....

The first is a pic of an Italian WW2 Type 1 Mechanical Nose fuse -used with 3kg or 20kg anti-submarine - notice the "pressure plate" and the propeller vanes.

The second one is a picture of a Japanese Type 97 from memory (?) tail bomb fuse - examine the construction of the propeller.

Both aerial bomb fuses for different purposes.

Waff,

The frustrating thing is that there are no markings except the ring of numbers around the base - starts at "20" and increments to "100". Shown in the photo (Bottom RHS), there is a small lever on the other side. Associated with that lever is a small slot which I gather allow the base ring to rotate around to set to a new reference number.

Another interesting point that perhaps leads to the "non-fuse" theory is that the brass propellor rotates on a circle of ball bearings, which would imply long term usage (I guess several minutes free fall doesn't fit into the long term category....) but then they could be used for "reliability" and assist with the spinning /arming through water???

Humm, maybe it is a torpedo fuse after all...:bigsmile:

 

[EODGUY]

I sure hope that someone identifies this because it is driving me nuts. I know I have seen it before, but cannot find it in my references. Some of the Japanese bomb fuzes are built a little like this and the rod in the front would be surrounded by additional fuze components that could have been lost over the years. All the Japanese fuzes I know of though were all brass. The small amount of threads on this is strange to me also. Ordnance fuzing normally has a lot more theads to secure fuzes in place. As for the impellers (not propellers on fuzes), they are found on both nose and tail fuzes. In some cases the vanes are canted in different directions for nose and tail fuzes, but that is normally not a problem since all the impellers generally do is unscrew and free up fuze components to become armed in the air. The configuration of the components in the base of the thing is also strange for a fuze. Bottom line for me is I can't remember what it is and I hope someone else can.

 

[Dronic69]

I know I have seen it before, but cannot find it in my references.

Hi EOD,
Humm, I have heard that many times before....(LOL)
:sad:

You are spot with the small number of base threads and the usual construction of the base - either one very usual fuse (prototype?) or perhaps not a fuse at all :tinysmile_angry_t:

(not propellers on fuzes),

Yes I'm bad! Sorry for the use of "loose" terminology - perhaps I have just been "inactive" for so long wrt to collecting/remembering fuses....

Cheers
Drew

 

[Dronic69]

Hi All,

One of our forum members was very kind to direct me to one of their friends that could possibly provide a lead on this........

Here's the result of following up on that lead:

=============================================
this is the upper part of a very old US bomb nose fuze, around 1905-1912.
There are various models of it.
I have 2 complete once, which where made by Clarke Co.
It seems to be that for every type/size of bomb there was a different shaped fuze.
I have no paperwork at all about them. It might be also used as an early Torpedoe fuze, which I couldn't find any proof either.
But I know there are several models and sizes of it. My were labeled and mounted on a plate with Clarke Bomb fuze MK I
So that is all I can say. Let me know if you find out anything more.
=============================================

Mystery solved!!!!

Well, almost....so the $64,000 question is:

Does anyone have any "Clarke Bomb Fuse" information???

Thanks
Cheers
Drew

BTW - the ironic thing is that the item was described on Ebay as a "Torpedo Fuse"......humm.....

 

[Dronic69]

Don't you just love "search engines"!!!

Check out this guy:

=========================================================
[FONT=&quot]The AutoCar Company [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Louis S. Clarke (LS), a mechanical engineer was founder of The Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company in 1897. Clarke was instrumental in the invention of the spark plug, drive shaft and one of the first oil circulation systems. Clarke also built automobiles with the steering wheel on the left hand side which led to the standardization throughout most of the automotive industry in the United States.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][Prelude: In the 1890’s LS started working with his brother Charles developing motorized vehicles resulting in the Pittsburgh Motor Vehicle Company supported by brothers , John S. and James K. Clarke along with their father Charles and friend William Morgan in 1897. Initial production included a motorized tricycle and a small car, which the brothers called “The Pittsburgher.”][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In 1899, the name of the company was changed to “The AutoCar Company[/FONT][FONT=&quot],” and operations were relocated to Ardmore, PA, a western suburb of Philadelphia. In 1901 they produced what is considered to be this country’s first multi-cylinder, shaft driven car. Initial sales brochures touted that it “cannot blow up or burn up” as well as its ease of control, to the point he taught his wife to drive, making her the first known woman driver in the county.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The new design was driven from Ardmore to the Madison Square Garden , New York City, in six hours and fifteen minutes, where it was exhibited in the New York Automobile Show of December 1901. The first eight hundred cars were equipped with steering levers, but new innovations helped the Autocar to generate another revolution in innovative design, placing the steering wheel on the left hand side of the car thus establishing the reason we currently drive on the right hand side of the road. Under the Clarke brothers, the company was an early innovator, developing the first porcelain-insulated spark plugs– a process patented and later sold to Champion, and which still remains the basis for today’s spark plugs. Other early developments included the first American shaft-drive vehicle, double-reduction gear drives, and the recirculating lube–oil system. They even contributed toward the war effort with their engineering abilities as Louis also designed a naval bomb fuse which had been adopted as standard and also had been adopted for army use. His son Louis Phillips or LP during the war was responsible for detonating bombs in the US and France. According to the National Cyclopedia of American Biography, “For approximately the first ten years of the Autocar company's existence Clarke was president and chief engineer of the company. In later years he served the company as vice-president and consulting engineer. He sold his interested in the Autocar Co. in 1929 and retired at that time.”[/FONT]
=======================================================

Enjoy!
Cheers
Drew

 

[Dronic69]

Still on the quest for the "Holy Grail".....

Hi All,

Just thought I would "bump" this up to see if anyone has any information tucked away on the Clarke Naval bomb fuse?

Actually I should re-phrase this to request for any information on perhaps pre-WW1 /WW1 US bomb fuses???

In my quest for information on this specific fuse, I'm thinking of purchasing the following two "CD" from Ebay Seller CASEOD:

{U.S.AIRCRAFT BOMB FUZE, SHELL,EXPL-ORD CATALOGUE}
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...727826&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1082wt_913

{U.S. ORDNANCE ENCYCLOPEDIA WW1 OFFICIAL NEW REFERENCE}
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...382134&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1496wt_913


Has anyone already have these? And if so, could they perhaps have a flick through to see if this Clarke bomb fuse is referenced???

{Funny enough, I've actually sent a query to "CASEOD" asking of any of his publication may have references to the Clarke Fuse - their reply was that they are not a research organization!!!!! - humm, somewhat disappointing!]

Any information is of course "greatly" appreciated!

Thanks
Cheers
Drew

BTW - Special thanks to "MRFUSE" who is the first person (actually the only person!) to have identified my unknown fuse to be a Clarke Co Bomb fuse!

 

[spotter]

dronic save yourself some money and download them from here[ame="http://www.scribd.com/doc/25043873/Handbook-of-Ordnance-Data-1919"]Handbook of Ordnance Data 1919[/ame]
just type in what you are looking for and theres loads to download for free

 

[Dronic69]

Thank you Spotter - I'll go off and continue my "Holy Grail"!


Cheers
Drew