Fuse (firearm)

“ IV. Of the Dimensions of Fuses, and the Dimensions and Charge of Bombs, Howitzes and Grenades.
Shells, in gunnery, are hollow iron balls, to be thrown out of mortars or howitzers, with a fuse hole of about an inch in diameter, to load them with powder, and to receive the fuse. The bottom, or part opposite the fuse, is made heavier than the rest, that the fuse may fall uppermost. In small elevations, this is not always the case, nor is it necessary. ”

“ A. One which prevents the escape of powder-gas through the vent. (It need not necessarily be screwed into the vent.)
Q. What are percussion-primers?
A. Such as are used in fixed ammunition and go off by the snap of the firing-pin. They are commonly called caps.
Q. What are high- and low-resistance fuses?
A. A high-resistance fuse is one that requires a high initial velocity to cause the plunger to be released, and is therefore safer in handling. A low-resistance fuse does not require such a high initial velocity to cause it to act. Low-resistance fuses are provided with "safety-wires." ”

“ Paradis sharply bows his head and we follow suit. "The fuse!—it has gone over." The shrapnel fuse goes up and then comes down vertically; but that of the percussion shell detaches itself from the broken mass after the explosion and usually abides buried at the point of contact, but at other times it flies off at random like a big red-hot pebble. One must beware of it. It may hurl itself on you a very long time after the detonation and by incredible paths, passing over the embankment and plunging into the cavities. ”

“ A keg is then opened, and the end of a quarter-inch fuse imbedded in the powder. This fuse is inclosed in boxes, six or eight feet in length, which serve to protect it, while the men are tamping. The fuse being thus inclosed, tampingcommences. Thedirtthat came from the drift was first carefully packed around the boxes that protect the fuse, and then throughout the drift. Tamping finished, the fuse is lighted at leisure, and the blast goes off.
In most instances, a blast is successful, but occasionally one will blow out, leveling every thing that may stand in its way. ”

“ The fuse of the bomb is represented by c d, fig. 17. It is generally a conical tube, formed of beech, willow, or some dry wood, and filled with a composition of sulphur, salt-petre, and mealed-powder. The bomb being charged, this fuse is inserted in the cavity through the fuse-hole; and when fired, communicates the fire to the powder in the shell.
The fuses for bombs are charged with great care, that nothing may prevent them from communicating the fire to the powder in the centre of the bomb. They are driven into the shell so as that only about an inch and a half comes out beyond the fuse-hole ”

“ Gun-cotton requires a much stronger charge of fulminate than dynamite.
Fig. 35.
In the electric fuses illustrated, the metal case shown is the detonator, the fuse being placed inside above the fulminate. When safety fuse is used, the end is cut off clean and inserted into the cap, which is then pressed tightly upon the fuse by means of a pair of nippers, as shown in Fig. 35. When water tamping is used, and when, with ordinary tamping, the hole is very wet, a little white-lead or grease must be put round the edge of the cap as a protection. The electric fuses are always made waterproof ”

“ To Ned, Bob, and Jerry, as well as to other soldiers who had taken part in the Great War, the word “fuse” referred to but one thing, and that was the explosion which usually followed the lighting of it. The lads were familiar with many kind of fuses, from the ordinary time one, the most common form of which is the fizzing string attached to a firecracker, to the complicated fuses in the big shells. These may be set to explode the shell at any height, or at any time desired. ”

“ If the fuse is burned out, the crank will turn over easy; if not, it will turn hard, indicating that the open circuit is elsewhere on the line. A burned out fuse should be replaced immediately in order to keep all lines working. Several spare fuses should be kept on hand at all times but in case no fuse is available, a strand of small copper wire may be connected across the upper and lower fuse clips. ”

“ Fuses are intended to communicate fire to the powder with which shells, &c. are filled, so as to make them burst in the places to which they are thrown. They are composed, according to some, of one pound of gunpowder, and two or three ounces of charcoal, well mixed together; or of four pounds of gunpowder, two of saltpetre, and one of sulphur. It is to be remarked that the time a bomb, or grenade, will take to burn, after it has been thrown out of the mortar, or a howitz out of a howitzer, depends entirely upon the length and quality of the fuse. ”

“ In the shaft we were obliged to blast, as I said before. This was done by drilling holes in the rock, which were then loaded with the blasting powder, the fuse inserted, and then the hole tamped down hard and fired. The firing was done by lighting a bit of candle over the flame of which we bent the fuse. While the easing of the fuse was burning through whoever fired the shot would have plenty of time to put his foot in the hook, shake the rope and be hoisted up out of danger. ”

“ This rotary motion, due to the rotating band, causes the plunger to bulge away from the center into two parts; when these parts separate it is seen from Fig. 41 that the firing-pin takes up a position parallel to the longer axis of the fuse and its point is almost touching the friction composition. When the projectile strikes, the plunger drives the firing-pin into the friction composition. The action is then the same as in the ordinary percussion-fuse. This fuse is therefore perfectly safe to handle, transport, or use. It becomes active only when a high rotary motion is given it. ”

“ Hence, if the gun is properly trained and fired at precisely the right moment, and if the fuse does its work, the projectile will pass into the nucleus of the comet, and, before the heat has time to melt the shell, the charge will explode and the nucleus—the only dangerous part—will either be blown to fragments or dissipated in gas. ”

“ Some defect in the fuse, or some injury done to it, may cause it to smoulder for a long time, and the blaster, thinking the shot has missed, approaches the fuse to see the effects produced by the shots that have fired. The defective portion of the fuse having burned through, the train again starts, and the explosion takes place, probably with fatal consequences. Thus missed shots are not only a cause of long delays, but are sources of great danger. Accidents may occur also from premature explosion. ”

“ It is a curious fact, and one which greatly increases the efficiency of the shells, that owing to the bursting charge requiring a minute space of time to mature its ignition after the firing of the fuse by impact, the shell is enabled to travel four or five feet after striking an object before disruption takes place. Hence, therefore, it acts as a shot before it bursts as a shell. When it perforates a target the explosion may be seen to take place at a few feet beyond, and when it grazes it has time to rise, and may be observed to burst after clearing the ground. ”

“ The first section from the end of the fuse was marked "6;" the next section "5" and so on down to the section nearest the bomb, which was divided by the marks "1"—"1/2"—"1/4."
"I see," said Josie, nodding her head with intelligent perception. "Each section, when lighted, will burn for one hour, running along its groove but harmless until the end of the fuse is reached. If the entire fuse is lighted, it will require just six hours to explode the bomb, while if it is cut off to the last mark and then lighted, the bomb will explode in fifteen minutes. ”

“ This combination is called an exploder, and it is inserted in a fuse-case or magazine containing powder or gun-cotton. The exploder and magazine together form the fuse. One of the terminals is generally attached to the exterior of the torpedo, which forms an earth; the other one is connected with an insulated wire or cable leading to the electrical battery. These fuses are made to explode either at will or on contact. If they are to explode at will, the firing circuit as a rule is not completed until the moment desired for explosion. ”

“ The short time fuse has red threads in it, the long time fuse hasn't. If the German sees that there are none of these red threads in the fuse of the grenade that drops near him he figures he's got time to throw it back. ”

“ As you may imagine, the bullets work great havoc on men and horses within this area. Sometimes the fuse does not explode the powder at the right time. In order that the shot may not be wasted, it is provided with a cap, which causes the shell to explode when it strikes the ground. A quick-firing gun, such as is used by the Royal Field Artillery, fires about six times a minute. When necessary it can fire much more rapidly than this. As many as twenty shots a minute have been fired from a British field gun. ”

“ Put a coin beneath a bulb in a public building during the daytime, so that fuses will blow out when lights are turned on at night. The fuses themselves may be rendered ineffective by putting a coin behind them or loading them with heavy wire. Then a short-circuit may either start a fire, damage transformers, or blow out a central fuse which will interrupt distribution of electricity to a large area. ”

“ To light more resistant materials, use a candle plus tightly rolled or twisted paper which has been soaked in gasoline. To create a briefer but even hotter flame, put celluloid such as you might find in an old comb, into a nest of plain or saturated paper which is to be fired by a candle.
(3) To make another type of simple fuse, soak one end of a piece of string in grease. Rub a generous pinch of gunpowder over the inch of string where greasy string meets clean string. Then ignite the clean end of the string. ”

“ One day Johnny went to town, and that same day I got in a hurry and left my gun at camp.
I worked all the morning down at the bottom of the shaft, and when I see by the sun it was getting along towards noon, I put in three good shots, tamped 'em down, lit the fusees, and started to climb out.
It ain't noways pleasant to light a fuse in a shaft, and then have to climb out a fifty-foot ladder, with it burning behind you. ”

“ The effectiveness of shell fire depends entirely upon the conditions being present necessary to the correct timing of the fuse—that is to say, either the range must be known with great accuracy and the time-fuse mechanism correspondingly perfect, or the nature of the target must be such as to permit of the effective employment of an impact fuse of some description. ”

“ To install a fuse, hold it in the same manner and put the other end of the fuse in the upper spring contact, forcing it upward until the bottom ends slip into place. Care should be taken to keep the small air gap between the toothed washer and the line terminal clean. If this precaution is not taken, and the air gap is allowed to clog up with dust and dirt, it will introduce a leak to ground or between wires with resulting poor transmission. All mounting screws and all wire connections should be kept tight. ”

“ This gray powder is the fulminate used in the caps and cartridges familiar to sportsmen, as well as in the primers for cannon and the fuses for the explosion of a quantity of gunpowder or other explosives. Being harmless when wet, it is usually kept and handled in that condition. Generally speaking, electricity is the agent by means of which the fulminate is ignited; the fuse for this purpose is ordinarily constructed as follows: A brass or copper cylinder, about half an inch in diameter, closed at one end, is partially filled with the desired quantity of the wet fulminate ”

“ Explosives should be stored in tiers, box on box, with laths between to prevent dampness accumulating. No cases must be opened in the magazines, a separate building being provided at a safe distance for that purpose. Gunpowder and dynamites in unopened cases, and fuses securely boxed, may be stored in the same magazine, but no fulminates in the form of caps, or otherwise, or loose coils of fuse, should ever be stored in the same building with gunpowder and high explosives. ”

“ Either shrapnel or high explosive steel shell is used, as well as gas shells and other special ammunition. The projectile weighs 95 lbs. The propelling charge of smokeless powder is a sectionalized charge made up of two sections; a base [Pg 166] charge and one smaller increment. The weight of the charge is 25 lbs.
The fuzes commonly used are the 31 sec. combination fuse for use with shrapnel and combining time and percussion elements: the point detonating fuse Mark IV used with the steel high explosive shell and the mark III point detonating fuze used with gas shell. ”

“ As the gunner wishes the shrapnel to burst about fifty yards before reaching the troops, he makes his fuse [199] of such a length that it will explode the powder in a little less than ten seconds after the shell has left the gun.
Royal Field Artillery in Action. Photo, Exclusive News Agency. Notice that the gun is hidden behind bushes. Sometimes the guns are covered with straw or branches of trees in order to hide them from observers in aeroplanes.
When the powder explodes, it blows out the bullets, which fly forward in a cone-shaped shower. ”