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Six arming vanes?

gwa330

Member
Hi,

I am in the British Army and have been tasked with a project on the British GP 40lb frag bomb. I thought the fuze was a No 873 but the documentation i have says that the 873 has 5 arming vanes. Mine has 6. Ive looked at the Pistol No.45 but it just doesnt seem correct, the pin holes are not high enough on mine?
IMG_0441.jpg IMG_0459.jpg

Thanks
 
Fuze No 873 Mk I

Hello,

In my doc is writing that fuze No 873 Mk I has three pairs of vanes. Your five vanes fuze must be another model perhaps.

Here two pics I have of it.

Yoda
 

Attachments

  • UK Fuze No 873 Mk I-01.JPG
    UK Fuze No 873 Mk I-01.JPG
    57.2 KB · Views: 62
  • UK Fuze No 873 Mk I-02.jpg
    UK Fuze No 873 Mk I-02.jpg
    96.7 KB · Views: 43
Hi GWA330

The six-bladed arming vane was fitted to some No 873 Mk.3 Fuzes. The No 45 Pistol had a six-bladed arming vane too, but the way to tell the two apart is from the number of holes in the arming vane blades for fitting the safety pin; the 873 Mk.3 had pairs of holes in at least two of the vanes, while the No 45 Pistol only had one hole in three of the vanes. Both of them were fitted to the 20lb Frag and 40lb GP bombs.

I hope this helps.

Regards

eodda
 
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