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3-inch HE Bomb Restoration Advice

A clever chap who trades as Trev’s Castings has fabricated and fitted new fins to my original tail tube. Many thanks to the forum member who pointed me towards him.

https://www.trevscastingsandreplicas.com/

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Also; after some dialog with the eBay seller ‘green1166’ (who has been very pleasant to deal with) I’ve ordered a repro early type fuze adaptor.
 
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The repro fuze adaptor has arrived with impressive speed, but sadly it’s also too loose to fit. :tinysmile_angry_t:

I think I am going to have to regretfully conclude that there is a problem with the neck of the bomb and fitting it with a fuze and adaptor will require the use of a spacer.
 
Please clarify this spacer and the loose problem.
Is it that the adapter is a loose fit in the bomb threads, which look as though they have seen better days and perhaps normal luting or cement could be applied, because once in, there is no requirement to remove it ever?
Is is because the fuze waggles, which it would because the paper tube which would be set in the filling, is not present. Some types of bomb with nose adapter, have the tube held in place with felt washers. Some have a double tube.
 
Please clarify this spacer and the loose problem.
Is it that the adapter is a loose fit in the bomb threads, which look as though they have seen better days and perhaps normal luting or cement could be applied, because once in, there is no requirement to remove it ever?
Is is because the fuze waggles, which it would because the paper tube which would be set in the filling, is not present. Some types of bomb with nose adapter, have the tube held in place with felt washers. Some have a double tube.

The problem is that the neck of the bomb is wider than both the adaptor threads. There is no engagement between the two and the adaptors will just fall out under gravity. I have now fixed the later tube adaptor in place in the bomb neck by putting a couple of wraps of electrical tape around the threads as a spacer. I don’t have a fuze for it yet.
 
If someone making these did not have a Fuze 152/162 for a pattern, but thought that a similar non rotational mortar fuze was similar albeit shorter, say a Fuze 151/161, with the rough dimensions you gave, 41mm is 1.61" and 43mm is 1.69". Fuzes 151/161 have LH threads of 1.77" external diameter.
If not knowing any better and made it exactly as a 151/161, your adapter would have a left hand thread, just saying.
 
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If someone making these did not have a Fuze 152/162 for a pattern, but thought that a similar non rotational mortar fuze was similar albeit shorter, say a Fuze 151/161, with the rough dimensions you gave, 41mm is 1.61" and 43mm is 1.69". Fuzes 151/161 have LH threads of 1.77" external diameter.
If not knowing any better and made it exactly as a 151/161, your adapter would have a left hand thread, just saying.

I discussed it with the seller (who seems knowledgeable) and he stated that his repro adaptor ring would fit in his MkIII body. I don’t have a fuze, but the filler plug shown in my picture will screw into the repro adaptor.
 
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