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Sweets Double Action Safety Fuse (Fuze)

HAZORD

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
One of our members asked for more information about a fuze on a projectile that I posted, a High Explosives Shrapnel projo made by American Ordnance Company in 1897 for the U.S. Navy 3 inch Landing Gun. The gray area on the projectile would be filled with black powder to comprise the HE element, and the bottom is filled with layers of lead balls in a matrix of steel shrapnel pie-slice-shaped dividers.

The fuze on the projectile had no ID, but I had a very similar one with operating instructions and ID engraved on it. These fuzes have a thread size different from all other U.S. Ordnance and operate in the same manner, so I'm assuming they were made by the same company, the American Ordnance Company.

The fuze operates as a normal Powder Train time fuze, with rotation of a timing ring to set the time. One of the photos shows 4 rachet springs under the ring, that only allow it to turn in one direction. These spring tips engage a dimpled ring in the main body of the fuze. Upon firing, a weighted primer travels backwards, impacting a fixed firing pin in the centerline of the fuze, starting the time ring burning.

The rear of the fuze houses a mirror image of the same weighted primer in this case facing forward, which would travel forward and impact a fixed firing pin if the projectile impacts something significant. Either the rear impact or timing feature would fire a base charge of black powder, which encircles the rear impact mechanism, covered by the plug with the screwdriver slot. The photo showing the fuze bases shows the chamber in the right fuze, covered by foil on the left fuze. There is a boresafe feature composed of a cylinder offset from the centerline of the fuze. Both ends of the cylinder have 1/2 of the material removed for 1/4 inch, which would support the primers on each end. Upon firing, the heavier half of the cylinder would rotate to the outside, freeing the primers to move in their respective chambers. The offset hole for the safety can be seen in photo 4.

John
 

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Great post John with much information. What a beautiful fuze that is, well marked and in such excellent condition! That fuze is, well, sweet! Thanks for showing and posting..Dano
 
Some details from the 1894 Am.Ord.Catalogue

At 72 resolution so I couldn't do very much.
 

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Sweets double action safety fuze...

Hello John & Gordon,

Thank you for the reference information regarding the beautiful 3-inch projectile and fuze. This era is one of my favorite to collect, so this is very informative! I actually had a crack at one of these fuzes a few weeks back and like an idiot, failed to bid on it.

Best regards,

Randall
 
You are welcome Randall. Gordon had sent me a Pdf of the American Ord stuff, and I pulled the drawing off and worked on the lighting, so the component labels are readable. Thanks again to Gordon for this.

John
 

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Here's one with it's lead cover

Hi All,

While busy diving into my fuze trash box, I came across a couple of these beaut little devils, one also has the lead cover....

...and while I was "googling" the net to refresh my memory on these, I stumble across this thread!

Well mark & stamped, the only thing they forgot was to put the blasted "date" on it!

Cheers
Drew

Need to update my "Pre-WW1" group now......
 

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Lovely fuzes!
Do you really need 2 of these Drew?
I'd love to own just one!

Cheers,
Andy
 
hmm, nice pics. I also have one of these Sweet's fuses but I wonder why there has stamped such a detailed inscription about the function on it.
First I thought that these well inscripted ones my have been giveaways from the manufacturer for interested customers because no official army marking like pattern or something common on it.

May I be right with that?

thanks and best regards
nudelmannrichter
 
Hi Hazord,

From your earlier posted photos, the one on the left (unmarked) I believe is the 1899 model and the other is the later 1900 model Sweet fuse.

(The 1899 had a smaller diameter plunger retaining screw in the base)


Nudelmannricher,

This was a commerically designed fuse that the US navy adopted - Their policy at the time was to accept any fuze as long as the function met their specifications rather than design a fuze and possibly have to fight patent lawsuits.......if you read the "marketing description" in one of the above replies, it seems clear that the manufacturer is really going overboard on promoting the accuracy of their "new" fuze when compared to traditional time setting fuzes of the period.

I'm not sure why the 1899 model didn't have it?????

Cheers
Drew
 
Good Morning from Arizona. I am new to this site and thanks to the modertaors for activatiing me. I am a retired miltary museum director, having worked in museums and collections ranging from the Battleship Texas, to museums for the US Army and US Air Force Academy. Yesterday I found a Sweet's Double Action Safety fuse at a local estate sale. Knowing absolutely nothing about it except for the fact that it is an artillery shell fuse, I turned to BOCN for identification as well as to a former colleague from the Field Artillery Museum at Ft. Sill Oklahoma. That identification has been provided through this thread. One question still remains: the one I found has a numbered paper patch over the hole in the gnurled ring shown in the picture. Does that mean that it could still be live??
 
Hello and welcome in the BOCN.

The paper patch could mean that the powder train is still there but nobody can tell you for sure because the fuze could also have been prepared as an inert example for military training. But even if the powder train and/or the percussion primers are filled I am not informed about US law and if it is then illegal in the US/Arizona? Would consider a single rifle cartridge much more dangerous as this fuze doesn't contain any parts filled with HE. And I guess such fuzes with it's moisture protection still in place should be very rare. It would be nice if you can show pictures ;-)

I'll attach one more nice drawing of a 15-pr (3-Inch) shrapnel-shell with Sweet's double action fuze. It's from the "American Ordnance Company" 1899.
 

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Thanks Alpini. I didn't acquire it when I first saw it and when I went back someone had already bought if for $5.00. Concerned that it may be hazardous, but haven't been able to identify the buyer yet. My colleague from the Artillery museum also says it could still be live. Unfortunately I didn't photograph it at the time. Wish I had now. As I recall the paper patch was about 1/4 inch square and I believe had the number 9 printed on it.
 
$5!!!

Holy S%^% that's like pre 1950 prices................. I have only come across /seen 2 x of these fuzes...................

They may of course be more abundant in the US of A
 
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Not that abundant. Other than pictures, I've never laid hands on one, nor seen one for sale. Cheers, Bruce.
 
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