2.75" Mk 40 rocket

[setlab]

How did I do? Picked it up for $250, it was too neat to pass by. From what I gather it's fired from those rocket pods on helicopters and is the predecessor to the current model used today. Somewhere someone cammoed it up, looks like the rocket used to be white and the training warhead was blue.

[ammocat]

You don't see those very often. I cannot tell from the photo which warhead is on it. Does it have any markings stamped into it?

The rocket motor is the older 2.75" Folding Fin Aircraft Rocket (FFAR). I believe most were white in colour, although I think there were some grey ones as well. I will have to see if I can find my info on them.

The newer rocket motors have helical fins inside the venturi to impart spin on the rocket and three small folding fins.

Nice find!

[setlab]

Looks like it is a M247 warhead. "This is a practice warhead incorporating a smoke charge designed to produce a flash, bang, and smoke signature on warhead impact."

The paint is scratched and faded but I can make out
2.75 IN. PP
WHD W?
then looks like a serial number or lot number under that





I wonder who takes the powder/fuel/explosives out of this stuff? I sure wouldn't want that job.

[dano1917]

Very interesting and awesome rocket setlab. I do not collect these but can sure appreciate the beauty of the piece. So much ordnance, so little time! Dano

[Chris 42 RQ]

It may well be that no one has removed the propellant from yours as it may well be "expended", some of these can be found for sale in the UK, a lot are static fired for tests and some are used as a cheap means of propulsion on various tests, most of these end up in the skip and even a few off ranges are in fair condition as these are recovered then go to scrappers who used to sell them on.

[Chris 42 RQ]

Setlab without straying too far from your post, have a look at this link and you will see that a lot or air to ground kit does survive the impact.
Also the attached picture was taken at the "Stoneliegh" militaria show earlier this year and one stall holder had two of these for sale-very good condition and both I believe had been fired and recovered.
Mind you he wanted £175-00 each

[setlab]

Oh wow that's a neat looking rocket, I would have picked one of those up in a heart beat. Definitely looks to be in better condition, but hasn't the euro surpassed the dollar in value? None the less I'm happy and have never seen one of these before. I'm pretty sure that there isn't any propellant inside it, there is a grain of sand or something inside that I can hear sliding the length of the tube and there is some slight tool marks around a small cut slit on the last 1/4" of the rocket. The end of the burners don't look used and are still shinnyish but they do smell like burnt gunpowder/explosives a little bit.

Does anyone from the U.S. know if we can get stuff like that threw customs, say if we were to buy something in Europe or Canada? I want to go out on a limb and say we can't, hope I'm wrong.

[ammocat]

If there are tool marks near the end it is probably from removing the aft assembly. I have never worked on Mk 40 or Mk 66, only the newer CRV-7's. If the Mk 40's are the same you can insert a thin punch under the retaining ring in the slot at the end of the rocket motor. Lift the ring so it protrudes out of the slot and then rotate the aft assembly to feed the ring out of the slot. Once the ring is out the aft assembly can be pull off and the interior of the rocket motor can be inspected. Reverse the process to reassemble, although it is generally a little more difficult.

I am curious about the warhead. You said it was the M274. Can you see the outline of the vent holes near the rear of the warhead. I am not familiar with this model of warhead and was looking at information online, but could only find drawings and all the drawings showed the vent holes clearly. Just curious if you can actually see them on the warhead.

[setlab]

I just did a quick google search for mk40 warheads last night, it kinda looked like a m274 that came up on the search. I tried to trace my path to find the picture I saw before and came across this one, it might be a WTU-1/B according to this picture who knows. The inside of the warhead is completely hollow. Could the WHD W have any significance to what type it is?

[kahu1]

2.75" MK4 (40) MOD10 Rocket motors.
The brown one has a recovered warhead (Hence the slightly banana shape!).Both motors inert ,the brown one from a static firing and the white from dismantling.
The warheads sometimes survive firing though often very buried,the motors are of lightweight alloy and generally break up,depending off course on the distance and angle of firing.
Note the plastic fin retainer on brown and the correct (fired) fin attitude on the white.
These and the later CRV7 rockets occassionally appear in auctions ,from about NZ$30 for the warhead and NZ$80-150 for complete rocket.
I suspect (though always safety minded!) your warhead is a WTU practice,repainted.
These are hollow 1 piece castings,sometimes with a light base plug.
Looks like the M274 has a seperate fuse.

Cheers ,Bob.