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blacker bombard 29mm HE 20lb. bomb

L

last round

Member
greetings, does anybody have an illustration of a " live " bomb and know how the bomb comes apart to insert the fuse. I have what appears to be practice round as the thing will not come apart. components are loose and rotate etc. but appear to be " captive ". I have all the publications relevant to the weapon, which at the end of the day are pretty useless. detailed diagrams do not match up with the description of how the thing comes apart, ie:- no screwthreads etc pictured, thanking people in anticipation
 
It has a 'bayonet joint'. The dummy warhead needs one third of a turn anti-clockwise and should then lift off revealing a fuze cavity. "Appears to be practice" is a bit worrying. If you have any doubt that it inert then dont mess with it. Practice rounds were fitted with a live cartridge.
 
Hi Last round,
As mentioned by Bonnex, unless you are 100% sure the item i empty and inert it is best to follow the guidelines below.
Within the UK we have a system in place for reporting suspect items of Ordnance, wether dug up, found, in a collection or shop etc etc.

First of all, contact the Police, they will put in place a system to have the item removed or destroyed by an EOD team that are always on 24/7 standby for the public safety (its their job, so dont be sorry).

In the event of it being free from explosive they do have the jurisdiction to hand back to you as it is your property and not theirs unless it has explosive inside (or unless you have stolen it).

Don't worry about speaking with the Police, rather you be safe than loosing parts of your body and it gives them something different to deal with. They will not arrest you (normally) or put you in court unless you are doing something very dodgy / terrorism / working outside normal rules of FAC and/or explosive handling, producing something nasty, have a launch mechanism for a missile (please check home office guidance or police guidelines).

Best regards Weasel
 
does not appear to have a bayonet fitting. the nose cap is missing and looking down into the body the fuse container does not have a top, so basically an empty tube. the cup attachment rotates through 360 degrees on the adaptor which is welded to the tail tube. the main body also rotates through 360 degrees on the cup attachment. the cup attachment consists of two sections, could it be the case that the upper section splits from the lower section, a bayonet fitting ? thanks chaps.
 
after a little butchery , thing now in its component form. see what you mean with the " interrupted " locking interface,
 
will arrange. the small protrusion pressed into the cup attachment and the keyway must have suffered damage thereby not performing correctly as the stop. the crimped over boss at the base of the cup attachment that retains the " bayonet " type of fitting looked as though it had not been done correctly thereby exacerbating the 360 degree rotation of the complete head. once you see the " ramp " set up of the tightening system the penny drops. simple and ingenious. bit like an Edison type light bulb
 
poor crimp on the base fitting allowed the whole assembly to spin freely. also the secondary method of retainment, the key, had been damaged .
 

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blacker.jpg The restoration is nearly finished. The head / bomb bit was severely deformed / flattened , how to repair it that was the problem. Also the central fuse pocket was missing its cap and there was no filling nose cap. The only way to get rid of the damage / multiple dents was from the inside and beat / knock them out. Out came the junior hacksaw and the body cut around the top seam. With judicious application of heat and the use of a ball pein hammer on a big block of soft wood, the contour / shape was brought back to something resembling the original. The problem now was to marry the two parts back which were slightly deformed. A narrow section of flue tubing used on a wood burning stove installation was inserted into the bottom half and the top half pushed down over it. A slight gap was left for the introduction of solder by means of a propane gas torch. The join was cleaned up with emery cloth. A circular piece of tin was soldered onto the end of the "open " fuse pocket before the two main halves were closed. The fuse was made up from a turned piece of aluminium bar stock, the end cap the body of a Humbrol paint tin, modellers variety. The CE pellet representation a turned piece of wood, the small packing washer a piece of tyre innertube rubber. The filling cap which I am not happy with and which will be replaced, was made from the domed bottom of an aerosol paint tin soldered on. The tail fin is stamped B.C.L 8-42.
 
Nice Job, i have one with similar problems as your one, i just pick it up have a look and put straight down again,,,,,, Dave
 
hello Wiley, your thoughts rang a chord. My lump sat for ages in the garage. I would pick it up, play with it, put it down, stare at it. The thought was the same, must try and sort the thing out. Many years later , the end result. I have fabricated a suitable representation for the filling cap for the nose but I am now psyching myself up to unsolder the current cap recently fitted. Maybe in another couple of years !
 
last round said:
hello Wiley, your thoughts rang a chord. My lump sat for ages in the garage. I would pick it up, play with it, put it down, stare at it. The thought was the same, must try and sort the thing out. Many years later , the end result. I have fabricated a suitable representation for the filling cap for the nose but I am now psyching myself up to unsolder the current cap recently fitted. Maybe in another couple of years !
Click to expand...

Here is the beast,,,,, Dave

HPIM8732.jpgHPIM8731.jpgHPIM8733.jpg
 
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