Birdseye
BOCN Contributor
It is prety standard (universal?) that base fuses screw in with a reverse thread. This is done, ostensibly, so that the twist imparted on the shell by the rifleing further tightens it rather than, embaressingly, unscrewing it in flight and causing it to fall at the enemy's feet.
One would think, therefore, that all the threaded bits of a base fuse would follow the same design logic.
Right?
Well, imagine my chagrin when, while attempting to remove the percussion charge retaining screw on a Hotchkiss 1900 fuse, I found that the clockwise rotation served to further tighten it!!!!
I have another Hotchkiss fuse body, recently purchased, which shows that the fireing pin retainer is also threaded conventionally. That is to say that, for Hotchkiss base fuses at least, only the body is reverse threaded.
I suspect that this might explain some fuses that are "difficult" to take apart.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t
One would think, therefore, that all the threaded bits of a base fuse would follow the same design logic.
Right?
Well, imagine my chagrin when, while attempting to remove the percussion charge retaining screw on a Hotchkiss 1900 fuse, I found that the clockwise rotation served to further tighten it!!!!
I have another Hotchkiss fuse body, recently purchased, which shows that the fireing pin retainer is also threaded conventionally. That is to say that, for Hotchkiss base fuses at least, only the body is reverse threaded.
I suspect that this might explain some fuses that are "difficult" to take apart.:tinysmile_fatgrin_t