Large Flechette

[bacarnal]

I found this flechette in my collection and can't figure out what it is supposed to be fired out of. The top one is a 8.5gr fired out of the 105's and is the most common, the middle is a 16gr that was fired out of the 2.75" Rocket. both of them and the penny are given for size comparison. The bottom one is the puzzler. It's dimensions are as follows: L 3.108", D .22", Fin Width .48". Weight is 162gr. Thanks, Bruce.

 

[ordnance]

Bruce,

I think that is the flechette for the newer anti-materiel 2.75" rocket warhead, not the Vietnam era WDU-4. I used to have one and the flechettes were much larger than the earlier types.

 

[HAZORD]

The flechettes from the Anti-Helicopter rocket are only about 2-1/4 inches long, not 3 inches.

 

[apfsds]

It looks a lot like a BEI DEFENSE SYSTEMS, 120 Grain Flechette. Are you positive yours is 160 grains? Attaching a photo of an example in my collection that was factory embedded in a resin block.

Jason

 

[bacarnal]

Okay, ya caught me.:tinysmile_hmm_t: Weight of flechette is 161.8gr. The fin profile is a bit different than yours. I also misquoted the weight of the smallest one. It's 7.5gr. Cheers, Bruce.

 

[weberoed]

tHE 2.75 RKT HAS HAD 5 DIFFERENT WARHEADS FOR THE APERS WARHEAD, EACH HAD FLECETHHTES OF DIFFERENT LENGTHS AND WEIGHTS.
WDU-4/A, WDU-4A/A, and WDU-13/A
WDU-4A/A: warhead; contains about 2200 20-grain (1.3 g) flechettes

2.75-INCH, FLECHETTE, M255 AND M255A1
Warheads:
M255:
Expulsion charge: M9 propellant, weight unknown.
Payload: Flechettes, steel (2,500), no energetic composition, 4.05 kilograms (8.93 pounds); each
flechette weighs approximately 28 grains.
Tracer (3): Composition and weight unknown.
M255A1:
Expulsion charge: Black powder, 1 gram. M10 propellant, 5 grams. Antimony trisulfide/ barium nitrate,
less than 1 gram.
Payload: Flechettes, steel (1,179), no energetic composition, 4.59 kilograms (10.11 pounds); each
flechette weighs approximately 60 grains.

 

[bacarnal]

Okay, sounds like my middle one came out of the WDU-4/13 Series. All I recall of that inerting job was a bunch of flechettes, a Mech Time Base Fuze, a big spring somewhere, and some nasty red dye powder which, if it got on your uniform, would not wash out (kinda like the orange stuff in the 40mm Practice). Had to wash the flechettes in alcohol to get the dye cleaned off.

That said, so far nobody knows of a 3.1" 161.8gr flechette? I looked around and found I have three of them. Can't remember where I picked them up. Cheers, Bruce.

 

[TPB2002]

sorry fellas; I'm at work away from my collection;(other than photos on my hard drive): but I 'think" the #3 of 4 "flechettes" in the USAF CBU-107 PAW were longer than the current 2.75' Hydra rocket payload flechette. I will measure

 

[TPB2002]

The longer (of the two small flechettes in the CBU 107) is 68.6 mm or 2.7" so yours remains one of the "zillion" variations that either had a "home" or was a trial of some type.

 

[bacarnal]

Another difference in mine is that the point is not square cut like the last two shown but is round cut, i.e. similar to a pencil sharpener.
If I remember right, I got these at a show around Aberdeen, MD, so, yes it might be from a test/trial. Cheers, Bruce.

 

[TPB2002]

I'll look for that characteristic in my flechette drawer...good point (no pun intended)