Originally Posted by
Fonsini
We all know about the early Argentine bomb failures attributed to excessive fusing delays, delays which undoubtedly saved a number of RN ships from destruction, but were the timing specifics ever revealed. What fusing delay did they start with and what did they finally reduce it to ?
If you’re coming in at 400 knots and 60ft and release at 300 yards you’re playing with what, 2 seconds ?
Anyone have the full story.
I cannot quote the precise settings used by the Argentine aircraft but in general terms the weapons used had a safety delay after release, before the fuses could arm. This was to allow safe separation between the aircraft and the weapon and was usually achieved by a mechanical vane rotating in the airflow. For "slick" bombs, delivered in a high-angle dive or climbing (loft or toss) manoeuvre, we used a long delay (in excess of 10 secs) to allow the aircraft to achieve separation by manoeuvre. For a low-level delivery this was not feasible and a very much shorter safety delay was used, combined with a retardation device on the weapon, to achieve safe separation. Depending on the weapon, this could be a set of drag-plates or a parachute.
Once armed, the weapon was fused to give a delay to detonation of between a few milliseconds and 30 minutes, once it had hit its target. If you were attacking a ship, the delay would be quite small so that the bomb exploded inside the target, if you were aiming to penetrate a runway, the delay was longer.
Mog
Sorry, crossed with Just this Once, who has provided a much more eloquent answer!