The Time Fuse and How It Works 



The number of feet, yards or miles which 

 the projectile is to travel can be accurately- 

 gaged by simply turning the time ring 



By Reginald Trautschold, M.E. 



The time fuse forms 

 the tip of the nose 

 of the projectile. 

 It is in five parts: 

 the body proper, 

 its cap, and the 

 top, bottom and 

 time rings. Fitted 

 between the cap 

 and the body is a 

 time pellet held in 

 place by a stiff 

 stirrup with bent- 

 over ears and con- 

 taining a detonator 

 of highly explosive 

 material. Under 

 the time pellet is 

 the fuse needle 



FLASH HOLE 

 POWDER SHAFT. 

 POWDER CHANNEL 

 POWDER STICK 

 BOTTOM RING 

 POWDER CHANNEL 

 POWDER TRAIN 

 POWDER STICK 

 FELT GASKET 

 POWDER STICK 

 BOWDER MAGAZINE 



BASE PLUG 



POWDER POCKET 



BASE PLU( 



WASHER 



DETONATOR FOR 

 PERCUSSION FUSE 



TIME PELLET 



TOP RING 



PERCUSSION 

 FERRULE 



powder channel 

 powder train 



Bottom ring 

 detonator spring 

 fowder channel 

 time ring 



BODY 



ERCUSSION MECH 

 ANISM HOLDER 

 STIRRUP SPRING FOR 

 PERCUSSION PELLET 

 CAP FOR PER- 

 CUSSION HOLDER 

 SCREW PLUG 

 FOR BASE 

 PERCUSSION 

 PELLET 



YOU have read in the war dispatches 

 that the "troops advanced under a 

 curtain of fire." What does that 

 mean? Simply that a barrage of bursting 

 shells, hurled over the advancing men into 

 the enemy's lines, forms a protective screen. 

 In order that this curtain of fire may 

 be a real protection, however, and not 

 a terrible menace, it is absolutely essential 

 that the men who fire the guns should have 

 precise control of the point at which the 

 shrapnel or high-explosive shells are to 

 break. It is easy enough to imagine the 

 demoralization within the advancing lines 

 if the men had to fear bombardment from 

 the rear as well as the enemy's fire. 



That danger has been practically elimi- 

 nated by the perfection of the time fuse. 

 By simply adjusting the time ring of the 

 fuse the gunner can predetermine the exact 

 point — be it feet or miles from the muzzle 

 of the gun — at which the projectile is to 

 do its deadly work. Shrapnel, and the 

 even uglier high-explosive shells, may be 

 exploded if desired within a hundred yards 

 from the muzzle of the gun, notwithstand- 

 ing the fact that the projectiles start on 

 their mission of destruction at the rate of 



about 1,350 miles per hour. On the other 

 hand, they may be sent whirling through 

 space for miles. It all depends upon the 

 adjustment of the simple little time ring 

 of the fuse. 



The time fuse is an ingenious little 

 mechanism which forms the tip of the nose 

 of the projectile. It contains a time pellet 

 and a detonator of highly explosive ma- 

 terial. 



On leaving the muzzle of the gun, the 

 projectile, traveling at a speed of close to 

 2,000 feet per second, is literally shot away 

 from the time pellet, the bent-over ears of 

 the stirrup which held it in place are 

 straightened out and the fuse needle is 

 driven forcibly into the detonator. The 

 resulting flash passes through the flash 

 hole in the body and ignites the mealed 

 powder in the powder shaft of the top ring. 

 This ignites the train of powder contained 

 in the circumscribing powder train. From 

 the powder channel in the top ring a similar 

 powder train in the lower ring is ignited 

 through a connecting hollow black powder 

 stick. From the second powder channel, 

 the flash is transmitted to the powder 

 magazine in the base of the time fuse, 



192 



