GB1358090A - Warhead - Google Patents

Abstract

1358090 Detonator firing circuits MESSERSCHMITT - BOLKOW - BLOHM GmbH 29 Nov 1971 [3 Dec 1970] 55379/71 Heading H2H [Also in Division F3] A warhead designed to penetrate the plating of a ship and thereafter fire an explosive charge 7 comprises impact and inertia actuating switches 26a, 26b which when closed allow the capacitor 24 to discharge through a detonating pellet 27 which, after a certain time determined by pyrotechnic composition 28, causes the firing of element 29, piezo-electric firing generators 32 and detonators 12 sequentially; however if hot metal fragments &c. cause a burning of the charge prematurely, the reaction products of the charge, having a higher electrical conductivity than the initial material, short circuit two conductors 9, 10 to allow a second capacitor 25 to discharge through a second detonating pellet 30. There is now no delay in firing the detonators 12 because of the absence of the pyrotechnic composition 28 in the second circuit. If the short circuit resistance of the members 9, 10 is too great to allow a rapid discharge of capacitor 25, a bi-directional thyristor (33) (Fig. 2b, not shown) can be connected in parallel with the members. Alternatively an electronic retardation element (45) (Fig. 3, not shown) may be used to transmit a pulse to a thyristor (47) but on short circuiting of the members 9, 10, a transistor (48) becomes conductive and immediately fires the thyristor (47). The retardation time from closing of the actuating switches to firing of the thyristor may be determined by the time constant of an RC network (Fig. 4, not shown).