Description
Natural brass coated with a yellowish green varnish. Fuze may be steel colored.
Brass throughout except for steel firing pin, steel spring and copper shear wire.
Position and method of fixing in bomb: Screwed clockwise into nose and locking ring tightened. Both fuze body and locking ring contain spanner wrench holes.
Components of explosive train: Detonator cap, a selective pyrotechnic assembly, and a gaine.
Fuzes likely to be found with: B-1(a), B-1(b).
Delay times: Instantaneous or short delay.
The upper fuze body houses the striker and the firing pin while the lower body portion contains the selective delay assembly. A U-shaped safety wire fits over the arming vanes into holes in the upper fuze body to prevent premature rotation. The shear wire and spring prevent the firing pin and striker from moving down on the primer after the fuze is armed. The selective delay assembly consists of one channel containing a pyrotechnic train for short delay, an open flash channel for instantaneous action, and a selector switch. Choice of fuze action is made by turning the switch to the vertical or horizontal position in accordance with the Japanese characters and red arrow indicating the setting. A stop stud on the upper fuze body and one on the vane cap prevent the arming vane assembly from jamming too tightly. An Army gaine is threaded into the lower body.
Fuze armed after 6 rotations of vane; vanes will fall off after 10 rotations.
Variations of this fuze have been recovered. They are identical with the brass-bodied A-2(c) except that the upper fuze body and in some cases, the entire fuze body is made of steel.
Crashed Aircraft Intelligence (India) has found a fuze changing mechanism with each bomb release mechanism on Army bombers. Operation of the "fuze changer" causes a projecting telescopic arm to rotate approximately 90°. The forked end of this arm will fit into slot of selector switch.
Hazardous Components
No information about hazardous components.
See Also
Tail, B-1(b), Type 1 15 Second Delay
Source(s)
OP 1667, Japanese Explosive Ordnance, Volume 1 (1946)
TM-E9-1984, Enemy Bombs and Fuzes, Section VII, Japanese Fuzes (1942)
