40 mm Grenade

Background
Low Pressure Gas Generation
Safe and Arm - See China Lake Patents
Launchers
    Very Pistol
    M-320 GLM
    XM-25 CDTE
    XM307Advanced Crew Served Weapon
    M79 with Stock
    China Lake Pump 40mm
    Airsoft M79
    SARCO M79
    M203 rifle mounted
    Mk19 Pedestal mounted
    M32 revolver
    M26 MASS
Ammunition
    Photos
        M385 Hi Pressure
        Case Cartridge Practice M212
        Ping Pong Ball Adapter
        Antenna
        40mm Collection
            M406
            M576 Buckshot
            XM651E1 CS
            XM585 White Star Cluster
    Ammo Manuals
    Pike Laser Guided Missile
    MJU-32A/B Decoy Flare
    Ammo Patents
Rifle Grenades
Bazooka
    Variations
    SARCO M1A1
        2.36" Manuals
        M-9A1 Sight
    SARCO M20 Parts Kit
        Photos
        Impulse Generator
        M20 Manuals
        M20 Sight
    Rocket Stability
    Rocket Launchers (Tube v. Rail)
    Rockets
    Rocket Patents
Light Anti-Tank Weapon (M72 LAWS)
Mortars
    M2 Mortar
Rocket-Propelled Grenade
Individual Integrated Fighting System
Switchblade 300
FGM-148_Javelin
FIM-92 Stinger
M777 & XM982 Excalibur
Krasnopol Laser Guided Round
Explosive Weight & Miss Distance
Patents
Related
Links

Background

This is a low pressure munition. Unlike high pressure munitions, like a rifle, that need very strong chambers and barrels, low pressure munitions can use thin walled barrels. The heart of the system is the low pressure gas generator. These gas generators are also used for things like automobile air bags, life vest inflation, life raft inflation, bolt cutters, grappling hooks, radio antenna launching. This same system is used to launch mortars.

AAI stands for Aircraft Armaments Incorporated. The origins of the 40 mm Grenade may be in explosive bolts used in Navy aircraft bomb racks.

China Lake Naval Weapons Center (Wiki) worked on the 40mm pump action 40mm system around 1968 (China Lake Patents - Description) (Wiki).

In the past I had a surplus flare gun that took some impossible to get cartridge so made up an adapter shell. It took a large pistol primer and fired a Ping Pong ball. Some padding was needed to keep from burning a hole in the ping pong ball, but then it would shoot the ball over the power lines. Based on this experience it may be possible to make a tennis ball launcher that could be used to put up wire antennas based on the high-low pressure system except using 22 rim fire blanks.

The current antenna launchers include:
Compressed gas driven tennis ball launchers. They require a way to get the compressed gas and are more bulky than a cartridge type device.
Bow and Arrow suffers from the problem of doing severe damage when coming down.
Sling Shot and lead weight - has limited height capability. I have 100+ feet tall pine trees and the sling shot at full extension can not get that high.

Most, if not all, the munitions on this web page are for delivering an amount of explosive about the same as a hand grenade, which in turn may have been designed to mimic a U.S. standard hardball which weighs a little more than 5 ounces and is just under 3" in diameter.

In this video (Forgotten Weapons: M79: The Iconic "Bloop Tube" 40mm Grenade Launcher) Ian says that this was developed as a replacement for the Bazooka. Uses the 40 x 46mm grenade.

Rheinmetall AG is mentioned as the inventor of the Hi-Lo system during W.W.II. for an 8cm anti-tank weapon.

Low Pressure Gas Generation

The first generation 40 mm grenade used the very common 0.38" blank pistol cartridge mounted in the base of the 40 mm round. When the primer is fired gas is generated in the blank cartridge and the pressure builds up (30,000 psi) to the point where the brass case ruptures in places where the chamber in the 40 mm round has holes. The high pressure gas expands into an empty space lowering the pressure (3,000 psi) which pushes the round out the 40 mm rifled barrel. This is called the High-Low pressure system. The high pressure is needed to properly burn the propellant that's commonly used in pistol rounds.
Wiki: High-low system, Project NIBLICK,

Launchers

In addition to the 40mm grenade launchers listed below there are the spigot-type STANAG type 22mm rifle grenades (Wiki). These are not 40mm, but rather just a different type of grenade. Most modern military rifles have a flash hider that's made to work with these rifle grenades (Wiki). There are three types: those that require a blank cartridge, those with a hole all the way through so a regular round can be used, and those that trap a bullet.

Very Pistol (Wiki)

Named after Edward Wilson Very (Wiki) there are two spellings Wiki shows Verey, the patent shows Very. His cartridge looks similar to a shotgun except there's a couple of pyrotechnic balls that ignite as soon as the cartridge is fired and so, like a tracer round, there's light from the muzzle until burnout after reaching maximum altitude. He patented the signal cartridge (not a pistol) which came to be called the Very Light.

Also see the AN-M8 Pyrotechnic Flare Pistol and Flares on the Radar Warning Receivers web page.

Signal Cartridges were intended to be used like Signal Flags (Wiki) or Morse Code (Wiki) and Aldis lights 1867 (Wiki), that's to send a message.
In 1846 Henry J Rogers (short bio at: Famous Americans -Mr. Rogers published (visual signaling codes for daytime use?).

"Telegraph Dictionary and Seaman's Signal-Book" (Baltimore, 1845);

"American Semaphoric Signal Book " (1847) ;

" American Code of Marine Signals " (1854); and,

with Walter P. Larkins. edited "Rogers's Commercial Code of Signals for all Nations" (1859).

In 1859 the Coston colored fires were being used.

An example is in Season 7, Episode 1, Murdoch Ahoy, of the Murdoch Mystery series near the end as a ship is going down. You see two red balls of light arching up and then down.

The Telegraph - Weapons invented in the heat of the conflict - Flare Pistol - Geophone - they got the flare pistol wrong, it was not invented for illumination or attention getting but instead for sending signals using 1 to 3 red or white shooting stars.

12528 Breech-loading fire-arm, Eollin White, Mar 13, 1855, oldest patent in class 42/28 - falling block
15496 breech-loading fire-arm, Gilbebt Smith, Aug 5, 1856, oldent patent in class 42/8 - hinged barrel
23536 System of Pyrotechnic Night Signals, B.F. Coston, Apr 5, 1859, 102/345; 102/360; 200/81.5 - boxes with red, white & blue fires.
The prior patents set the stage for the Very patent below.

190263 Signal-Cartridge, E. W. Very, May 1, 1877, 102/346 - oldest patent in this class, 300 feet up 8 seconds burn time (starts burning in barrel) -
        oldest in class 102/346 AMMUNITION AND EXPLOSIVES\PYROTECHNICS\Gun-type cartridge
        RE8167 Signal Cartridge, E.W. Very, April 9, 1878, 102/346; 102/342 (reissue of 190263)

191843 pyrotechnic signal-cartridges, Jacob J. Detwillee, Jun 12, 1877, 102/346
197339 Signal-cartridge, Henry H. Coston, Nov 20, 1877, 102/346; 102/360 - "Colston telegraphic night signals" successive colors
202126 breech-loading fire-arms, Chaeles W. Sneldee, Apr 9, 1878, 42/28 - falling block rifle
216552 pyrotechnic signal cartridges, Adam H. Bogardus, Jun 17, 1879, 102/346 - sub munition with balls inside
508152 Pyrotechnic projectile, Stauth & Wiebach, Nov 7, 1893, 102/335; 124/21; 42/54 - muzzle loaded into rifle
1306407 Flare-Light Shell, Samuel Cleland Davidson, Jun 10, 1919, 102/342, 102/346 - to light up an area for a minute or more, lands on it's base still burning
2097023 Firearm, Driggs Jr Louis L, Faber Henry B, Oct 26, 1937, 42/40, 102/340, 42/1.15 - removable barrel (part of flare) pistol.
2351268 Signal pistol, Molins Machine Co Ltd, Patrick Jackson Donald Richard, Jun 13, 1944, 42/41, 42/1.15, 42/71.2, 42/44, 42/70.8 - connects to aircraft port
2360168 Flare pistol, Glen R Severance, Frederick K Comiskey, Hilten E Jones, Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co, Oct 10, 1944, 42/46, 42/1.15 - AN-M8 shoots British AND American flares.
3168788 Signal Pistol, Feb 9, 1965, 42/1.15, 42/69.1, 42/41 - cheap to make uses pins & coil springs rather than conventional shaped trigger, sear, &Etc.
6257146 Noise making projectile, Christopher P. Stonebraker, Stoneco, Inc., Jul 10, 2001, 102/346, 102/360, 102/502, 102/513, 102/503, 102/501 - whistles then explodes to scare game

AN-M8 Flare Pistol

Can fire both flanged "American" shells as well as grooved "British" shells.

2347645 Flare pistol, John M Sherrer, Glen R Severance, Ephraim S Huntington, Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co, May 2, 1944, 42/69.1, 42/44
2360168 Flare pistol, Glen R Severance, Frederick K Comiskey, Hilten E Jones, Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co, Oct 10, 1944, 42/46, 42/1.15
2363203 Flare pistol, John M Sherrer, Glen R Severance, Ephraim S Huntington, Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co, Nov 21, 1944, 42/69.1

Flare (Very) Pistol references
Lieutenant Very's Pistol by F.H. Baer
German Flare Pistols and Signal Ammunition by Dr. Lorenz Scheit - YouTube book review - publisher: Simpson Ltd - Standard Ed, Leather Bound Ed

Notes on Signal and Illuminating Devices and the Apparatus for Projecting Them, from the French Edition of 1917, Translated and edited at the Army War College, May 1917. - mentions 25 & 35mm flares

M-320 Grenade Launcher Module (GLM)

To replace the M-203. Wiki - Flickr - Army - July 3, 2009 starting to be deployed

XM-25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System (CDTE)

XM-25 Counter
Defilade Target Engagement System (CDTE)

This is different from the XM25 7.62x51 NATO sniper rifle. The XM-25 fires a 25mm round and utilities a lot of electronics and optical systems.
I wonder if the XM-25 uses a similar low pressure propulsion system?
This may or may not become a fielded weapon.
PEO Soldier unveils lighter, more lethal weapons systems -
ATK -Individual Airburst Weapon System (IAWS) -
XM-25 Is Readied For Prime Time -
defense Tech - Starship Troopers Meets G.I. Joe -

XM307Advanced Crew Served Weapon

Wiki - Fires the 25mm smart round like the XM-25 above.
Intended to replace the MK 19 40mm (see below) and the 0.50 HB heavy machine gun.

M79 Rifle Stock shoulder fired single shot

Wiki - says named the M79 in Dec. 1960, but the development was earlier. Note 14-1/2" barrel vs. the M203 (Wiki) with a 12" barrel, so the M79 has slightly longer range.
Project NIBLICK (Wiki) was a development program aimed at flechettes.
Gun Wiki: M79 -
YouTube: Forgotten Weapons: M79: The Iconic "Bloop Tube" 40mm Grenade Launcher - designed to be a replacement for the bazooka. Uses the 40x46mm grenade. Honeywell developed a fuze for the projectile that arms in about 30 yards based on rotation. Muzzle velocity about 250 fps. Hi-Lo cartridge system uses a .38 blank for the high pressure part then an expansion chamber in the cartridge to get the low pressure.

Roy E. Rayle, author of Random Shots, Episodes in the life of a Weapons Developer. Chapter 11 40mm M79 Grenade Launcher.

[pg 132] "The launcher length of barrer, fourteen inches, evolved as the length to make it unlikely that the gunner would accidentally get his fingers in front of the muzzle on firing. The barrel length required for interior ballistics was only a few inches, as the pressure dropped quite rapidly. Peak pressure on the low side is only three thousand pounds per square inch, compared to thirty thousand pounds per square inch in the high pressure chamber."

Vickers Tactical: The M79 Thumper - Grenade Launcher -
Student of the Gun: M79 Thumper - Saigon Report Ep. 05 -
Spike's Tactical: ST Thumper 37mm, 9# 1oz, 28-1/2" OA, 14" barrel - 37mm adapter allows use of 12 Ga shells.

Manuals

FM 23-31 40-mm Grenade Launchers, M203 and M79, May 1972 M79 starts on page 9-1 (pdf pg 53)
TM 9-1010-10 40 mm Grenade Launcher M79, Feb 1985 (change 4)
TM 9-1010-205-24 ORGANIZATIONAL, DIRECT SUPPORT AND GENERAL SUPPORT MAINTENANCE MANUAL INCLUDING REPAIR PARTS AND SPECIAL TOOLS LIST FOR40-MM GRENADE LAUNCHER M79, JULY 1972

Bore Brush (missing Thong FSN: 1010-474-5465 FSN: 1010-474-5466	Tool: 2 screwdrivers, firing pin spanner, brush FSN: 4933-736-8575 DAAAF03-73-C-1381
Fiberglass Stock FSN: 1010-951-4531 Stock Assembly, Plastic, Launcher, Grenade, M79. 1 each DAAA09-74-C-7113 Mounting screw is 5/16"-18

King Arms M79 Airsoft

Got this after seeing the H4855U radio that looks real in almost all aspects. And this appears just like I would imagine a real M79 looks. Parts may even interchange.

Air Soft M79 40 mm gernade launcher.
Tip is the inlet valve to pressurize the round.
	Stock mounting screw is 8mm-1.25mm (not interchangeable with real M79 stock)

2968870 Sighting device for rifle grenades and the like, William Brandt Edgar, Energa, Jan 24, 1961 - for use on rifle grenades, not 40mm.

SARCO REP42-NO HG M79

This paint ball replica is made by SARCO and uses a number of factory parts. Which?

Fig 1

Fig 2
Fig 3

Fig 4 "NOSHOC" i.e. No Shock
1418532 Recoil pad, James R Caldwell, Seamless Rubber Co, 1922-06-06, 42/74 -
Fig 5 The M79 barrel has 6 groove, 1/48 right hand twist
This barrel appears to have zero twist,
maybe a concession to the ATF to prevent real use.
The twist is part of the safe and arm system.

China Lake Pump 40mm

YouTube: Forgotten Weapons: China Lake 40mm Pump Action Grenade Launcher - Airtronic's Modernized 40mm China Lake Grenade Launcher -

3435549 Pump type tubular magazine repeating firearm, Alfred F Kermode, 1969-04-01, -40mm China Lake Pump, patterned after the Remington 870 pump 12 Ga shotgun (Wiki).
Remington 870 History - offered in gauges: 12, 16, 20, 28, .410 and many variations in each gauge. (28 July 2020 Remington (Wiki) filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy).
2635378 Magazine plug for firearms, George E Pinckney, Philip R Haskell, Remington Arms, 1953-04-21, -
2645873 Slide-actuated firearm with tilting locking block, Lexie R Crittendon, Philip R Haskell, Remington Arms, 1953-07-21, - Remington 870
2751702 Cartridge feeding in a tubular magazine firearm, Lexie Roy Crittendon, Ellis William Hailston, Remington Arms, 1956-06-26, -
2824400 Rockable breech bolt locking block, Lexie Roy Crittendon, Ellis William Hailston, Remington Arms, 1958-02-25

M203 Fits under M16 barrel, single shot
A derivative of the Colt XM-148 (Wiki).

Wiki - Note 12" barrel
TM 9-1010-221-10 OPERATOR'S MANUAL GRENADE LAUNCHER, GRENADE, 40 MM, M203A2
MWO 9-1010-221-30-2 MODIFICATION OF M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER
MWO 9-1010-221-30-3 MODIFICATION OF M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER
MWO 9-1010-221-30-4 MODIFICATION OF M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER

Mk19 Pedestal mounted automatic (Wiki)

40x53mm cartridge.

TM 9-1010-230-10 MACHINE GUN, 40-MM, MK19, MOD 3
TM 9-1010-230-23&P MACHINE GUN, 40-MM, MK19 MOD 3
2379784 Gun, Brand Samuel, IBM, App: 1943-02-06, Pub: 1945-07-03, 124/6; 102/274; 124/78; 124/51.1 - ? too early?

M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher (MGL) "Six Pack Attack"

Wiki - Milkor - MGL Mk 1L (L for Long chamber, i.e. high pressure) - MEI - ammo - Helhound (400m) - Mercury (800m) - Huntir (camera)
YouTube: Forgotten Weapons: Milkor M32 and M32A1 40mm Grenade Launchers -

The M2A1 sight in the photo below appears to me to be pointed at a steeper angle than the barrel centerline. (Maybe an artifact from a wide angle lens?)
I would think it would be pointing down.
Maybe it's parallel to the barrel centerline and it can be tilted down judging from the angle scale.

The radio at the lower left looks like the Bowman. LEMO connector in front with cable to headset and stubby antenna in background
In this photo you can see the use of the rail mounting system on four sides of the forearm.
Picatinny rail (Wiki) = MIL-STD-1913 = STANAG 2324
Although first used just for mounting scopes it's now used as a general purpose mounting system.

2151521 Gas Gun, Charles J. Manville, App: 1935-10-05, Pub: 1939-03-21, -
D100350 Gas Gun, Charles J. Manville, July 7, 1936, - Design

12 Ga revolver that only shoots gas rounds. Pins (53) in each chamber prevent loading 12 Ga shot shells. Only gas round with longitudinal grove (107) can be loaded.

2101148 Machine projector, Charles J Manville, 1937-12-07, -
D98775 Gas Projecting Apparatus, Charles J Manville, March 3, 1936, -
Manville Gun (Wiki) - 12 Ga, 26.5mm & 37mm versions.

From Milkor M32 and M32A1 40mm Grenade Launchers - "The history of this weapon goes back to South Africa, where designer Andries Piek was inspired to create it after building the 37mm "Stopper" for the South African police and then seeing a Manville 25mm gas launcher in the movie "Dogs of War"

Spring wound drum magazine.

Forgotten Weapons: Manville Gas Gun -

2172800 Shell, Charles J Manville,1939-09-12, -

ZA200904650, Firearm, Andries Christoffel Piek, Milkor, 2010-04-28, - multiple non-lethal loads

20100282058 Unmanned Air Vehicle Weapon Adapter, Kent C. Nelson, Kenneth Nash, Dennis C. Philpot, Northrop Grumman, 2012-10-30, - mounts M32 to unmentioned UAV.

M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System MASS (Wiki)

M26 Modular
Accessory Shotgun System MASS

This is an 12 gauge shotgun that mounts like the M203. Replacing the M500 (Wiki) shotgun.

Because it's length is too short to qualify as a shotgun I doubt it can be sold in a civilian version.
Although it might be classified as a shotgun pistol.

Ammunition (Wiki)

There's a question about what ammo fits what.
For example the practice ammo for the Mk19 & M79 shown below does not fit the AN-M8 flare pistol. I have a Webly & Scott 1.5" (40mm) flare pistol on the way to help resolve this.
The AN/M8 Flare Pistol will not chamber 40mm grenade rounds.

The low pressure 40x46mm rounds that fit the M79 and China Lake are shorter than the high pressure rounds used in the machine gun.

Photos

M385 High pressure round

40 mm practice rounds 1969 M385 These rounds do not use the .38 blank but might be using an aluminum 12 ga short blank or just a pistol/rifle primer? These are for the Mk 19, not the M79/M203. See: Amron- 40mm Cases & Bodies & Grassi below The M118/M195 case appears to use the .38 blank.	Case marked: CTG 40MM RACM?? AMM LOT MA-355-44 Case Cartridge M169 RNO-3-29-69	Solid aluminum projectile marked: CTG 40 MM PRACTICE M385 Note different colors of center and outer case around primer.
		Empty M169 case You can see the huge hole where a plug (12 gauge?) with primer fits. Photo from Island Ordnance

Case Cartridge Practice M212

November 2017 from eBay seller: coolkollectables
body outside dia: 41.25mm

Fig 1 used rounds	Fig 2 hollow nose cones.	Fig 3 using .357 Mag to substitute for a .38 blank to show size.	Fig 4
Fig 5 SARCO M79038 Bandolier w/6 Dummy rounds

Ping Pong Ball Adapter for Webley & Scott No. 3 Mk I Flare gun.

While traveling in Canada many decades ago picked up a ships port or starboard kerosene lantern and a flare pistol from a maritime surplus store. The flare pistol was old pitted metal with handmade wooden grips. The flare was a standard 40mm size? For fun a friend made an adapter to allow shooting a ping pong ball by making the bore of the adapter 1.48" I.D. (37.6mm) (Wiki: Ping Pong ball 38mm then 40mm) Propulsion by means of a small rifle/pistol primer (external web page with dimensions) (no powder) with a pocket diameter near 0.175" I.D. The main body diameter is about 39.8mm, but at the time I didn't know about 40mm grenades and so just made the OD to fit the flare gun.

If the ping pong ball is used by itself the primer may blow a hole into it, so a few disks of cardboard are needed as packing/wadding below the ping pong ball. It will shoot the ball over the top of power lines never to be seen again.
YouTube: Webley & Scott No. 3 Mk I Flare Pistol Firing Ping Pong Ball -

40mm (37mm?) antenna cartridge
This was a Vietnam era round probably used by the special forces in conjunction with the GRC-109 to put a wire antenna up in the tree canopy.

40mm Collection

M406

Wiki: M79\Ammo\Explosive

Fig 1 M406

Fig2

Fig 3 HE + Shell, Fuze, Ogive

Fig 4 Ogive

Fig 5 HE + Shell

Fig 6 Fuze 3326132?

Fig 7 Fuze

Fig 8 Ogive

Fig 9 .38 Blank?

M576 Buckshot
Wiki: M79\Ammo\Close Range, M576

Fig 1

Fig 2

XM651E1 CS

Wiki: M79\Ammo\Non-lethal, M651 CS

Fig 1

Fig 2

XM585 White Star Cluster

Fig 1

40mm ammo Manuals
AMMUNITION FOR GUNS AMMUNITION FOR GUNS AMMUNITION FOR GUNS AMMUNITION FOR GUNS AMMUNITION FOR GUNS
TM 9-1300-251-20&P ARTILLERY AMMUNITION FOR GUNS, E LAUNCHERS
TM 9-1300-251-34&P ARTILLERY AMMUNITION FOR GUNS, HOWITZERS,MORTARS, RECOILLESS RIFLES AND 40MM GRENADE LAUNCHERS
SB 742-1310-94-50 Cartridge, 40-mm: Riot Control, CS, M674 & Red Smoke, RS, M675
SB 742-1310-94-51 CARTRIDGE, 40-MM: TACTICAL CS, M651
SB 742-1310-94-52 CARTRIDGE, 40-MM, RED SMOKE,GROUND MARKER, M713, CARTRIDGE, 40-MM, GREEN SMOKE,GROUND MARKER, M715, CARTRIDGE, 40-MM, YELLOW SMOKE,GROUND MARKER, M716
TB 9-1300-279-12 UNIT LEVEL MAINTENANCE INFORMATION ON CARTRIDGE, 40MM: DUMMY, M922A1
TB 9-1310-253-12 CARTRIDGE 40MM: NON-LETHAL, XM1006 (40MM SPONGE GRENADE-MODIFIED GOVERNMENT VERSION) FOR 40MM M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER
TB 9-1310-257-10 OPERATOR INFORMATION FOR CARTRIDGE, 40MM: MULTIPURPOSE, XM1060 FOR 40MM M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER
TM 43-0001-28 ARMY AMMUNITION DATA SHEETS ARTILLERY AMMUNITION GUN, HOWITZERS, MORTARS, RECOILLESS RIFLES, GRENADE LAUNCHERS, AND ARTILLERY FUZES

Grassi
Baselining of the 40mm Family of Ammunition, James Grassi, 30 March 2006 -
page 11 illustration of 3 cases:

Establishment of Production Line for Manufacture of 40mm M169 Cartridge Case, Andrew Vargo, Amron Corp.

MIL-C-63062 40 mm cartridge case M169, Cup Closing
MIL-C-63063 (PA), 29 March 1976 plug for M169, dwg: 8886332, MIL-DTL-0060982C
MIL-C-48070 M169 40mm case inert metal parts May 1970

Pike Laser Guided Missile (Wiki)

As of 26 Aug 2022 no longer on the Raytheon web page. Unknown status.

MJU-32A/B Infrared Decoy pyrotechnic Flare

Moved to the Radar Warning Receivers web page, Chaff & Flare section - MJU-32.

Ammo Patents

1321455
1321455 Percussion Fuse, David Kennedy, Nov 11, 1919, - "all-ways" Stokes shell (Wiki: Stokes mortar, Mortar)

H: domed cover plate Ogive (Wiki)

3146714 Delay fuze for rotating munition, Patrick H Moore, Honeywell, App: 1963-06-20, Pub: 1964-09-01

3157125 Rotor safety lock for munition fuze, Arthur M Lohmann, Honeywell, App: 1963-07-01, Pub: 1964-11-17, -

3279114 Grenade launcher, Karl R Lewis, Robert E Roy, Colts, 1966-10-18, -
XM-148 (Wiki)

Photo from Wiki:

Forgotten Weapons:
XM-148: Colt's Vietnam Grenade Launcher - CGL-4
M203 Underbarrel Grenade Launcher -

Ford and AAI also made prototypes.

3304866 Centrifugally armed fuze, Richard C Johnson, Honeywell, App: 1965-04-16, Pub: 1967-02-21, -

3318033 Grenade launching arrangement, Irwin R Barr, AAI, App: 1965-09-29, Pub: 1967-05-09, -

Using a riot shotgun to fire large diameter gas grenades.

3326132
3326132 Delay fuze for spinning projectiles, Elvin W Tlam, Honeywell, App: 1965-06-16, Pub: 1967-06-20, -
"Successfully operated models of this fuze have been built in a package that measures 1/2 inch in diameter by 3/4 inch in length."

3346983 Automatic cartridge ejector device, Julius E Brooks, Olin Corp, 1967-10-17

Pistol
4 Barrels
12 Ga

Similar to the YouTube: Forgotten Weapons: Winchester's Liberator Shotguns -

3425354 Centrifugally armed fuze, Donovan Carlson, Honeywell, App: 1967-10-30, Pub: 1969-02-04, - "... arming and time delay mechanism for spin operated fuzes"

3507067 Grenade launcher having a rotatable forwardly sliding barrel and removable firing mechanism, Henry A Into, Colt Ind, App: 1967-12-14, Pub: 1970-04-21, -

3604137 Sighting system for a firearm-carried grenade launcher, Stanley D Silsby, Army, 1971-09-14 - for use with M203

3687078 Ammunition round, Walter A Gadomski, Bennedetto A Marziano, Army, App: 1970-03-31, Pub: 1972-08-29, - Hi-Low pressure interior ballistics system

22: High pressure up to 20,000PSI
23: Low pressure up to 2,000 PSI

3721195 Liquid revolution counter for fuze arming, W Egli, A Severson, Honeywell, App: 1971-06-01, Pub: 1973-03-20, - safe & arm based on the number of revolutions.

3738271 Grenade round with means giving forward momentum to the fired case, Costa N La, AAI Corp, App:1970-12-18, Pub: 1973-06-12, -

This uses a telescopically rolled tubular actuator. These were developed by AAI for actuating mechanical devices as an alternate to using compressed air or hydraulics.
3106131 Cartridge actuated device
Typically for one off applications like separating two assemblies. They tend to be silent in action.
The rolled tubular actuator has been incorporated in small arms rounds as a way to get a really silent projectile.

This device also includes it's own barrel.

3776136 Ammunition arrangement, M Dix, Costa N La, AAI Corp, App: 1971-12-30, Pub: 1973-12-04, -
Prior art High-Low is cited:
3687078 Ammunition Round (above)

3802345 Multiple projectile sabot assembly for use in rifled barrel, Costa N La, AAI Corp, App:1962-05-02, Pub: 1974-04-09, -
maybe Flechette (Wiki) round for M79?

3894492 Deterrent ammunition, Irwin R Barr, Paul L Brown, Jr Robert W Schneppe, AAI Corp, App:1973-07-12, Pub: 1975-07-15, -

Rubber round with marking powder.

3922967

3922967 Closed-breech-gun-fired rocket-assisted projectile, William J Mertens, Avco, 1975-12-02, -

Cittions:
2884859 Rocket projectile, James M Alexander, Oris T Homan, 1959-05-05, - Rocket assist artillery projectiles 57 - 280mm
3105440 Fuse, Denoix Paul Emile, Energa, 1963-10-01, - nose fuze for shaped charge
3326128 Rockets and combinations of rockets and cases, Paul V Choate, Norris Ind, 1967-06-20, - "Rockets capable of being fired from a portable shoulder supported launcher..." Ref 3122059 see LAW rocket below
Norris Cylinder, LA, CA -
3424086 Missile with firing cartridge, Chandley W Lambert, 1969-01-28, - why?
3446147 Casing for the sabot of a projectile,
3623432 Hollow charge projectiles, Gerhard P L Schminke, Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, 1971-11-30, -
3750979 Rocket assisted projectile, J Nelms, W Nelms, 1973-08-07, -

4041868 Thin walled steel cartridge case, Roy E. Rayle, Robert J. Brey, Wilbur John Woodruff, Amron Corp, App: 1973-03-16, Pub: 1977-08-16, - 7.62?

4092927 Delay arming mechanism for fuzes, Roy E. Rayle, Avco Corp, App: 1968-11-14, Pub: 1978-06-06, - works with both spin and non spinning (fins) rounds.

I doubt this was put into production because the small hole in the nose would be easily plugged.

prior art fuzes for spinning shells:

3264995 Mechanical fuze operable on grazing impact, Terry L Libby, Webb George, Avco Corp, App:1964-05-11, Pub: 1966-08-09, - contact detonation fuze for spinning round includes safe and arm that depends on spinning round.

3366059 Fuze for spin stabilized projectiles, Martin L Myers, John V Murphy, Avco Corp, App: 1967-01-09, Pub: 1968-01-30, -

5081929

5081929 Projectile having a movable interior fuze, Jan 21, 1992, 102/273, 102/246, 102/248, 102/255

Citations:
1321455 see above
1462173 Percussion Fuse, Haas Rudolf, Techno service Corp, 1923-07-17, -
1545866 Instantaneous impact fuse for high-explosive shells, Pieter Daniel Van Essen, Bethlehem Steel Corp, 1925-07-14, -
1749720 Impact ignition device, Scaglia Gregorio, Soc It Ernesto, 1930-03-04, -
3105440 Fuse, Denoix Paul Emile, Energa, 1963-10-01, - nose fuze for shaped charge

Cited by:
3922967 Closed-breech-gun-fired rocket-assisted projectile see above

20070028792 Impact part of a projectile, Josef Bissig, Saab Bofors, 2007-02-08, - works at oblique angles on ceramic plates

Rifle Grenades

Rifle Grenades (Wiki) are based on the idea of using a rifle to launch a grenade (Wiki) using either a blank cartridge (Wiki) or live round.
Note that the term "Aerial hand-grenade" or "Aerial mortar" was an early term for what we now call bombs.
Here's a YouTube that explains how rifle grenades fit into the overall picture:

YouTube search for Rifle Grenade.
Why Rifle Grenades? - German Rifle Grenades in WW2, 14:41 - seems overly complex

M1 Garand Rifle Grenades - How, Why, What?, 16:42 - @3:02: a spring loaded valve in the gas system 1943? patent drawings. A blank will not fire a rifle grenade about 50 yards, you need a grenade cartridge to get to 200+ yards. Old gas valve looks like (-) and the grenade version looks like (+).
2416287 Grenade launcher, Charles H Coates, Ray S Miller, App: 1944-01-11, -
2587611 Grenade launcher valve, John C Garand, Sec of War, App: 1946-08-14, - for the .30 M1 U.S. Rifle.
2783685 Regulating plug for gas operated firearm, Samuel G Green, App: 1951-03-02

U.S. Rifle Grenades of WWII, 8:57 -

SMLE Rifle Grenade Launcher, 12:02 -

Rifle
Grenade
Description
Wt
grams
(lbs)
Dia
mm
(In)
Len
mm
(In)
Velocity
fps
Note 1

M9
Shaped Charge
Anti-Tank
590
(1.3)
50
(1.96)
284
(11.2)

M10

60
(2.36)
254
(10)

M11

M11A2
Practice

180

M11A3
Practice

145

M13

M28
Shaped Charge
Anti-Tank

M29
Practice M28

M31
Shaped Charge
Anti-Tank
Practice

Note 1: Information on Rifle Grenade velocity from Ed at Inert-Ord.Net:
Had to go to Cartridges of the World , 6^th Edition:
Cartridge, Cal .30, Rifle Grenade, M3, (40gr Black Powder): M11A2 Practice, 180 ±15fps @ 5.5 ft
Cartridge, Cal .30, Carbine, Rifle Grenade, M6, (21gr IMR 4809 & Black Powder): M11A3 Practice, 145 ±15fps @5 ft

BC: Note that the M6 (first generation) Bazooka rockets travels at 265 fps, much faster, cutting the Time Of Flight way down, thus increasing hit probability.

The NATO standard for a rifle grenade launcher is a 22mm diameter.
FM 23-30 Hand and Rifle Grenades: Rocket, AT, HE, 2.36-Inch, 14 February 1944

Ch 1 Hand Grenades
Ch 2 Rifle Grenades - M9: Ogive (noise) sheet metal, Body - casting, Stabilizer Tube -sheet metal, Fin- sheet metal
Ch 3 Rocket Launcher (Wiki: Bazooka) -M1A1 & M9 launchers, M6A1 & M6A3 HE rockets. The M6A3 has the look and feel of the M9 rifle grenade. see: U.S. 2.36" (60mm) H.E.A.T. Rocket -

M9 Rifle Grenade
Dr. L. J. Paddison Dr. L. J. Paddison one of the scientists who developed the proximity fuse, displays an army rifle grenade with which man-made meteorites were shot from a German V-2 rocket at the White Sands, N. M. proving grounds. (AP WIREPHOTO.)
Dec 19, 1946

Added this paragraph after seeing a photo on eBay of Dr. L. J. Paddison with the eBay title: 1946 press photo of Dr. L. J. Paddison, and the news clip.

Since I have the same model rifle grenade shown in the photo it caught my eye. I did not find his name on the China Lake Patents web page where there's a lot of proximity fuze patents listed. The Wiki page for rifle grenades shows it with the caption: "An M7 grenade launcher with M9 rifle grenade fitted on the end of an M1 Garand rifle."

The SIG stgw57 was designed expressly to launch grenades. Prior rifles would break after launching a few, so this was quite an engineering feat to get it to hold up.

There are spigot or rod rifle grenades where the rod goes down the barrel. These must be made to match not only the bore diameter of the rifle but also the amount of powder in the cartridge.

There are also cup type rifle grenades. This design is much more flexible than the Spigot type and that's probably why it's been the standard for many decades. Modern military rifles typically have flash hiders that also act as grenade launchers. See: FN-FAL, Tavor SAR, Steyr AUG, SIG stgw57, Heckler & Koch G3, and many many others.

The Launched Grapnel Hook is very similar to a rifle grenade in many respects. It has a similar weight and shape. Fits the flash hider/grenade launcher on modern rifles and works with live rounds.

The Retriev-R-Trainer is a similar device in that it throws a soft object some distance using the power from a blank cartridge.

1094340 Rifle shell or grenade with percussion-fusee, Richard Machenbach, SPRENGSTOFF A G CARBONIT, 1914-04-21, 102/225; 102/483; 102/488 - Spigot type, fan on threads provides arming delay
1290981 Apparatus for shooting hand-grenades, Karl Hagen, 1919-01-14, 42/105 - a cup type which holds what may have been an aerial hand-grenade or bomb common at the time? the center of mass of the cup, which gets thrown along with the grenade is not at all in line with the gun bore so there's going to be a lot of problems.
1301907 Projectile, James Brooks Close, 1919-04-29, 102/253; 42/105; 102/483; 102/501 - Spigot rod has grooves to set range.
1316269 Rifle-grenade, D.L. Britten, 1919-09-16, 102/483; 42/105- cup type for M1903 Springfield Rifle (Wiki) centerline symmetrical design, specialized grenade.
1375463 Rifle-grenade, John V Mcadam, 1921-04-19, 102/484; 42/105 - bullet passes through short barrel inside grenade (not bullet trap).
1376119 Rifle-grenade, Creedy C Sheppard, United States Ordnance Co, 1921-04-26, 102/484; 42/105 - Spigot type
1534011 Percussion fuse, Charles P Watson, 1925-04-14, 102/234; 102/483; 102/487 - early shaped charge, but not called that
1534012 Percussion fuse, Charles P Watson, 1925-04-14, 102/234 -

M31 Practice Rifle Grenade (Wiki)

SARCO

Fig 1

M9, M10 Rifle Grenades (Wiki) & Bazooka (Wiki)
Matching publication dates some held by all years of W.W.II so probably Secret or higher classification

33089 Shell (hand-grenade), William F. Ketchum, 1861-08-20, 244/3.3; 102/385; 168/28 -

Ketchum Grenade (Wiki)
Cast iron case. Made in sizes between 1 and 5 pounds. Probably overall weight, so explosive power considerably less.
Because a right angle hit was required to detonate, they could be caught in blankets and thrown back.
This may have been an impetus to use a time fuse instead.

Has the look and feel of the Cap Bomb.

Early miners worked with liquid Nitroglycerin (Wiki).
I expect this device was about as safe for those handling it.

1178092 Grenade and other like apparatus, William Mills, 1916-04-04, -

Mills Bomb (Wiki)

1223598 Grenade and the like, William Mills, 1917-04-24, 102/261; 102/483; 102/487 -

Note <p> is a threaded socket for a throwing handle or rifle bore bar. Not for filling.

1900790 Grenade, Brandt Edgar William, 1933-03-07, -
works with ball ammo. cited by 43 patents.

2203640 Hand grenade, Hines John, Segal Louis, Charles M. Palmer, 1940-06-04, 102/261; 102/488 - pineapple grenade (Wiki)

also see the Hines Key System sold by Segal Lock & Hardware Co.

2335299 Grenade launcher, Wiley T Moore, App: 1941-11-21, Pub:1943-11-30, -

Spigot

2339285 Grenade launcher, Wiley T Moore, US Army, 1944-01-18, 42/105 -
M7 adapter (Wiki) for M1 Grand (Wiki)?

2353971 Portable grenade gun, Cleve F Shaffer, Herman J Fanger, Gruenhagen Henry, 1944-07-18, 42/51; 42/73; 89/1.3; 42/74 -

similar to the Retriev-R-Trainer

Maybe the Navy Pyrotechnic Projector?
Contract N288s11320, Date of Packing, June, 1943
Distress Signal.

2383053 Mounting device for projectiles, Herman J Fanger, Gruenhagen Henry, Cleve F Shaffer, 1945-08-21, -

A holder for a conventional hand grenade so it can be fired from a rifle.

2412636 Grenade Fuse, Short Frank, App: 1943-02-18, Pub: 1946-12-17, 102/487; 102/269 - pineapple grenade (Wiki)

2412695 Projectile, Rost Helge Fabian, Claesson Per Harry Elias, Svensson Rolf Albin, App: 1942-09-16 (all of W.W.II) Pub: 1946-12-17, 102/397; 102/251 - "... devices for igniting bursting charges of projectiles, for example rifle grenades, grenades for trench mortars (Wiki) and guns, aerial bombs ..."

2413680 Ogive mounting means for projectiles, George W Blackinton, John J Calhoun, Budd Co, Filed: 1942-11-21 (W.W.II) Pub: 1947-01-07, -

2423993 Grenade adapter, Panter Carl, Joseph H Borden, Paul L Christensen, Walker W Holler, App: 1945-02-08, Pub: 1947-07-15, 102/483 - cage to hold Pineapple grenade.

Projection adapter M1 used with fragmentation grenade Mk II. FM 23-30 pg 69
See patent 2412636 above for the grenade itself.

2427989 Projectile, George W Blackinton, John J Calhoun, App:1942-08-19 (all of W.W.II) Pub: 1947-09-23, 102/483; 102/476 - has the key elements of the M9 rifle grenade.

A shaped charge (Wiki) works by very high pressure reforming the copper (or other ductile metal) into a narrow stream of metal. Note the metal is not melted so for proper operation it needs to be ductile (Wiki: Ductility, Talk: Ductility) like copper. This has to do with the ability of the metal to be formed into a wire.

M9 anti-tank early W.W.II ?or? M11 practice version of M9

A shaped charge rifle grenade may have been intended to take out tanks. BUT . . .
it's almost impossible to hit a moving tank using a high angle of fire device like a rifle grenade or mortar.

By coupling the shaped charge to a rocket motor which will be fired near horizontal the time of flight is now short enough to have a good change of hitting the target.

2441388 Projectile, George W Blackinton, John J Calhoun, App:1942-08-19 (all of W.W.II) Pub: 1948-05-11, 102/476; 411/967; 244/3.24 - has the key elements of the M9 rifle grenade. Note fuze location at rear of shaped charge, not at tip of nose.

M9 or M10?

2466726 Projectile, Wiley T Moore, Joseph H Church, Wilfred E Thibodeau, US Army, App: 1941-03-28, (Delay all of W.W.II) Pub:1949-04-12, -

2772635 Rifle grenade, Brandt Edgar William, Belge de MecAnique, 1956-12-04, - shaped charge, base fuze

2778137 Grenade launcher, Brandt Edgar William, Belge de MecAnique, 1957-01-22, - adapter for rifle

2892407 Shaped cavity explosive charge, Norman A Macleod, 1959-06-30, -

3007271 Device for throwing grenades by means of firearms, Brandt Edgar William, 1961-11-07, -slides over rifle that has standard grenade launcher even if it is also a flash hider or muzzle brake.

3425349 Rifle grenade fuze, Romald E Bowles, Army, App: 1957-08-21, Korean war, Pub: 1969-02-04, -

Bazooka

The development started with the 60mm diameter M10 Rifle Grenade (Wiki). The M9 Rifle Grenade was 50mm diameter. Note both the M9 and M10 were shaped charge devices. As a rifle grenade the time of flight was too long to hit a moving tank. So, a rocket motor was added and a launch tube developed. The Bazooka fired at an almost flat trajectory so the time of flight was much shorter than the high angle of fire of the rifle grenade. They could not use a more powerful rifle to launch the grenade because the existing rifle grenades were breaking the stocks of the rifles. The SIG stgw57 was designed strong to it could launch heavy rifle grenades.
The Bazooka (Wiki) is a W.W.I time frame weapon. A rocket propelled grenade in today's parlance. Idea from Robert Goddard (Wiki). A key concept was the shaped charge (Wiki).
The M-9 Bazooka Blew Things Up Real Good by Paul Huard -

Variations

Launcher
2.36"
Rockets
YouTube:
Forgotten Weapons:

M1
M6 HEAT
M7 Practice

M1A1
M6A1 HEAT
M7A1 Practice

M9
M6A3 Heat
M7A3 Practice
M10 Smoke

M9A1
The M9A1 Bazooka: Now With Optics and Quick Takedown

M18

M20
3.5"
M28A2 HEAT
T127E3/M30 WP

M20A1
3.5"
M20A1B1 Super Bazooka - It's a Super Bazooka. Need I Say More?, 15:39.

M20B1
3.5"

M25
3.5"

SARCO M1A1 Replica SKU MISC502

Ordered 23 Feb 2021. Arrived 10 March 2021. I don't like white plastic peanut packing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was preceded by the M1 Bazooka.

Manual TM 9-924 2.36-Inch A.T. Rocket Launcher M1A1, 27 Sep 1943
Data:
Length of launcher (approx.): 54.5 inWeight of lancher (approx.): 13.26 lbInternal diameter: 2.37 inLength of rocket: 21.6 inWeight of rocket: 3.5 lbMuzzle velocity: 265 ft per secPropellant burn time 0.02 to 0.03 secBattery, 2 active + 2 sapre: BA-42 or "C" cell Electrical system negative ground. Only wire for hot side. Latch makes ground connection to rocket tail fin.
It was followed by the M9 (Wiki: M9).
The M18 (Wiki) aluminum version of the M9 was experimental only.
The M20 3.5" came next.

Fig 1

Fig 2

Fig 3 No piano wire wrap on rear of tube, no insulating sleeve below contacts and supporting band, no shunt strap on latch handle,
metal tube instead of contact spring.

Fig 4 Light bulb wired in parallel with rocket so lights when trigger is pulled.

Fig 5 Shown upside down
100 yd at bottom of this photo, 200 or 300 yard at top of this photo
flash deflector not part of this replica

Fig 6 Round access plate for electrical circuit and spare lamp. Hinged battery cover.

Fig 7 The latch will work with the M7A1 rocket because the rocket tail fins have "V" shaped notch which will allow it to pull free of the latch.

Fig 8 The latch will not work with the M7A3 rocket. The latch finger needs to be modified to have a 45 degree slope.
---or...
The replica M7A3 rocket is missing a "V" groove for the latch? Let me know.

2.36" Manuals
TM 9-294 (TM9-294.pdf) 27 September 1943, 28 pgs - 2.36-Inch A.T. Rocket Launcher M1A1. Uses M6A1 (M6A3) Yellow HEAT & Blue M7A1 (M7A3) practice.
TM 9-294 1 March 1946 (1946TM9-294.pdf), 71 pgs - 2.36-Inch, Rocket Launchers, M9, M9A1 and M18 [Declassified Jun 21 1956]

M-9A1 Sight

Optical reflector sight replaced the iron sights beginning in September 1944. (Wiki).

Need to find out more about the optics.

Reticule

To make the photos of the reticle the sight was held against a cell phone camera so Fig 5 and Fig 6 have the same camera to sight geometry.

From Fig 5 the center dot spans 5" (wheel center) at a distance of 34 feet.
The included half angle of the center dot is 0.3510726 degrees = 0.00612737278 radians = 6 milli radians (Wiki), or about 12 mils for the full angle.
But . . . the mils numbers seem too high?

From Fig 6 measurements on the reticule.
The Lead Miles per hour column comes from TM 9-924 March 1, 1946.

Feature
Size
mils
note 1
Lead MPH
From TM 9-294
Sec. XVII

OD Center dot
0.515
12

ID Circle 1
4.695
110
10

ID Circle 2
9.738
230
20

ID Circle 3
14.869
350
30

ID Circle 4
20.132
460
40

Bar OA len
11.081
260

Note 1: I was thinking that the circles were a range finding by means of stadia, like in modern telescopic sights, but that's not the case here. They are for leading moving tanks.

Fig 1 Reticle (Wiki) seen from eye side.

Fig 2 Front of optic looks like convex mirror

Fig 3 Marked: "2.36 IN" so for the M9A1
From Wiki: Bazooka\M9A1: "An optical reflector sight replaced the iron sights beginning in September 1944" (Ref 2)

Fig 4 Shown folded for storage.
Big screw: Windage (Wiki) adjustment (no change when folding for storage)
Spring finger: Elevation adjustment

Fig 5 center ring = 5" from 34' Vehicle=Ranger

Fig 6 to measure reticule

The following three Images courtesy of International Military Antiques, Inc ima-usa.com which sold an M9A1 Bazooka and retained very high quality photos.

Fig 7
Fig 8
Fig 9: 0 to 600 yards.

Bazooka Sight Patent
I'm pretty sure this is the patent for the "Optical reflector sight".

2420252 Optical interference sight for guns, cameras, or the like, Edwin H Land (Wiki), Polaroid Corp, 1947-05-06, - "It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a sight in which the rigidity of the standard sight is dispensed with and in which slight movements of the eye of an observer with respect to the firearm or other device with which the sight is associated do not impair the operation of the sight itself."

Fig 5 has a lot of similarities to the 2.36 In Bazooka sight.

2420253 Optical interference sight for guns, cameras, or the like, including polarizers and a biaxial birefringent element, Edwin H Land, Polaroid Corp, 1947-05-06, -

SARCO M20B1 Parts Kit (SARCO: RL023)

This appears to be a de-milled M20 sold as a kit.

Movies: Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers

The Wiki Bazooka web page for the M20

Rocket Launcher, M20 "Super Bazooka"

Larger 3.5 in (88.9 mm) caliber warhead (Panzerschreck was 88 mm caliber)

Could penetrate up to 11 inches (280 mm) of armor

Extended range by about 150 m

Originally a larger version of the M9A1, designated M20 in late 1944.

Entered active service just before the start of the Korean War.

Rocket Launcher, M20A1 "Super Bazooka"

Product improved variant with improved connector latch assembly, entering production in 1952

Improved version of the M20

Rocket Launcher, M20B1 "Super Bazooka"

Lightweight version with barrels made of cast aluminum, other components simplified

Used as a supplement to the M20

Rocket Launcher, M20A1B1 "Super Bazooka"

M20B1 upgraded with M20A1 improvements

Impulse Generator

See Fig 13 to Fig 17 below.
The 2.36" Bazooka used a couple of "C" batteries for the power source to ignite the rocket. W.W.II vintage Carbon-Zinc batteries were far worse than today's Alkaline batteries, that's to say the W.W. II batteries were not at all reliable, especially if stored in a hot environment. So the batteries were replaced with what amounts to a blasting machine starting with the M9 version starting around October 1943. The only mention of the magneto trigger is in relation to the M9 (Wiki).

The Magnavox patents 2376557, 2400262, 2426322 have application dates as early as January 1944. The key idea is that the armature reverses the polarity of the magnetic circuit. Most blasting machines just turn the magnetic circuit on and off. By reversing the polarity the output is doubled. This is very similar to an electrical "H-Bridge" (Wiki) which allows doubling the drive voltage to a load. These are typically used in battery powered applications.

SARCO M20B1 Bazooka Photos

Fig 1 The four parts in random order.

Fig 2 Front two tubes
Fig 3 Rear two tubes

Fig 4 Both Front & Rear tubes - front view
Fig 5 Both Front & Rear tubes - left view
Fig 6 Both Front & Rear tubes - right view

Fig 7 Both Front & Rear tubes - rear view
Fig 8 Joint showing pinch lever

Fig 9 Joint faces

Fig 10 Shown in Latched together position
Fig 11 Shown in Latched together position
Fig 12 Shown in Latched relative positions

Fig 13 Trigger drives an Impulse generator.
patents: 2376557, 2400262, 2426322
Fig 14 Impulse generator
There are two permanent bar magnets, one at the top and another at the bottom. The armature is strongly held in the position shown. It takes a lot of force to break it free, and then the armature snaps counter clockwise and in doing so generates a high voltage impulse.

Fig 15 switched to FIRE, was at safe.
That and misalignment of trigger group causes stiff trigger pull.

Fig 16
Fig 17 Impulse Generator made by Struthers Dunn Inc. who holds many patents for devices that involve electromagnets. But no patents for this since Magnavox holds those.

YouTube: Forgotten Weapons: M20A1B1 Super Bazooka - It's a Super Bazooka. Need I Say More?, 15:39.

M20 Manuals
TM 9-1055-201-12
Operator and Organizational Maintenance Manual,
including Repair Parts and Special Tool Lists,
Launcher, Rocket 3.5-Inch M20A1 W/E (NSN: 1055-840-1841)
Launcher Rocket, 3.5-Inch M20A1 B1 W/E (NSN: 1055-840-1842)
Oct 1968, 86 pgs

TM 9-1055-201-35
Direct Support,
General Support and Depot Maintenance Manual Including Repair Parts and Special Tools List,
Launcher, Rocket 3.5-Inch M20A1 W/E (NSN: 1055-840-1841)
Launcher Rocket, 3.5-Inch M20A1 B1 W/E (NSN: 1055-840-1842)
December 1968, 49 pgs

FM 23-32
3.5-Inch Rocket Launcher "Super Bazooka"

M20 Sight
SARCO Item Number MCAN025.
While there are some similarities with the 2.36" sight for the M-9A1 Bazooka there are also a number of differences.
It turns out this is a New In Box (NIB) item and the packaging was full mil spec.

Fig 1

Fig 2
Fig 3

Fig 4
Fig 5
Fig 6

Fig 7
Fig 8
Fig 9

Rocket Stability

A ballistic missile (Wiki) is technically anything moving through the air, without propulsion and effected by gravity. This would include a rock thrown by hand, a cannon ball, bullet or arrow. The stability of these objects depends on factors such as the center of mass, the center of pressure, spin rate, uniformity of the material used, &Etc. An arrow is stable because the center of pressure is far behind the center of mass. If an arrow was fired tail first it would be very unstable.

Early rockets, like the Congreve (Wiki) and some fireworks rockets use a simple stick that's about 5 times the rocket length. This acts like the tail on an arrow to keep the rocket pointed tangent to it's flight path.

A key aspect of rocket stability has to do with how it's guided while the rocket engine is burning. In the simplest case the rocket has mechanical guidance such as being in a tube or on a rail during all the time the engine is burning. In this case the rocket becomes a ballistic missile after leaving the launcher. The Bazooka rocket is burned out by the time it leaves the barrel. Many model rockets keep burning after leaving the launcher, so they need tail fins that work. The pop bottle rockets that use water and compressed air can be unstable because the center of mass is near the rear, behind the center of pressure and the water is still leaving the nozzle after the rocket is clear of the launch rail. Adding big washers on the bottom (front) of the pop bottle will move the center of mass forward making for more stability, but adding weight lowers the maximum elevation.

In a more complex case the rocket engine continues to burn after it leaves the launcher. This presents a problem since the thrust vector may not go through the center of mass of the rocket. When that happens the thrust will push the tail end of the rocket sideways and it becomes unstable. There are many videos of rockets doing this from the early 1950 when they were being developed. Rockets, like the V-2 (Wiki), which have no guidance as part of the launcher are in this case. Some type of active stability system that can align the thrust vector so it passes through the center of mass is needed. Note that tail fins will NOT work when the rocket speed is zero or very slow.

If tail fins are used for stability it matters what the shape of the rocket body is just in front of the fins and only work at some minimum speed. If the body is as large in diameter the air flowing on the fins may be turbulent leading so some instability. It's better if the body diameter just prior to the fins is small compared to the fin diameter.

Note that a spin stabilized projectile (think bullet) fired at an elevation angle of 45 degrees will be traveling sideways when it reaches the target because of the gyroscopic action. Even at smaller elevation angles the gyroscopic action will cause problems.

Rocket Launchers (Tube v. Rail)

A general comment on rocket launchers from Quora
Andrey Yanovski:

Why weren't the Germans able to produce an equally successful rocket artillery like the Russian BM-13 (Wiki) Katyusha in WWII?

"To launch a rocket from a rail takes a very much more powerful propellant force than from a tube. In a tube launch the exhaust gases are creating pressure that is pushing the rocket out of the barrel in addition to the reactive force of the jet stream. When launched from an open rail, however, the propulsion only comes from the jet - all the exhaust gasses obviously dissipate in the air and do not create any pressure in a barrel."

List of U.S. Army rocket launchers (Wiki)

Bazooka Rockets

Rocket
model
dia
inch
Type
Launcher

M6A1
2.36
HEAT
M9 Bazooka

M6A3
2.36 HEAT

M7
"
practice
"

M10
"
smoke
"

M27
"
gas
"

T12*
"
HEAT
"

T23*
"
practice

M28
3.5
HEAT
M20 Bazooka

M29
"
practice
"

M30

smoke
"

* 6 Forward Folding Fins See: China Lake Patents, Reference Ref 8, Chapter 2
There are a number of patents by China Lake for the Sidewinder missile and other rockets.

M6A3 Rocket Replica

Sarco MISC447 M6A3 High Expolsive Rocket (inert) - replica Bazooka rocket

Fig 1 Real M6A1 Bazooka rocket shown above replica M6A3.

Fig 2

Fig 3

Service of Supply - YouTube -
Homemade rifle grenades on AK 47 -

Rocket Patents

Leslie A Skinner (Wiki) worked on both the Bazooka (Wiki) and the M8 rocket (Wiki).
Both the Bazooka and M8 are launched from a tube.
The M8 was modified to work as an aircraft rocket by adding fins. It was mounted to a "zero length" rail, i.e. just a couple of studs. See Ref 3.

The 3.5" Forward Firing Aircraft Rocket (Wiki) was initially (1942) launched from a 92" long rail. In 1945 a zero length launcher was introduced.

The 1944 High Velocity Aircraft Rocket (Wiki: HVAR) is launched without a tube.

The Zuni (Wiki) rocket was developed by China Lake in the 1950s. The Zuni was the basis of the Sidewinder missile (Wiki) which was designed to shoot down high altitude bombers.

The Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (Wiki: FFAR) aka: "Mighty Mouse". was also designed to be an air-to-air missile for shooting down bombers. The 1951 article in Popular Science says they are equipped with proximity fuzes. 2-3/4" diameter by 4' long. Shot from a tube launcher, hence the folding fins. Developed in the late 1940s it was abandoned in the late 1950s because it had very poor accuracy. It was then used as an air-to-ground weapon on helicopters since accuracy was not that important.

So the below patents may be for any of them except where it's obvious.

53933 Rocket, Willam Hale, 1866-04-10, - spin stabilized instead of the Congreve rocket (Wiki) which uses a long stick for stability.

1102653 Rocket apparatus, Robert H Goddard, 1914-07-07, 102/350; 60/225; 60/915; 74/5.22; 89/1.1; 89/1.808 -

Solid fuel
Two stage with camera

1901852 Rocket, Hermann Stolfa, Rudolf Zwerina, 1933-03-14, 60/225; 60/250; 60/253; 102/347; 60/770 -

45 patents cite this one.

"...the correct relation between the diameter of the exhaust orifice and the diameter of the combustion surface...
shaping the charge that the burning surface forming the conical or tapering bore will be the maximum surface attainable with the smallest practicable diameter and shortest length of bore... increasing, during the latter stages of the combustion process, the burning surface to an extent unobtainable from the known types of rockets"

Shaping the burning surface of grain gives more specific impulse.

1994490 Rocket projectile, Leslie A Skinner, 1935-03-19, - has the look and feel of a mortar shell, no nozzle
cited in 2457839 as intended to be projected initially from a gun tube by a propelling charge as discussed in this patent. So more like a mortar. This patent is cited in many of the Boozka patents. Also see 2721518 below.

2043268 Rocket, Leslie A Skinner, 1936-06-09, - just the motor itself
The warhead is shown but not the fins.

2206057 Rocket projectile, Leslie A Skinner, 1940-07-02, - has nozzle,

2376557 Impulse generator, Ralph H Severance, Magnavox, App: 1944-01-21, Pub: 1945-05-22, -

This is for the bazooka. See M20 Fig 13 & 14 above.

2393604 Bomb stabilizer, William F Berger, App: 1943-02-10 (W.W.II) Pub: 1946-01-29, -

Fins that are directly behind a blunt cylinder are in turbulent air flow and do not work well.
By tapering the tail end of the bomb housing, as shown in this patent, the air flow over the fins is more laminar and the fins work better.

2400262 Electric impulse generator, Quinnell La Vern Edward, Magnavox, App: 1943-06-24, Pub: 1946-05-14, -

Because of the pair of Fahnestock clips for attaching external wires this may be a blasting machine.

The mechanism appears to be the same as in the M20 Bazooka.

2407093 Method and apparatus for cutting or punching sheet material, Henry H Mohaupt, Geston et D'exploitation de Brevets, Filed: 1942-05-21, Pub: 1946-09-03, -shaped charge
Mohaupt invented a lot of explosive related devices used in oil wells to fracture the surrounding rock to let the oil seep out.

2426322 Electric impulse generator, Edwin S Pridham, Magnavox, App: 1943-06-30, Pub: 1947-08-26, -

Has knurled adjustment screw (31) so that electrical circuit is opened/closed at the proper time to increase the power output.
This is similar to the switching used in blasting machines.

Actuator (30) would be the trigger on a bazooka.

2427217 Rocket fin assembly, Harry J Lebherz, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1943-09-23 (W.W.II) Pub: 1947-09-09, -
M8 rocket, see China Lake Ref 8, chapter 4
I don'f think so, because the FFAR fins fold to the rear, these fold to the front.
Spider (10) that holds the 6 fins is sheet metal rather than prior art casting.

Retainer Ring (30) holds the fins in place. The hole in the center of the retainer ring is small enough so that the rocket motor will blow it off.

A dimple (29) was supposed to hold the fin in the open position, but this did not happen.
See the improved fin patent 2465401 below with rocket gas opening of the fins.

2429021 Barrage rocket projector, Albert S Gould, Frederick C Lindvall, Navy, App: 1945-03-15, Pub: 1947-10-14, - Jeep mount. Navy 4.5" Beach Barrage Rocket (Wiki) "Mousetrap" (Wiki)

2532643 Rocket launcher, Lorenzo A Richards, Frederick C Lindvall, Sec of Navy, App: 1945-08-13, Pub: 1950-12-05, - modular to allow an nunber of troughs

2550072 Rocket launcher, Frederick C Lindvall, Sec of Navy, App: 1944-12-29, Pub: 1951-04-24, - single trough tripod mounted

2568455 Rocket launcher, Frederick C Lindvall, Paul E Lloyd, Sec of Navy, App: 1945-03-28, Pub: 1951-09-18, - three troughs

2430896 Rocket stabilizing fins, Edward G Uhl, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, App: 1944-01-08, (W.W.II), Pub: 1947-11-18, - these fins fold to the front.

Maybe for T12 & T23 2.36" Bazooka rockets, see China Lake Ref 8, chapter 2

Air pressure on end tabs (8) hold the fins out during flight.
Retainer ring is part of the cast/machined nozzle (2).

Bazooka rocket with folding fins

Had problem with fins opening and then breaking the pivot wire (12).

Not clear what keeps fins in the closed position.

This looks very much like the fins on the M8 Rocket (Wiki: M8 Photo Gallery)
The M8 was developed in 1941

2440271 Rocket projectile, Clarence N Hickman (Wiki), Sec of War, Filed: 1944-06-26, Pub: 1948-04-27, -

Maybe M8 or M9, see China Lake Ref 8, General photo & Chapter 4

"Development of warfare has made increased and insistent demand for use at the immediate front line of combat encounter of larger caliber and heavier projectiles than can be fired from prior weapons with which the individual foot soldier can be armed, or which may be fired from light structure mobile material.

Satisfaction of this demand by increased use of artillery is prohibited by its initial impedance and unsuitability for advance by portage, and by the mass of Carriage, barrel and mechanism being too great for light weight highly mobile equipment.

To a Certain extent rifle grenades have effected a small advance in this direction, but stopping far short of requirements, and the Stokes mortar (Wiki) has also been of some benefit, though lacking because of its unsuitability for direct fire, its immobility, and dependence on an earth foundation to absorb recoil.

The field equipment now required by armies must be light, fast, and extremely mobile and in present military tactics speed and mobility is of ever increasing importance such as to sub ordinate factors of economy previously thought to be dominating, and which were thought to exclude consideration of rocket propulsion for projectiles.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to present a practical construction of a high explosive rocket projectile in which full advantage is taken of the effectiveness for propulsion of available explosives in proportion to the Weight and bulk, with a minimum sacrifice of energy in moving the effective or destructive elements of the projectile.

Hickman (Wiki) patents

2362484 Pressure gauge, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed: 1943-05-10, Pub: 1944-11-14, - See NBS: No. 185, Experiments on Copper Crusher Cylinders.pdf
Uses copper sphere to provide a more linear response.

2434652 Igniter, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed: 1944-03-01, Pub: 1948-01-20, - for rocket. propellant looks like stacked washers. "One of the important features of the wafer stack arrangement of rocket propellant is that the burning time may be controlled by varying the web thickness of the disks. In this manner an extremely short burning time of the propellant charge may be realized, which is an essential safety requirement when firing a rocket projectile from a shoulder launcher."

2464179 Smokeless powder tester, Clarence N Hickman, Arthur J Dempster, Sec of Navy, Filed: 1943-09-02, Pub: 1949-03-08, -

2574479 Propellant having an opacifier (Wiki) for preventing self-ignition by radiant energy radiations, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1943-01-30, Pub: 1951-11-13, -"It, therefore, becomes another object of this invention to provide a rocket propellant in the form of a powder grain having a substantially constant burning surface throughout the burning time."

2459163 Thermal igniter, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1944-06-01, Pub:1949-01-18, - used to ignite a flare on top of a rocket.

2503269 Rocket propelled illuminating flare, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed: 1944-06-01, Pub:1950-04-11, - includes parachute

2440305 Rocket projectile, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, App: 1942-01-20, (W.W. II) Pub: 1948-04-27, nozzle & arrangement of solid fuel cores, to be used in a manner similar to artillery.

This looks like the M8 rocket (Wiki)?? These were fired from tube launchers so the tail fins needed to fold up.

2442386 Safety for a firearm hammer mechanism, Edward G Uhl, Sec of War, 1948-06-01, -

This is for the "all mechanical" design Bazooka that was not put into production. It eliminated the need for a battery.

2444957 Flash reducer, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, App: 1944-09-27 (W.W.II), Pub: 1948-07-13 - to reduce the signature of the rocket exhaust.

maybe M8 , M9, see China Lake Ref 8, General photo & Chapt. 4

2446537 Thrust gauge, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1944-11-16, Pub: 1948-08-10, -

2446560 Rocket charge suspension arrangement, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1941-09-19, (W.W. II) Pub: 1948-08-10, - nozzle & arrangement of solid fuel cores

2447200 Exhaust nozzle for rocket motors, Fred S Miller, Aerojet Rocketdyne, App: 1943-09-03, Pub: 1948-08-17, - - JATO (Wiki) -

Instead of using Venturi to describe the nozzle it's called a de Laval nozzle (Wiki). Supersonic flow at throat.
This idea can be used to make a supersonic wind tunnel, see: 2515069 Wind Tunnel

2478958 Pressure release, Francis E Wheeler, Zola Colman, Aerojet Rocketdyne, App: 1944-03-28, Pub: 1949-08-16, - see pressure curve for cracked or flame between grain and wall at 2563265

2561670 Ignitor, Fred S Miller, Zola Colman, Aerojet Rocketdyne, App: 1945-07-30, Pub: 1951-07-24, -

2451522 Rocket projector, Edward G Uhl, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1942-12-02, Pub: 1948-10-19, - Bazooka? with multi round magazine, requires mounting, not to be carried by soldier.

2457839 Rocket, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, App: 1941-09-08, (W.W.II) Pub: 1949-01-04, -

"It is therefore the object of this invention to provide a pressure block for positively protecting the driving charge from the influence of the pressure generated by the charge in the gun tube.

It is a further object of the invention to furnish the means by which ignition of the driving charge can be accomplished through the medium of the pressure block."

This is a rocket fried from a gun where the charge in the gun pushes the rocket out and lights the rocket engine. A Bazooka has an open tube so this is not applicable to the Bazooka.

2458475 Rocket device, Charles C Lauritsen, McMorris John, Sec of Navy, App: 1943-04-02, Pub: 1949-01-04, -
7.2" Demolition or "Mousetrap" ASW Rocket (Wiki) see China Lake Ref 8, chapter 5
This is a retro-rocket that's fired from a plane and the payload is a "float light" that ends up on the ocean.
Maybe to mark a MAD (Wiki) hit that's probably a submarine. No need for a retro rocket since MAD flights were very close to the water.

Prior art float lights where shaped like small bombs and would travel forward below the plane and so would hit the water long after they were released.

For the rocket see 2464181 Rocket device below.

2460289 Rocket projectile, Clarence N Hickman, 1949-02-01, -

2461574 Firing mechanism, Leslie A Skinner, Julius A Folse, App: 1944-01-31, (W.W.II), Pub: 1949-02-15, -

This looks like an all mechanical firing mechanism for the Bazooka. It would eliminate the need for a battery. I don't think it was ever produced?

2462135 Rocket primer, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1944-04-06 (W.W. II), Pub: 1949-02-22, -
Electrical primer

2464181 Rocket device, Charles C Lauritsen, Sec of Navy, App: 1943-04-02, Pub: 1949-03-08, -

7.2" Demolition or "Mousetrap" ASW Rocket (Wiki) see China Lake Ref 8, chapter 5
"...a standard 2.25-inch (57 mm) rocket motor..."
Mousetrap (Wiki) M10 (4 rail) & M22 (8 rail) launchers.

Use with flares is mentioned in the patent.

The Skinner patent 2206057 fills the combustion chamber completely with propellant.
In the Stolfa patent 1901852 shapes the burn surface at the center of the cylinder.

This is a single grain that burns on both the OD and ID. Also it gets ignited at the front end, unlike all the Bazooka rockets that are lit at the rear end.

This appears to be a much simpler engine. But it may have a much longer burn time for a different application?
2495216 Method of manufacturing propellants, Paul A Longwell, Alvin D Ayers, Bruce H Sage, Sec of Navy, App: 1944-08-07, Pub: 1950-01-24, - double base propellent. Improvement on solvent & hot rolling processes. Makes "Hercules Bullseye" aka: “Army Specification PXS 633, Revision 5' plus improvements.

2628561 Propellant powder grain for rocket motors, Bruce H Sage, William N Lacey, Sec of Navy, App: 1943-03-17, Pub: 1953-02-17, - as shown in 2464181.

2685837 Igniter, Bruce H Sage, McMorris John, Glen W Miller, Navy, App: 1943-04-02, Pub: 1954-08-10, -
for use with this and 2458475 Rocket device (retro-rocket for "float light".

2035185 Aircraft float light or smoke bomb, Harry J Nichols, 1936-03-24, -
2114213 Self-extensible float light, Herbert C Clauser, 1938-04-12, -
2119697 Float light, Robert J Anderson, Victory Fireworks, 1938-06-07, -
2509943 Marker flare, Gene A Silvey, Dept of Navy, App: 1947-03-10, Pub: 1950-05-30, - used with torpedoes that use an influence detonator for testing.

2793492 Rocket assembly, Bruce H Sage, Kenneth H Robinson, Sec of Navy, App: 1944-11-24, Pub: 1957-05-28, - nozzle cap with storage for Igniter cable & connector

2813487 Deflagration inhibited powder grains and method of making same, Glen W Miller, Paul A Longwell, Bruce H Sage, Sec of Navy, App: 1945-09-26, Pub: 1957-11-19, - several seconds of burning,

2465401 Rocket fin assembly, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1943-09-23 (W.W.II) Pub: 1949-03-29

M8 rocket

"This invention relates to rocket projectiles, and more particularly, to the tail fins provided thereon to stabilize their flight. The prime object of invention is to devise a tail fin assemblage for rocket projectiles the blades of which are readily folded in ineffective position so as to offer no protrusion to the passage of the projectile through the gun barrel but which are automatically turned by the rocket blast to their effective position protruding radially from the projectile as the projectile leaves the gun barrel."

rocket gas fed by ports to push open the fins, improvement of 2427217 above.

2465402 Rocket launcher firing mechanism, Leslie A Skinner, Julius A Folse, App: 1943-09-25, Pub: 1949-03-29, -

This is for the mechanical version Bazooka, not produced.

2466752 Electrically fired rocket projectile, Edward G Uhl, Leslie A Skinner, App: 1943-09-22, Pub: 1949-04-12

M6 HEAT rocket the M1 Bazooka. Note the two electrical connections are (1) on nose cone and (2) on tail.
There are no wires coming out of rocket in this first generation Bazooka rocket.

Fixed fins.

M6A1 rocket

Real M6A1 rocket: left to right (patent 2466752 above & 2487053 below)
Conical end cap (5)
Explosive head (2)
Tube (3) contains rocket engine
Nozzle (4)
Fins (10)

See 2692557 Fuse for the base detonating fuze.

2472108 (Laterial) Thrust gauge for projectiles, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed: 1944-11-16, Pub: 1949-06-07, - Cu spheres

2481910 Rocket launcher, Ardenne Walter H D, Heintz Manuf Co, App: 1946-06-05, Pub: 1949-09-13, -

2421893 Rocket firing control mechanism, Albert L Lambert, Ardenne Walter H D, Heintz Manuf Co, App:1944-11-02, Pub: 1947-06-10, - positions for up to 20 rockets

2448962 Rocket stop assembly, Ardenne Walter H D, Heintz Manuf Co, Heintz Manuf Co, App: 1946-09-25, Pub: 1948-09-07

The M8 4.5" rocket (Wiki) was fin stabilized and did not work that well, but over 2 million were made.

This might be related to the M16 4.5" Spin Stabalized Rocket (Wiki).
T66 Rocket Launcher:

2484355 Reaction motor with propellant charge mounted in it, John W Parsons (Wiki), Aerojet Rocketdyne, App: 1945-04-23, Pub: 1949-10-11, - JATO (Wiki)

You can see where the term "JATO Bottle" came from.

Parsons also holds a number of patents on liquid fuel reaction motors.

2487053 Obturator trap for rocket propellants, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1944-11-16, Pub: 1949-11-08, -   Bazooka rocket

2490389

2490389 Quick action fuse, Jr Nathaniel B Wales, Army, Filed: 1946-11-01 W.W.II, Pub: 1949-12-06, -

"One of the difficulties heretofore encountered in detonating shells and rockets, especially of the shaped charge type, has been to achieve detonation early enough to produce the most effective explosive force at the instant of impact of the projectile." i.e. this may be for the Bazooka.

M1 Bazooka

2496316 Rocket projector, Leslie A Skinner, Edward G Uhl, App: 1943-09-22, (W.W. II), Pub: 1950-02-07, -

Electrical connections to rocket: one on nose and one on tail, no wires.

Launcher, Rocket, 2.36 inch, Anti-Tank, M1

Note M6 HEAT rocket shown in Fig 12 wiring diagram.
Electrical ignition uses Eveready 791-A battery (made up of two series "C" cells).

2502458 Trap for rocket propellants, Clarence N Hickman, App: 1944-11-16, Pub: 1950-04-04, - rods of propellant secured only at their front ends

2503270 Trap for rocket propellants, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1944-11-16, Pub: 1950-04-11, -

Fig 3 bears a strong resemblance to the M6A1 rocket or JATO (has bolt on nozzle plate)
5: Venturi nozzle, not sure why, maybe Joule–Thomson effect (Wiki)
30: BBQ grill type trap supports propellant rods
21: Electrical squib (Wiki)
22: blow out disk

2503271 Rocket projectile, Clarence N Hickman, App: 1945-02-06, Pub: 1950-04-11, - has to do with center of mass in relation to the center of thrust causing more dispersion in rockets then shells fried from guns.

2504160 Rocket projector, Leslie A Skinner, Julius A Folse, App: 1944-10-03 (W.W.II), Pub: 1950-04-18, - tripod, very heavy, single tube

2504648 Projectile, Edward F Chandler, App: 1941-10-25, Pub: 1950-04-18, -

Jets angled to cause spin. Early M8 rocket?

2519905 Driver rocket, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1945-05-17, Pub: 1950-08-22, - Conventional 4.2" mortar can not be used at low angles of fire because the round will not impact the firing pin with enough force to set off the primer. By putting a small rocket on the nose of the mortar round to drive it down the barrel it will then fire.

2524591 Rocket projectile, Edward F Chandler, App: 1944-07-19, Pub: 1950-10-03, -

2549811 Powder trap, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed: 1944-08-24, Pub: 1951-04-24, -

Bazooka
"This invention relates to improved powder traps for trapping the propellant charge of rocket projectiles. In many forms of rocket propelled projectiles the burning of the propellant powder must be completed within the projector tube, especially rocket propelled projectiles fired from a shoulder projector. Therefore in order for the projectile to attain its maximum velocity within the projector tube the acceleration of such projectile must be very rapid. This rapid acceleration however, forces the powder column contained within the projectile against the trap holding such propellant with considerable force thereby heavily overloading the powder trap. Furthermore the gas flow within the combustion chamber is extremely violent.

As the propellant material generally utilized in rocket projectiles is quite fragile the propellant is subject to fracture due to impact against the powder traps because of the sudden acceleration of the projectile, or due to the ending action of the gas flow. Any fracture of the propellant. charge increases the burning area of Such charge which results in a corresponding increase in the burning rate of the propellant. An increase in the burning rate of the propellant likewise causes a considerable increase in pressure within the projectile which could readily develop into a dangerously high chamber pressure. Further, the propellant material breaking away from the propellent charge tends to clog around conventional traps, which are generally located at nozzle of the projectile, thereby restricting the gas flow thru such nozzle, resulting in higher chamber pressures.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide improved powder traps for a rocket projectile to securely hold the propellant charge of such projectile in such fashion as to prevent damage to the propellant charge due to the rapid acceleration forces of the projectile."

2545204 Jet-accelerated armor-piercing bomb

2557151 Spring actuated generator for rocket launchers, Leslie A Skinner, Julius A Folse, App: 1944-08-24 (W.W.II), Pub: 1951-06-19, -

Replaces the battery with a spring activated magneto. This is the basis for the M9 Bazooka.
The same idea as a Blasting Machine.

Lever (19) tensions spring (20). When trigger (37) is pulled it frees spring which pulls sector gear (24) which in turn drives gear (25) on armature shaft (10) rotating armature in field provided by permanent magnet (9).

2563265 Rocket motor with solid propellant and propellant charge therefor, John W Parsons, Aerojet Rocketdyne, App: 1943-09-21, Pub: 1951-08-07, - JATO (Wiki)

2563969 Toy spring rocket launcher, Leslie A Skinner, 1951-08-14, -

A toy Bazooka designed by the inventor of the real one!

Cites 6 prior art patents:

Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title

US468089A *    1892-02-02              Spring toy gun

US1381639A *  1921-06-14                   Toy gun and projectile

US1473507A * 1922-09-29 1923-11-06 Obermaier Carl August Casting rod

US1473419A * 1922-09-05 1923-11-06 George R Cudlipp Toy pistol

US2213496A * 1939-05-10 1940-09-03 John E Kahler Swatter gun

US2225629A * 1939-08-08 1940-12-24 Neal M Fraser Novelty gun

Also see my Pop Gun web page.

2570693 Impulse generator, John C Koonz, Magnavox, 1951-10-09, -
Works without hammering action so is much quieter in operation. Can be driven by the mechanism of a recoil operated automatic gun. probably not for a bazooka, but what gun would use a HV impulse generator?

2579323 Rocket projectile, Gregory J Kessenich, App: 1944-02-14, (Top Secret) Pub: 1951-12-18

This is the first Bazooka rocket. It has fixed tail fins unlike all the others which are folding fin rockets.
The low trajectory makes this suitable to attack moving targets, like tanks.

The rocket (1) has what amounts to the M9 shaped charge grenade (20) (Wiki) screwed on the front.

The grenade has an impact fuse (3) at the tail end that can be secured with a cotter pin (hole in firing pin (23).
A thermal insulating disk (4) separates the rocket propellant from the firing mechanism.

The front of the grenade is a thin sheet metal ogival (13).
British patent 28030 covers the explosive charge (14).
The conical liner (15) is probably copper, but that's not mentioned.

DTIC A144098.pdf Ministry of Defence, Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment, Report 2/84, Some Historical Aspects of the Development of Shaped Charges, R.F. Eather & N. Griffiths, 1984

There's a problem if the hot high pressure rocket gases find a pin hole into the explosive chamber.

2583570 Nozzle for rocket motors, Clarence N Hickman, App: 1945-06-28, Pub: 1952-01-29, - temperature compensating

2586229 Replaceable firing pin for mortars, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, 1944-11-29, Pub: 1952-02-19, - 4.2" chemical mortar

2605607 Trap for rocket propellant, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, Filed:1944-11-16, Top Secret, Pub: 1952-08-05, -

2612747 Rocket having adjustable discharge passage, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, 1952-10-07, -
"Another purpose of the invention is to provide a means for automatic adjustment of the Orifice cross-section of a rocket for optimum performance depending upon ambient temperature at the time of firing."

2620732 Mortar charge, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, App: 1944-11-29, Pub: 1952-12-09, - change in charge density to change range.

2643184 Propellant charge for jet-propelled devices, Robert W Cairns, Sec of War,App: 1944-01-15 (W.W.II) Pub: 1953-06-23, - rocket fuel. By coating grains much larger than are used in guns the only part of the grain that light is the exposed part. So, for example, a rod coated on the cylindrical surface would only light on the exposed end.

2692557 Fuse, Jr Nathaniel B Wales, Army, Filed: 1946-06-14 (W.W.II) Pub: 1954-10-26, -

This is the base detonating fuze for the M6A1 Bazooka rocket

Wales also has patents on the Proximity Fuze Reserve Battery.

also see 2490389 above

2697400 Projectile with shaped charge and point initiating fuze, Lyle K Liljegren, App: 1944-02-14, W.W.II, Pub: 1954-12-21, - Probably artillery shell.

The hollow cone (21) is described as "thin material". Copper or other ductile metal for the liner (Wiki) is not mentioned.

2721518 Projectile (Mortar), Clarence N Hickman, S ec of War, App:
also see 1994490 for early rocket propelled mortar
The washer shaped propellant grains are for use in a spinning projectile

2757611 Shaped charges, Joseph H Church, Gregory J Kessenich, US Army, 1956-08-07, 102/307 - Shaped Charge (Wiki) Filed in 1950 after W.W.II

2764091 Piezoelectric fuse, Colin M Hudson, Leslie A Skinner, Sec of War, App: 1945-04-27 (W.W.II), Pub: 1956-09-25

2801587 Folding fins for rockets and missiles, Albert S Gould, (@ China Lake) 1957-08-06, -
"permits launching of the rocket through a launching tube with the fins in folded position.. . .
a novel folding fin and exhaust nozzle construction. - 4 small nozzles
actuating the fins to their extended positions, utilizing the pressure in the rocket motor reaction chamber Piston (40)
employed in rockets of relatively small calibre. - FFAR 2.75" (Wiki)

With fins that fold toward the front there's no problem with the exhaust melting the fins. But in this case the fins fold to the rear and so are in the path of the exhaust gas. So . . . instead of a single nozzle Gould has used 4 nozzles.

2.75-In. Folding Fin Aircraft Rocket, Final Report, 1969, 259pgs, DTIC 501432.pdf -
1600 PSI for 2 seconds then tapers off

4150540 Rocket nozzle system, Harold A. Krayenbuhl, Gene Dolgonas, Charles J. Rogers, US Air Force, 1979-04-24,

2835170 Rocket launcher, James H Kindelberger, North American Aviation, 1958-05-20, - see 2968245 below.

2857258 Jet propellant, Charles A Thomas, Monsanto Chemicals, App: 1945-08-22 (13 years delay), Pub: 1958-10-21, - contains some theory and "burning law" equations relating the burning area with the nozzle throat area.
Glyptal 1201 used to glue grains together. Specific Impulse: 160 - 170.

Ref: 1892400 Diphenyl resin and method of producing the same, Russell L Jenkins, Joseph A Sikarski, Swann Research, 1932-12-27, - Example VI non-crystalline, chlorinated polyphenyl resin

2171882 Urea formaldehyde resins, Oskar R Ludwig, Resinous Prod & Chemical, 1939-09-05, -

2945442 Explosive separation device, Barnet R Adelman, James D Burke, Sec of Army, 1960-07-19, -

2968245 Spinning rocket, George P Sutton, Albanese Philip, John R Conyers, Noel W Pion, Herbert H Isaacs, North American Aviation, 1961-01-17, - spinning

2976804 Separation means - drop empty rocket housing?

3139794 Launcher and rocket, Jr Vernon M Barnes, Jr Jerry A Burke, Irving R King, Robert L Wolf, Texaco Experiment, 1964-07-07, - This is a new to me propulsion system that's more powerful than the 2-liter pop bottle using water + compressed air.

3326128 Rockets and combinations of rockets and cases, Paul V Choate, Norris Industries,1967-06-20, -

3292536 Shaped explosive charges, Joseph H Church, Gregory J Kessenich, Sec of Army, 1950-04-25, (16 year delay) Pub: 1966-12-20, 102/306 - for general demolition use

3561361 Detonation system for shaped charges, Gregory J Kessenich, Joseph H Church, Sec of Army, App: 1950-04-18 (delay 21 years= Top Secret) Pub: 1971-02-09 - for general demolition use

3620162 Rifle launched rocket, Paul C King, Navy, 1971-11-16, -
HE not shaped charge.
Note stepped disks in rocket motor to get the desired cone shape.
Shown on M14 rifle. This would solve the problem with conventional rifle grenades breaking the stock.

4112849 Smokeless slow burning cast propellant, John Leslie Jones, California Institute Research Foundation, App:1949-02-11 (29 year delay), Pub: 1978-09-12, -

4140562 Solid propellant with alginate binder, Silvio P. Gualillo, Regis Raab, Edward G. Uhl, 1979-02-20
a recipe for a water based ammonium nitrate propellant that's then molded at a few thousand PSI, and dried.
Burns at very high pressure and temperature.

5322002 Tube launched weapon system, Herman L. Miskelly, Jr.Richard L. Alldredge, Northrop Grumman, 1994-06-21, - anti-aircraft and anti-tank weaponry - this pushes the missile out of the tube and the rocket motor ignites some distance in front of the tube for the safety of the soldier.

2633702 Multiple Nozzle Rocket, Clarence N Hickman, Office of Scientific Research and Development,
2724237 Rocket projectile having discrete flight initiating and sustaining chambers
2471745 Spacer trap for rockets
2437694 Method for blending powder grains, Clarence N Hickman, Sec of War, - smokeless powder utilized for rocket propellants. Uses the heat of the rocket motor to arm. Possible problem if there are any pin holes allowing hot high pressure gases to get to the explosive.
2522514 Arming Device, Clarence N Hickman, OSRD (Wiki), depends on the heat of the propellant
2596644 Automatically detachable flashless nozzle for rockets
2502842 Electromagnetic Relay, Bell Telephone
2585010 Wire Connecting Tool, Wire Wrap, Bell Telephone
2589806 Selective Signaling, Bell Telephone, cross bar switching
2485601 Multiple Cartridge Launcher, OSRD - V-1 rail launcher
2567812 Code transmitter - 2x5 keypad -> 5 level paper tape, Bell Labs
References

Also see China LakePatents Ref_8 and many of the following references.

Ref 1: The Bazooka, Gordon L. Rottman, 2012, ISBN: 978 1 84908 801 5 -
Ref 2: Bazooka vs Panzer: Battle of the Bulge 1944 Paperback – November 22, 2016
Ref 3: U.S. Rocket Ordnance Development and use in W.W. II (pdf) Div 3 of NDRC: Rockets, Sec H Alleganu Ballistics Lab, WV & Cal Inst of Tech, Pasadena, CA (& NOTS)
Ref 4: U.S. Ground/Air Launched Rockets -
Ref 5. Expedient Recoilless Launchers, Panzerfaust, Jonathan Wild, ISBN: 978-0-578-76286-9
Ref 6. The Poor Man's RPG: Shoulder Fired Anti-Tank Grenade, George Dmitrieff, ISBN: 0-876947-154-9 - many M9, M18 & M20 Bazooka drawings & some Panzerfaust drawings.
Ref 7. The Rocket Propelled Grenade (Weapon),Rottman, Gordon L.
Ref 8. 3.5-Inch Rocket Launcher "Super Bazooka" Field Manual: FM 23-32, Department of the Army
Ref 9. Launch Magazine's History of American Rocketry: The Space Race, Model Rockets, and The New Frontier, Mayfield, Mark
Ref 10. TM 43-0001-30 Technical Manual Army Ammunition Data Sheets for Rockets, Rocket Systems, Rocket Fuzes, Rocket Motors FSC 1340, Dec 1981 (C14).

1. Introduction
2. Ground Rockets, 3.5", M72 LAWS
3. Aircraft Rockets, 2.75"
4. Fuzes, 2.75"
5. Rocket Motors, Mk22 demo charge tow, Mk 20 & Mk 66 (2.75"), M3A2 & M8 JATO

Ref 11. OP1664 US Explosive Ordnance

1. Projectiles Propellants and Projectile Fuzes
2. (pdf 148) Rockets and Rocket Fuzes

2.1 Intro
2.2 Army Rockets
    2.36"... 154
    3.25" ...157
    4.5" ...158
    5" & 7.2" ...160
2.3 Army Developmental Types ...161
2.4 Navy Rockets ...pdf165
    2.25" A.R. Practice
    3.25" Targets...166
    4.5" B.R. ...173
    5.0" A.R. ...171
    7.2" H.E. Mousetrap...179
    11.75" A.R. Tiny Tim ...184
2.6 Rocket Fuzes ...186
    2.6.2 Army Nose Fuzes ...187
    2.6.3 Army Base Fuzes ...191
    2.6.4 Army Exp Fuzes
    2.6.5 Navy Nose Fuzes ...195
    2.6.6 Navy Base Fuzes ...219
    2.6.7 Navy Auxiliary Detonating Fuze ...228

3. Pyrotechnics ...231
    3.1 Pistol & Hand-size Signals ...233
    3.2 Drift Signals ...240 (forms a slick on water visible at 15,000 feet.
    3.3 Navy Flares
    3.4 Depth Charge & Slick Markers
    3.5 Army Flares (M9 for AN/M8 Pyro Pistol)
    3.6 Target Flares
    3.7 Target ID Bombs
    3.8 Smoke Streamer Bombs ...264
    3.9 PhotoflashBombs ...266
    3.9 Ground Protechnics ...269
    3.10 Shipboard Pyrotechincs ...285
    ------------ End of this volume
4. Grenades
5. Land Mines and Firing Devices
6. Bombs and Bomb Fuzes
7. Guided Missiles and Fuzes

Ref 12. YouTube: RPG-7 the Glorious Soviet Army's Anti Tank Weapon, 10:17 - includes footage of Bazooka and other small rockets.

Ref 13. Low Altitude Air Defencs (LAAD) Gunner's Handbook MCRP 3-25.10A, 9 May 2011 (pdf) -

Ref 14. Technical Manual (TM) 08319A-12, Operators and Organizational Maintenance Instructions STLS (Stinger Launch Simulator) NSN 6920-01-119-7619.

Ref 15. TM 9-1425-429-12, Operator’s and Organizational Maintenance Manual for Stinger Guided Missile System Consisting of:
    Weapon Round RMP: FIM-92D (NSN 1425-01-325-0695) (EIC: N/A) (NSN 1425-01-356-6995) (EIC: N/A) (NSN 1425-01-325-0696) (EIC: N/A)
    Weapon Round Block I: FIM-92E (NSN 1425-01-440-8040) (EIC: N/A)
    Trainer Handling Guided Missile Launcher M60 (NSN 6920-01-024- 9969) (EIC: NRH)
    Guided Missile Subsystem Intercept-Aerial, Training M148 (NSN 6920-01-246-0699) (EIC: NSC)
    Interrogator Set AN/PPX-3A, AN/PPX-3B (NSN 5895-01-032- 4263) (EIC: IZH) (NSN 5895-01-126-9263) (EIC: IZF)
    Interrogator Set Programmer AN/GSX-1, AN/GSX-1A (NSN 5895-01-032-4266) (EIC: IZJ) (NSN 5895-01-119-1273) (EIC: IZK)

Ref 16. TM 9-6920-429-12 Operator's and Organizational Maintenance Manual: (Stinger Guided Missile Training Set)

Ref 17. Stinger Missile Publications Combined: Manportable Air Defense (MANPAD) Technical And Doctrinal History From 1980 To 2018

Light Anti-Tank Weapon Wiki: M72 LAWS

A next generation Bazooka which fires a rocket that's very close to the diameter of the 2.36" early version Bazooka.

Rocket

eBay listing "M72 Law 66mm 1:1 scale model rocket kit Estes D12 motor vietnam inert replica A1" eBay seller: techcom - $60 including shipping.
This is a 3D printed full size LAWS rocket and may be compatible with Estes rocket motors.

Fig 1

Fig 2 Compared to Bazooks rockets M3A3 (top) and M6A1 (bottom).
The LAWS is larger in diameter and will NOT fit the Bazooka launcher tube.
Note: 2.36" = 60mm. LAWS is listed as 66mm on Wiki.

eBay "M72 Law 66mm 1:1 scale model rocket kit estes D12 motor vietnam inert replica A1" item# 324389294508

Length (Nose to Nozzle): 20"
Largest Diameter: 2.65"
Weight: 7.2oz with Estes D12 - Thrust-time curve -
Altitude and Speed with D12: 500ft @ 125mph
Motor: D12 or Motors with the same Diameter as the D12 (0.95")

using: The Rocket Simulator - shows an altitude of 48.8 meters (160 feet) by the time the motor burns out. This is based on a constant thrust of 10.21 Newtons rather than using the Thrust v. time curve. But the point is that the D12 engine would be burning after it left the launch tube.

Time Drag Force Thrust Net Force Mass Acceleration Velocity Altitude Area Velocity (mph) Air Density

t Fd Ft F M Acc V Y Area mph rho

0 0.00000 10.21 7.82546 0.24332 32.16120 3.21612 0.48242 0.00356 7.19446 1.22000

0.10 0.01684 10.21 7.82105 0.24205 32.31132 6.44725 1.28870 0.00356 14.42250 1.21994

0.20 0.06766 10.21 7.78264 0.24079 32.32189 9.67944 2.41825 0.00356 21.65291 1.21983

0.30 0.15249 10.21 7.71023 0.23952 32.19059 12.89850 3.86906 0.00356 28.85395 1.21969

0.40 0.27073 10.21 7.60441 0.23825 31.91762 16.09026 5.63767 0.00356 35.99392 1.21950

0.50 0.42122 10.21 7.46634 0.23698 31.50570 19.24083 7.71928 0.00356 43.04174 1.21928

0.60 0.60219 10.21 7.29779 0.23572 30.96001 22.33683 10.10777 0.00356 49.96750 1.21901

0.70 0.81137 10.21 7.10102 0.23445 30.28810 25.36564 12.79577 0.00356 56.74294 1.21870

0.80 1.04604 10.21 6.87878 0.23318 29.49961 28.31560 15.77483 0.00356 63.34201 1.21836

0.90 1.30308 10.21 6.63416 0.23191 28.60601 31.17620 19.03548 0.00356 69.74117 1.21797

1.00 1.57912 10.21 6.37053 0.23065 27.62020 33.93822 22.56740 0.00356 75.91981 1.21756

1.10 1.87062 10.21 6.09145 0.22938 26.55612 36.59384 26.35957 0.00356 81.86041 1.21710

1.20 2.17395 10.21 5.80054 0.22811 25.42835 39.13667 30.40038 0.00356 87.54873 1.21662

1.30 2.48552 10.21 5.50139 0.22685 24.25168 41.56184 34.67782 0.00356 92.97383 1.21610

1.40 2.80184 10.21 5.19749 0.22558 23.04071 43.86591 39.17961 0.00356 98.12804 1.21555

1.50 3.11962 10.21 4.89213 0.22431 21.80954 46.04686 43.89335 0.00356 103.00684 1.21497

1.60 3.43583 10.21 4.58834 0.22304 20.57143 48.10401 48.80661 0.00356 107.60866 1.21437

1.70 0.00000 0.00 -2.17776 0.22222 -9.80000 47.12401 53.47001 0.00000 105.41640 1.21374

Manuals
TM 43-0001-30 Rockets, Rocket Systems, Rocket Fuzes, Rocket Motors, Federal Supply Class 1340, Dept of Army, Dec 1981, (pdf) 157 pgs, C14 17 Aug 2001,

Ch 1 Intro
Ch 2 Ground Rockets: 3.5" M28A2, M29A2, M30; 66mm LAW M72, M74; 35mm subcaliber M73 (Promethium-147 (Wiki) is used in front sight.
Ch 3 Aircraft Rockets: 2.75" LSFFAR, WDU-4A, M255, M151, M229, M156, M230, WTU-1, M257, M278, M259, M247, M261, M267, M73, M75, M274, M264
Ch 4 Fuzes 2.75" Rockets: M423, M433, M429, M435, M439
Ch 5 Rocket Motors: Mk22, Mk40, JATO M3A2, M8; Mk66

TM 9-1340-214-10 Operator's Manual, for, 66 mm Light Antitank, Weapon (LAW) System M72A1, M72A2 with Coupler, M72A3, and, Practice Rocket Launcher M190, with M73 Practice Rocket, Dept of Army, 31 May 1991

LAWS Patents

The LAWS (Wiki: M72 LAWS) seems to have a poor reputation.

3122059 Rocket launchers, Paul V Choate, Charles B Weeks, Flightex Fabrics, 1964-02-25, -

3182553 Rocket launcher and end covering means therefor, Paul V Choate, Charles B Weeks, Hesse Eastern, 1965-05-11, -

3200708 Rocket launchers, Paul V Choate, Norris-Thermador, 1965-08-17, - LAWS

3208347 Rocket launchers and rear sight therefor, Paul V Choate, Norris-Thermador,1965-09-28, - LAWS

3256777 Rocket launchers, Paul V Choate, Charles B Weeks, Frank A Spinale, Norris-Thermador,1966-06-21, - LAWS

3279072 Thermally responsive sights, Paul V Choate, Alton F Carr, Norris-Thermador, 1966-10-18, - temperature has a noticeable effect on rocket performance

3319566 Non-spin rockets and their guidance, Paul V Choate, Michael A Nee, Norris Industries Inc, 1967-05-16, -

3326128 Rockets and combinations of rockets and cases, Paul V Choate, Norris Ind, 1967-06-20, - "Rockets capable of being fired from a portable shoulder supported launcher...

3331251 Apparatus for testing objects with force generated by suddenly released energy, Willis F Tibbetts, Norris Ind, App: 1964-08-21, Pub: 1967-07-18, - for testing fuzes

3371578 Rocket launchers, Paul V Choate, Frank A Spinale, Norris Ind, App:1966-06-20, Pub: 1968-03-05, -

3494249 Weapon system including a launcher of the rocket launcher type and a projectile of the rocket type, Paul V Choate, Norris Industries, 1970-02-10 -

Looks like the Mk 153 Shoulder-Launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon (Wiki)

3688408 Range and elevation determining device, James P Smith, Erwin Michelson, 1972-09-05, -

CA 761211 Rocket launchers, V. Choate Paul, B. Weeks Charles, A. Spinale Frank,

GB1100515 Improvements in or relating to a rocket launcher, Paul Vincent Choate, Charles Bailey Weeks, Frank Anthony Spinale, Norris Ind, App: 1966-06-01, Pub: 1968-01-24, -

4607445 Temperature compensating front sight, Paul V. Choate, N I Ind,1986-08-26, -

4129268 Rockets including trajectory controls, Willis F Tibbetts, Norris Ind, App: 1965-10-23, Pub: 1978-12-12, -

4689910 Front sight for projectile launchers, Paul V. Choate, Robert W. Woodburn, N I Ind, 1987-09-01, - LAWS

Mortars

I placed this paragraph on the 40mm grenade page because the items on this page are about projecting a small amount of explosive distances that are considerably farther than anyone can throw a hand grenade but nowhere as far as larger weapons.

Mortars (Wiki) have a mode of operation that's similar to the 40mm grenade, i.e. low barrel pressure where the propelling charge is typically a blank cartridge (Wiki).

The 3 inch mortar (Wiki) invented by William Stokes (Wiki) was used in W.W.I.

YouTube:Video demonstration on the set-up and firing of the M2 60mm mortar, 18:40 - preparation of the practice shells (20 Ga blanks) and firing - nothing about aiming.

The M2 60mm (Wiki) mortar was replaced by the M19 (Wiki) in the 1950s but was not used much. The M224 (Wiki) has been used since about 1978 till now.
The M1 81mm (Wiki) was in service prior to W.W.II and up until the 1950s. It is very heavy compared to the M2 60mm model.

Direct v. Indirect

Rifles and pistols are direct fire (Wiki) weapons. That means the person firing the weapon can see the target with a direct line of sight.
Mortars are indirect fire (Wiki) weapons. That means the person firing the mortar can not see the target.
Indirect fire means the soldiers doing the firing are not visible to the enemy. It also allow for a large number of weapons to aim at the same target, thus making up for the lack of accuracy/precision.

The problem is how to aim an indirect fire weapon when you can not see the target. There are a number of solutions but most involve surveying principles as well as North Finding.
Exterior Ballistics plays an important part as well as a number of other factors.
YouTube: Training with 120mm Mortars - French M327 & US Army's M120, 10:03 - you can see the charge packets (red white & blue).
YouTube:

Patents

FR592328A (GB245711) Projectile improvements for smooth bore guns, Edgar William Brandt, 1925-07-31 - basis of the US M2

FR593782A (GB247900A) Improvements to light guns called trenches or infantry support, Edgar William Brandt, 1925-08-31, - basis of the US M2

1628527 Projectile for smooth-bore guns, Brandt Edgar William, 1927-05-10, 102/373; 102/524 - basis of the US M2

Others: 1875985, 1883758, 1879840, 1861522, 1973604, 2052546, 2037308, 2115608, 2113313, 2246429, 2362534, 2699722,
Shaped Charge: 2717552 , 2613605,
Recoiless: 2661691,
Bazooka like launcher: 2685232, App: 1950-07-13, Pub: 1954-08-03; Sight: 2664635, Trainer: 2674923,
Practice: 2793590,

1730800 Ordnance material, Brandt Edgar William, 1929-10-08, 89/37.05 - basis of the US M2

2182010 Piece of ordnance, 1939-12-05 - much larger version mounted on 2-wheel trailer & 2368966,

1861521 Fuse for rotating projectiles, Brandt Edgar William, 1932-06-07, 102/232; 102/239 -

Others: 2167197, 2595757, 2601827,

M2 Mortar

Two images at left from Wiki.

YouTube: Mortar Team Tactics and Weapons 11 Charlie "Hang it!", 10:01 -

@4:47: Indoor Nerf Gun toy,
@6:38: Counter Battery (Wiki) -AN/TPQ-48 Lightweight Counter-Mortar Radar (LCMR) (360 degree coverage) I saw the TPQ-36 (Wiki) at Hughes many decades ago.
@7:31 Mortar v. Artillery
@8:12 use of the M79 Grenade Launcher
9:22 Future of Mortars -

The key idea was to have a weapon with more power than a hand grenade and lighter than the M1 88mm mortar (Wiki).

Fig 1

Contents of first Box from eBay seller: rafamovieprops

1. Extension bar for M4 sight
7. Dyed Sterilized Carlisle Dressing, small (Wiki)

2. M37 Instrument Light
8. Small Carlisle Dressing

3. M4 sight, M4 carry case
9. Strap Assy M4 Sight

4. M12 Tool Roll
10. Vest for Tube/legs & mortar rounds

5. Dwg No. C-61352 Rev. No. 2 Strap Assy M4 Sight in wrapper
11. Left & Right shoulder pads for Vest

6. M1924 bandage pouches

Fig 2
Fig 3 M4 Sight
Fig 4 M4 Sight & Extension Bar Showing same end.

Fig 5 Extension bar connected to sight
Fig 6 Light, Instrument, M37 (7672875)
This is for use on the M4 sight.
It has two lamps one for the M4 sight and a flashlight.
Runs on a single "D" cell.
The knob is frozen, applied Kroil . . .
The M41 Light is for aiming posts with red and green filters.

Fig 7 Front of Vest
Pouches front and back.

Fig 8 Back of Vest
Upper straps hold tube horizontally.
Lower hanging straps used like belt.

Fig 9 Left and Right shoulder pads for vest.
This makes clear this is a heavy system.

Fig 10 GTA 7-1-29 Plotting Board M16
The white backing sheet is: 10" x 9.5" x 0.01"
This can be rolled up.

Fig 11 M4 sight
set to 0 deflection (Azimuth)
& 45 deg Elevation

Mortar Operation

Setting up

This involves knowing where you are and the direction of North. I suspect it is similar to staking a land survey where aiming posts are placed in view of the mortar sight.

Ballistics

Either a table or the M23 Mortar Ballistic Computer or a printed table can be used to get the elevation angle and charge increment for a given range and weather conditions.
FM 3-22.91 Mortar Fire Direction Procedures (pdf) July 2008, 202 pages - Did not see info on staking

Ch 6: M23 MBC
Ch 11: M16 & M19 Plotting Boards (M16 for 81 & 120 mm Mortars), M19 for 60mm mortar

TC 3-22.90 Mortars (pdf), Dec 2007, 274 pages -

1. Introduction
2. Equipment and Employment

Boresighting assures that the centerline of the sight mounting V-groove is parallel to the barrel centerline.
The M45 series boresight has a fixed angle of 800 mills (45 deg) and clamps on the outside of the barrel using V-blocks.
The M115 boresight is for use only on 60mm mortars and fits inside the barrel.
Use of the Gunner's Quadrant and M2 Compass is covered.
M2 & M2A2 aiming circles (M224: TM 9-6675-262-10 (pdf) = TM 00476C-OR/1) - it is essentially a theodolite w/a magnetic compass - The ARK 1 is called a Gyro Aiming Circle.
Once the deflection and elevation are set on the sight the mortar is moved to bring both level vials to center.
2-69: M1A1 & M14 aiming posts
2-71: M58 & M59 aiming post lights
2-73 M16 & M19 Plotting Boards
2-78 Layuing of the Section -

3. 60-mm Mortar (TM 9-1010-233-10, TM 9-1010-233-23&P)
4. 81-mm Mortar (TM 9-1015-257-10, TM 9-1015-257-23&P, TM 9-1015-249-10)
5. 120-mm Mortars (TM 9-1015-250-10, TM 9-1230-205-10 + ammo manuals) - HMMWV, M1064A3,
6. Mortar Fire Control System (MFCS) - vehicle mounted, half dozen parts including laptop like custom computer & M150 MFCS-Dismounted
7. Fire Without a Fire Direction Center - 81mm M252, M821, M889 HE rounds circular slide rule
8. Gunner's Examination
App A Ammunition - dozens and dozens for each size + fuzes
App B Training Devices - M931 120mm
App C Glossary
References
Index

Mortar Settings

It looks like the mortar is setup pointing in the general direction of the target by means of the aiming circle. Then deflections are used to offset the azimuth to correct for errors. This is because the mortar is not on a turret, but rather has limited traverse (azimuth) motion. So map reading and/or surveying skills are needed for setup. There appears to be a hand held GPS based device to make this easier. Note that GPS does not contain any bearing information. The DAGR has a crude internal magnetic compass and a couple of Gun Laying apps that allow finding the bearing and distance between two points.

Manuals

TB 11-5820-890-10-13 Operation of Mortar Ballistic Computer M23 with SINCGARS Ground Radio Sets (pdf)
TM 9-1220-248-12&P 27 August 1985 Mortar Ballistic Computer, M23

PIAT (Wiki)

While watching the movie A Bridge Too Far (IMDB, Wiki) there's a battle on a bridge where the PIAT (Wiki) spigot mortar (shoulder mounted) takes out a number of German tanks. This was part of Operation Market Garden (Wiki). Stewart Backer (Wiki) did a lot of work on spigot mortars (Wiki: Blacker Bombard) and was a co-inventor of the Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank along with the head of UK weapons development Millis Jeffferis (Wiki).
Forgotten Weapons: PIAT: Britain's Answer to the Anti-Tank Rifle Problem -

Patents

2456812 Recoilless gun, Blacker Latham Valenti Stewart, App: 1938-05-04 (W.W.II SECRET), Pub: 1948-12-21, 89/1.801; 42/105; 89/33.01; 89/179; 89/199; 89/1.813; 89/33.1; 89/194 -
Uses a spring and a black cartridge to propel the round.

The projectile is a shaped charge very much like that used in Rifle Grenades, including the Bazooka.

Photo from Wiki PIAT

While researching this I learned that the Boys Anti-tank Rifle (Wiki) was not able to stop a tank. These were offered in used gun catalogs in the late 1950s and I wanted one, but my mother did not agree.

Another predecessor to the PIAT was the No. 68 AT grenade (Wiki) which was a small shaped charge. Wiki: PIAT Development.

Note there are many design aspects to the SIG stgw57 in order to make it strong enough to fire a heavy rifle grenade.
Normal combat rifles will bread after firing a small number of heavy rifle grenades.

Flash Gordon (Wiki) dates to 1934 so was around a few years before the PIAT patent. But it's not clear when the first Zarkov (Wiki) spaceship appeared.

Also see my Buck Rogers 25th Century Rocket Pistol - Wiki: Buck Rogers

The rocket ship first appeared in the 1930 movie Just Imagine (IMDB). Although it has a propeller.

The 1936 movie Flash Gordon (IMDB) has the probe at the front of the space ship.

So the shape was a popular item at the time the PIAT was developed. The real probe is needed as part of the fuze.

2938460 Finned projectile, Brandt Edgar William, Energa, Filed 1956-09-12, Pub: 1960-05-31, 102/476 -

Rocket-Propelled Grenade

One of the earliest rocket-propelled grenades (Wiki) was the Bazooka (Wiki). Note the shaped charge used for the Bazooka is the same as for the M9 rifle grenade. That's why I've grouped Rifle Grenades, Mortars and RPGs.

The Soviet PRG-7 (Wiki) appears in many movies. Over 9 million have been built because it's a very effective weapon. Unlike the Bazooka that required a crew of two men, the PRG-7 only requires one man.
AirTronic USA makes a copy of the Soviet RPG-7.
RR Defense Systems makes RPG-7 (which has a 40mm bore) and 40mm grenade launchers.
Numrich sells: Deactivated RPG-7, Optical Sight, ? deactivated rocket?

Individual Integrated Fighting System (Wiki)

A possible follow on to ALICE but was replaced by MOLLE.

8415-01-317-1622 Vest, Grenade Carrier (40mm)
This vest is designed to both carry the 40mm grenades and to also act as suspenders for the standard ALICE belt. It has built-in shoulder pads and a number of snap/velcro loops at the bottom to attach to the belt. One size fits all.

Switchblade 300

The AeroVironment Switchblade (Wiki) comes in two sizes the 300 and 600. An April 23, 2022 YouTube video: Switchblade: America's Suicide Drone Used to Destroy Russian Helicopters, 10:16; says the 300 has the same explosive charge as a 40mm grenade and it's not a 360 degree blast but forward facing, so some sort of shaped charge. PS there's nothing in the video about helicopters, i.e. false advertising but it does have a good overview of the 300 & 600. Note that the 300 is only effective against light armor, not tanks. The 600 and Javelin are effective against tanks with reactive armor.

FGM-148_Javelin (Wiki)

Reactive armor (Wiki) was invented by Manfred Held in 1978 and was used in the 1982 Lebanon war (Wiki). The Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (Wiki: TOW) anti-tank missile dates from the 1970s and has a couple of problems. The operator to manually guide it until it hits the target and the early versions were not effective against reactive armor. The Javelin was designed to work against reactive armor and have "fire and forget" (Wiki) guidance.

Note the Javelin is the only military item that will NOT work with the BB-2590 Li-Ion battery. The prior BA-5590 and early BB-xx90 batteries did work with the Javelin, but the higher voltage of the BB-2590 batteries caused problems.

Developed by TI and Martin Marietta in the 1980s.

Reactive Armor

4368660 Protective arrangement against projectiles, particularly hollow explosive charge projectiles (Reactive armor), Manfred Held, Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm AG, App: 1978-10-13, Pub: 1983-01-18, -

Tandem Warhead

7143698 Tandem warhead, Richard M. Lloyd, Raytheon, 2006-12-05, - looking for the FGM-148_Javelin (Wiki) anti-tank tandem warhead but this is not it. But this patent cites 111 prior art patents so is important. The inventor is the author of the book: “Conventional Warhead Systems Physics and Engineering Design,” Progress in Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) Book Series, Vol. 179, ISBM 1, 56347-255-4, 1998
20060266247 Multi-purpose single initiated tandem warhead, Jason Gilliam, Darin Kielsmeier, Army, 2008-04-29, - not Javelin, but instead dual purpose.
3416449 Tandem effect anti-tank projectile, Brothers Jack, Army, 1968-12-17, - not Javelin, but "... to provide a protective cover overlying its main armor. The cover could be of earth, mud, clay, fibre glass or other dissimilar material, so as to protect the main armor against prior known weapons." Vietnam ear.
5394804 Explosive device with a hollow charge, designed for penetrating armor protected by active primary armor, Jean Cauchetier, Thomson Brandt Armements, App: 1988-11-15, Pub: 1995-03-07, - the right time frame for Javelin and correct description of function.
FR2583156 Hollow-charge head intended for piercing armour protected by active pre-armour, Thomson Brandt Armements, App: 1985-06-07, Pub: 1986-12-12, - earlier version that matches Javelin timing and function.
FR2673462 Projectile for use against multilayer and/or reactive armour, Diehl Verwaltungs Stiftung, App: 1982-08-05 -

Fire and Forget
The Bat (Wiki, China Lake) was a fire and forget bomb developed just after W.W.II. Modern "smart bombs" are NOT fire and forget since they require a laser designator to be aimed at them until hit (Wiki).
The Sidewinder (Wiki, China Lake) is another fire-and-forget weapon.
The AGM-114L version of the Hellfire air-to-ground missile (Wiki) was fire-and-forget using radar guidance. The laser type Hellfire is used on the Predator (Wiki) and Reaper (Wiki) UAVs.

4238090 All-weather intercept of tanks from a helicopter, John A. French, Army, 1980-12-09, - probably the radar guided Hellfire.

FIM-92 Stinger

The Stinger (Wiki) is a much improved version of the FIM-43 Redeye (Wiki) which was based on the 2-3/4" diameter Folding Fin Aerial Rocket (Wiki, <CTRL>-F on this page for "FFAR"). "Production began in 1962." Ended in 1995.

YouTube: May 7, 2022: FIM-92 Stinger: America's Missile Used to Destroy Russian Helicopter, 13:06 -

The Redeye uses an IR guidance system patterned after the Sidewinder (Wiki, China Lake) so is a fire-and-forget weapon. Operation Atlantic Resolve (Wiki) came about after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea (Wiki) in Ukraine. This program contains the use of the Stinger.

Ref 13: "The Reprogrammable Micro Processor Stinger tracks targets in either IR or negative ultraviolet (NUV) [this may be TOP SECRET]." "The Battery Coolant Unit contains a thermal battery that provides power for preflight system operations and a supply of argon gas to cool the missile seeker’s IR detector. Once activated, the BCU supplies electric power and argon gas for a maximum of 45 seconds or until the missile is launched."

2970285 Infra-red detector elements and methods of making same, Marvin E Lasser, Philip H Cholet, Philco, 1961-01-31, -

3010677 Missile control system, John M Guthrie, Casimir J Bonk, Clark E Aliardt, Jr Glen W Ashley, George E Burkheimer, Donald I Smith, General Dynamics, App: 1957-11-12, Pub: 1961-11-28, -

3018643 Cryogenic refrigerating means, Dundred D Evers, Philco, 1962-01-30, - Joule-Thomson cooling cryostat,

3114149 Combined radar and infra-red conical scanning antenna, Jr Frederic A Jessen, Philco, 1963-12-10, -

3351303 Missile control system, Jr Herbert D Depew, Donne Elmer A Le, Benish Joe, General Dynamics, Priority:1960-05-17, Pub: 1967-11-07, - probably the RIM-116 (Wiki) since it was developed around 1976?
Rolling Airframe Missile

3445659 Cryogenically cooled radiation detection apparatus, Angelo Guimento, Charles T Kitzmiller, Philco, 1969-05-20, -

3504869 Electric missile control system, Lloyd K Evans, Elmer A Le Donne, General Dynamics, App: 1960-05-17, Pub: 1970-04-07, - probably the RIM-116

3584945 Infrared generator and mixer, Jon R Berry, Navy, 1971-06-15, - "... useful in training personnel in the aiming of a shoulder held antiaircraft weapon."

3598344 Missile command system, Louis G Walters, Carl H Smith, Robert Grossman, Philco, App: 1964-06-01, Pub: 1971-08-10, - command guided by gunner. IR signal from tail of missile appears in sight along with optical image of target tank. MGM-51 Shillelag anti-tank missile (Wiki) 1964 - 1971.

3912859 Electronic tracking device, Rodger L Christopherson, Philco, App: 1962-06-08, Pub: 1975-10-14, - pitch and yaw outputs, no moving parts,

DE1498001 Device for tracking a target object, in particular a missile, Philco, App: 1965-05-03, Pub: 1977-06-16, -

4327624 Tip off rate reducer, Edward T. Piesik, General Dynamics, 1982-05-04, -Stinger

4404887 Recoil reducer, Edward T. Piesik, General Dynamics,1983-09-20, - Stinger

YouTube:

The CIA Stinger Missile Program in the 80's, 11:14 - Field expedient low cost training method.
How this Anti-Air Weapon Destroyed a Nation, 14:14 -

M777 (Wiki) & XM982 Excalibur (Wiki, Raytheon)

To make use of the XM982 you need a compatible gun, I think only the A2 version of the M777 will work as well as some other artillery pieces.
Raytheon has four variants: 1B, HTK, S and N5.

3843076 Projectile trajectory correction system, R King, W Massey, J Smith, TRW, 1974-10-22, - laser designator, cited by 27 patents -
5129595 Focal plane array seeker for projectiles, Edwin C. Thiede, Charles R. Seashore, J. Allen Cox, Alliant Techsystems, 1992-07-14, - cites 17, called by 55 - nonspinning ballistic munition projectiles, IR seeker,

Krasnopol Laser Guided Round (Wiki)

This is a soviet round that dates from 1986.

Explosive Weight & Miss Distance

For most of history weapons that make use of explosives have progressed to use more weight of the explosive and/or a more powerful explosive. This was done while the miss distance far exceeded the destructive radius. But with the advent of smarter weapons that are much much more accurate the amount of explosive has now started to decrease. For some time the Hellfire missile (Wiki) which was fired from the Predator UAV (Wiki) contained explosives. But now the AGM-114R9X is a kinetic warhead, i.e. with no explosive. The miss distance for a laser guided or millimeter radar guided munition can be very short.

Patents

Patent Class Number

42 Firearms
89 Ordinance

1.1 misc
1.14 explosive operated tools

102 ammunition

430 Cartridges
439 Projectile Structure

124 Mechanical Guns and Projectors (not explosive)

1301929 Grenade-projectile, Emil Gathmann, 1919-04-29, 102/494 - raises the question of how to differentiate artillery from a grenade?
1816265 Portable Firearm for Casting Bombs and Grenades by Means of Ordinary Bullet Cartridges, L. Savani (Breda), Jul 28 1931, 42/105 -
cup type, used gas pressure piped from rifle barrel, the center of mass of the grenade is not in line with the barrel!

2315753 Grenade gun, Stewart D Long, 1943-04-06, 42/105; 102/438; 89/1.1; 102/483 - look and feel of M79
Rifled barrel. The wadding (16) may act as an expansion space to provide a low pressure system?

2499379 Grenade thrower, Garrett Emil, App: 1944-12-26, Pub: 1950-03-07, - spring powered so no noise or flash

2737889 Let me know more about this Incendiary device

2737889 Incendiary
shell, Maurice E Barker, Filed: Jun 20, 1941, (15 year
delay) Pub: Mar 13, 1956

2737889 Incendiary shell, Maurice E Barker, Secretary of War, Filed: Jun 20, 1941, (15 year delay) Pub: Mar 13, 1956, 102/365, 42/106 -

2888768 Underwater Spear Gun, Erein W. Taylor, Jun 2 1959, 42/1.14 ; 102/504; 124/27; 124/37; 124/67; 42/69.01; 43/6; 89/1.1 - uses .22 rimfire cartridge
2938429 Explosive Release Actuator, J.J. Jaglowski (Navy), May 31 1960, 89/1.14 ; 123/24A; 294/82.29; 60/632; 89/1.51 -aircraft bomb rack
3404598 Cup-Sealed Actuator with Obturating Groove Anchoring and Sealing Arrangement, M.G. Angelos (AAI), Dec 30 1966, 89/1.14 ; 102/530 -

The propellant is contained in an expandable metal case that's sealed so no gas escapes

Calls:
2575071 Explosive Operated Device, G.O. Rockwell (Navy), Nov 13 1951, - The propellant is contained in an expandable metal case that's sealed so no gas escapes
3106131 Cartridge Actuated Device, I.R. Barr & N.J.La Costa (AAI), Oct 8 1963, - The propellant is contained in an expandable metal case that's sealed so no gas escapes. moves piston a fixed distance.
3119302 Gas Sealed Explosive Propelling Arrangement, I.R. Barr (AAI), Jan 28 1964, - separates adjacent bulkheads (explosively actuated separable bolt electric ignition
Called By:
3967552 Percussion ignition system for a smokeless, flashless, low noise cartridge Jul 6, 1976
3971322 Pressure actuated tube primer Jul 27, 1976
4047465 Telescoped explosive driver Sep 13, 1977
4406209 Projectile-firing weapons Sep 27, 1983
4549464 Inflatable, aerodynamic shroud Oct 29, 1985
4635443 Non-fouling actuating mechanism Jan 13, 1987
4671178 Low energy fuses Jun 9, 1987
5372071 Thrusting separation system Dec 13, 1994
5421263 Cartridge for spraying a liquid into the barrel of a firearm Jun 6, 1995
5493975 Cartridge for a power driven tool Feb 27, 1996
5585596 Thrusting separation system Dec 17, 1996
5834681 Reloadable high-low pressure ammunition cartridge Nov 10, 1998

3507067 Grenade launcher having a rotatable forwardly sliding barrel and removable firing mechanism, Into Henry A, Colt S Inc, Apr 21, 1970, 42/10, 42/69.1, 42/70.1, 89/14.5, 42/106 - early M203?
3106131 Cartridge Actuated Device, Barr (AAI), Oct 8 1963 -

Packaged unit for operating valves, cutting and splicing cable, actuating linkages, propelling masses, disconnecting components, initiating sequential operations, etc.
This particular one has a telescoping completely enclosed expansion chamber so can be used in explosive atmospheres

3119302 Gas Sealed Explosive Propelling Arrangement, I.R. Barr (AAI), Jan 28 1964, 89/1.14 ; 102/378; 29/421.2; 29/426.4; 29/426.5; 30/DIG.4; 411/441; 60/632 -

looks like aircraft bomb rack?

3120186 Grenade Round with Telescoping Rifled Barrel, E.M. Harvey (Army), Feb 4 1964, 102/439 ; 102/434 -

3249010 Zip Cartridge, J.W. Blain (Lockheed Aircraft), May 3 1966, 89/1.1 ; 102/530 -

Plunger is used to propel round while sealing the combustion gas preventing muzzle flash and noise

3279114 Grenade Launcher, K.R. Lewis (Colt), Oct 18 1966, 42/105 - filed Sep 25 1964 - clips under M16 (XM-148)

cites US patents from 1910 to 1946
does not look like for M16

3332162 Combined Rifle and Grenade Launcher, W.E. Martwick (Honeywell), Kul 25 1967 - filed Dec 22 1965 - modifies the M16 gas system
3416252 Combined Firing and Ejecting Mechanism for a Grenade Launcher, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Dec 17 1968, 42/105 - filed Apr 2 1963
3404477 Semiautomatic Grenade Launcher, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Oct 8 1968, 42/105 ; 42/25 - filed May 23 1961- under M16 barrel

this group of 3 patents covers clip fed semi auto launcher that fits under the barrel of a M16 rifle in a way similar to the M203

3404478 Semiautomatic Grenade Launcher, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Oct 8 1968, 42/105 ; 42/25 - filed May 23 1961
3404479 Semiautomatic Grenade Launcher, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Oct 8 1968, 42/105 ; 42/25; 89/191.01 - filed May 23 1961
3404598 Cup-sealed Actuator with Obturating Groove Anchoring and Sealing Arrangement, Angelos (AAI), Oct 8 1968 - simpler to manufacturer
3408761 Ammunition Launcher Firing Mechanism with Breech Closure means, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Nov 5 1968 - filed Jun 13, 1961, M203?
3421242 Firearm Ejector, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Jan 14 1969, 42/25 ; 42/105 - filed May 23 1961 - M203?
3507067 Grenade Launcher having a Rotatable Forwardly Sliding Barrel, H.A. Into (Colt), - filed Dec 14 1967 for use on M16

calls 3279114

3538635 Combined Extractor and Ejector Mechanism for Automatic Grenade Launcher, H.H. Friend (Army), Nov 10 1970, 42/10 ; 42/105; 42/25 - filed Dec 26 1968
3566527 Emergency Weapon for Firing High-velocity Grenade, S.D. Silsby (Army), Mar 2 1971, 42/41 ; 42/105; 42/45 - filed Dec 6 1968 - to allow firing the M384 round carried in choppers, in a survival gun.
3568350 Emergency Firearm, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Mar 9 1971, 42/75.01 ; 42/40 - filed Dec 17, 1968 - to allow firing the M384 round carried in choppers, in a survival gun.
3604137 Sighting System for a Firearm Carried Grenade Launcher, Stanley D. Silsby (US Army), Sep 14 1971 42/137 ; 42/148 - filed Jun 17 1969
3611867 Emergency Weapon for Firing High-velocity Grenade, S.D. Silsby (Army), Oct 12 1971, 89/14.05 ; 42/105 - filed Nov 19 1968 -

a way for chopper crew members to fire the M384 HE round which normally has too much recoil for manual firing
barrel has gas bleed holes to lower pressure

3641691 Grenade Launcher with Pivotally Mounted Barrel, P.H. Ellis (Army), Feb 15 1972, 42/105 - filed May 21 1969, M203?
3687078 Ammunition round, Us Army, Aug 29, 1972, 102/453 - high-low pressure interior ballistics system
3738271 Grenade Round with means giving Forward Momentum to the Fired Case, N.J. LaCosta (Army), Jun 12 1973, 102/430 ; 102/482 -

telescoping chamber holds all combustion gas and flash inside the round so there's no muzzle flash and no explosive noise. Cartridge case contains short rifled barrel.
Calls:
3951070 Non-hazardous ring airfoil projectile of non-lethal material Apr 20, 1976
3967552 Percussion ignition system for a smokeless, flashless, low noise cartridge Jul 6, 1976
4047465 Telescoped explosive driver Sep 13, 1977
4406209 Projectile-firing weapons Sep 27, 1983
4478150 Cartridge with elastic pusher cup Oct 23, 1984
5121692 Non-lethal, non-penetrating training bullet and cartridge with impact marking capability Jun 16, 1992
5686692 Single fuse follow-through grenade Nov 11, 1997
7194960 Non-lethal projectiles for delivering an inhibiting substance to a living target Mar 27, 2007

3771451 Low Pressure Ballistic System, William B. Woodring (Olin), Nov 13 1973, 102/430 ; 102/482 - low pressure only system, not High-Low type uses special propellant

"A system for launching a relatively low velocity projectile, which system generates a low pressure propelling gas supply. The propelling gas supply is generated by burning a propellant comprising a small percentage of a primary explosive intimately mixed with a finely divided fuel-oxidizer mixture. The burning rate of the propellant is slower than the detonation rate of the primary explosive, and the propellant sustains burning and generates gas at a rate which is independent of temperature and pressure."

3962537 Gun launched reconnaissance system, Thomas M. Kearns, Kenneth D. Ferris, Sec of Navy, 1976-06-08, - no parachute or wings, maybe 155mm round,

3967402 Manually-operated Firearm with Forward-moving barrel and Pivoted Breach, G.E. Cooksey (Army), Jul 6 1976, 42/10 ; 42/105; 42/26; 42/38 - filed Jan 22 1975

M79 type but must be newer

3820463 Shotgun grenade, Leonard G, Ross H (Us NavyUs) China Lake, priority: Oct 30, 1972, 102/436, 102/434, 102/439

3967403 Manually-operated firearm with forward-moving barrel and automatic breech lock , George L. Reynolds (Army), Jul 6, 1976 42/10 ; 42/105 - filed Jan 22, 1975
H114H Practice projectile assembly, Richard M. Quintavalle, AAI & Army, 1986-08-05, - "There is disclosed a practice projectile assembly comprised of a body mem, a windshield member formed of a frangible material mounted to the body member thereby forming a chamber, a signal powder disposed in a portion of the chamber proximate the windshield member, and a piston member disposed in the chamber whereby upon impact of the projectile assembly the piston assembly assists in fracturing the windshield member to effect dispersion of the signal powder."

6978717 Infrared camera deployed by grenade launcher, Harry N. Hambric, Sec of Army, 2005-12-27, 102/473; 348/211.2; 348/211.4; 348/211.99; 89/1.1; 89/1.11 -

7004074 Controlled fluid energy delivery burst cartridge, Bruce G. Van Stratum (Martin-Electronics Inc), Feb 28, 2006, 102/470 ; 102/430; 102/469 -

Calls:
89563 Cartridge, G.H. Daw, May 4 1869, 102/469 - rolled & soldered sheet metal tube, paper base
99899 Primer and Cartridge, B.B. Hotchkiss, Feb 15 1870, 102/470 -
116094 Method of Priming T.J. Powers, Jun 20 1871, 102/470 -
148366 Primers for Cartridges, A.C. Hobbs, Mar 10 1874, 102/470 -
278394 Cartridge Primer, J.H. Bullard, May 29 1883, 102/470 -
3728967 Tri-Pri Three Contact Primer, Hinkle; Charles J. & Marquardt; Frank R. (Navy), Apr 1973 - electrically initiated primer
3771451 Low Pressure Ballistic System, W.B. Woodring (Olin), Nov 1973 - slow burning propellant.

Calls:
3120186 above
3645207 Combustible Moistureproof Percussion, E.S. Daniels (TRW Army), - for use in casless cartridge
3698319 High Temperature-resistant Waterproof Caseless Primer, J.B. Quinlan, E.F.V. Artsdalen (Army)
3404598
3395478

3935816 Construction for cartridge Feb 3, 1976
3983817 Spotting projectile Oct 5, 1976
4164903 Shotgun wad for use as a practice projectile Aug 21, 1979
4370930 End cap for a propellant container Feb 1, 1983
4493263 Ballistic propulsion system Jan 15, 1985
4587905 Wad and slug for a shotgun cartridge May 13, 1986
4887674 Cartridge operated fire extinguisher Dec 19, 1989
4892038 Cartridged ammunition Jan 9, 1990
4913054 Projectile delivery apparatus Apr 3, 1990
5078117 Projectile propellant apparatus and method Jan 7, 1992
5086703 Universal projectile ammunition Feb 11, 1992
5259319 Reusable training ammunition Nov 9, 1993
5341744 Cleaning shell for firearms Aug 30, 1994
5353779 Self-contained cartridge for launching a low speed projectile Oct 11, 1994
5402729 Munition for low-pressure firing of projectiles from large-caliber guns Apr 4, 1995 - Uses a .38 blank as gas generator to power 40mm round.
5408931 Shotgun ammunition Apr 25, 1995
5429054 Tracer cartridges Jul 4, 1995
5493975 Cartridge for a power driven tool Feb 27, 1996
5703322 Cartridge having high pressure light gas Dec 30, 1997
5834681 Reloadable high-low pressure ammunition cartridge Nov 10, 1998
5936189 Cartridged ammunition Aug 10, 1999
6041712 Non-lethal cartridge with spin-stabilized projectile Mar 28, 2000
6189926 Airbag inflator with center discharge and soft onset Feb 20, 2001
6198718 Disc cartridge Mar 6, 2001
6230733 Self-contained rupture disk cartridge May 15, 2001
6328906 Chemical delivery systems for fire suppression Dec 11, 2001
6532402 Method for selecting a robotic mechanism best suited to perform a job from multiple robotic mechanisms in a storage library Mar 11, 2003
6619211 Practice ammunition Sep 16, 2003

20030127012A1 Grenade, William Sharplin, 2003-07-10, -

cites 18 patents.

Publication numberPriority datePublication dateAssigneeTitle

US3215076A   1963-09-03 1965-11-02 Remington Arms Co Inc Shotshell

US3289586A 1964-11-09 1966-12-06 Fed Cartridge Corp Wad column

US3405638A   1968-01-22 1968-10-15 James A. Stoner Jr. Tracer vehicle wad structure

US3565010A   1968-06-10 1971-02-23 Remington Arms Co Inc Plastic wad column

US3669023A 1969-07-01 1972-06-13 Olin Mathieson Shot protector

US3687078A   1970-03-31 1972-08-29 Us Army Ammunition round

US3782286A   1970-11-12 1974-01-01 E Richie Non-lethal projectile and launcher therefor

US3905299A   1972-08-08 1975-09-16 Pacific Technica Corp Discarding sabot projectiles

US4506605A   1980-04-15 1985-03-26 Nagatoshi Maki Shotgun cartridge and wad thereof

US4854242A   1987-05-21 1989-08-08 Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Buhrle Ag Sabot projectile containing a projectile core and a sabot jacket

US4892038A   1985-03-05 1990-01-09 Nico-Pyrotechnik Hanns-Jurgen Diederichs Gmbh & Co. Kg Cartridged ammunition

US5402729A   1992-05-15 1995-04-04 Richert; Pierre Munition for low-pressure firing of projectiles from large-caliber guns

US5936189A   1995-07-28 1999-08-10 Nico-Pyrotechnik Hanns Jurgen Diederichs Gmbh & Co. Cartridged ammunition

Called By:
7373887 Expanding projectile May 20, 2008

10643205 Method and apparatus for performing reconnaissance, intelligence-gathering, and Surveillance over a Zone, P. Rayond, V. Wegner & W. Knorr - hand launched from tube.

11225807 Deployable Monitoring Device having Self-Righting Housing and Associated Method, Y.W. Chang, W. Grainger, M Johnson, W. Traeger, P.D.L. Rios, W. Osterholm - sits on floor hostage situation

Calls:
6831699 Deployable monitoring device having self-righting housing and associated method, (Chang Ind) -

US 2006/0283345 A1Surveillance projectile, P.H. Feldman, M.J. Ray, J.F. McNutly, filed Jun 16 2005 - 40 mm round fired into building with: IR light source, Audio Tx, Video Tx, etc. Switch turns on unit when it leaves barrel.

Stanley D. Silsby Patents

3054208 Firing Mechanism for a Spotting Rifle, S.D. Silsby (Army), Sep 18 1962, 42/70.08 ; 42/106; 89/27.11 - has two safeties, one for each of the two man team
3010370 Controlled Burst Firing Mechanism, S.D. Silsby (Army), Nov 28 1961, 89/129.02 - maybe 3 rounds for M16
3204529 Controlled Burst Firing Mechanism, S.D. Silsby (Army), Sep 7 1965, 89/140 ; 89/129.02; 89/149 - filed May 4, 1964
3345771 High Capacity Magazine and Cooperating Firearm, S.D. Silsby (Army), Oct 10 1967, 42/18 ; 42/50 - filed Jan 7, 1966 - two mags each with staggered cartridges side by side

Rifle Mounted for hand grenades

1900790 Grenade, Brandt Edgar William, Mar 7, 1933, 102/485, 102/253, 42/105 - bullet catching spigot type
2339285 Grenade launcher, Moore Wiley T, Filed: Nov 21, 1941, Pub: Jan 18, 1944, 42/105 -
2455361 Grenade launcher, Garand John C, Dec 7, 1948, 42/105 -
2479582 Projectile fuse, McCaslin James F, Aug 23, 1949, 102/230, 102/483- spigot type, with safety pin that needs to be removed
2564684 Mounting of grenade launcher on firearm with stabilizer, Garand John C, Aug 21, 1951, 42/105 -
2748518 Grenade launcher, Moran Robert W, Jun 5, 1956 -
2807112 Grenade launcher for a gun with a gas cylinder, Garand John C, Sep 24, 1957, 42/105, 89/14.2, 89/191.1 -
2846949 Arming of rifle grenades, Bowles Romald E, Maurice Apstein, Mitchell David G, Rongus Leo P, Aug 12, 1958, 102/483, 102/247 - spigot type uses 1/32" thick aluminum deformable diaphragm,
2968870 Sighting device for rifle grenades and the like, William Brandt Edgar, Energa, Jan 24, 1961. 42/148, 42/142, 102/483 - similar to the M79 fold up sight
3156187 Rifle-grenades, Boris Baton. Energa, Nov 10, 1964, 102/483, 102/498 - spigot type
3479956 Self-propelled rifle grenade capable of being launched by bullet impact, Birkigt Louis, Brevet Aero Mecaniques, Nov 25, 1969, 102/483 - bullet catching spigot type
3664263 Bullet trap, John J Driscoll, Allied Res Ass Inc, May 23, 1972, 102/485, 42/105 - Referenced by (34)
4567831 Bullet trap and bullet deflector in rifle grenade, Tsvi J. Gordon, David Moseinco, IMI, Feb 4, 1986, 102/485 -

Mk 18 Navy Gun Rapid Fire 40 mm (Wiki)

Forgotten Weapons: Vietnam Mk18 Mod0 Hand-Crank Grenade Launcher - Used on Navy patrol boats (Wiki: PBR, PCF, SOC), maybe 250 yard range. Uses 40x46 low pressure 40mm rounds same as the M79, not the newer 40x53mm high pressure rounds like used on the Mk 19. From Owen St. Hilaire: " This gun would have to be hand cranked because there would not be enough recoil force or gas pressure to make an automatic action function."

3431820 Grenade launcher, Chinn George M, Schnatter William P, Watson Henry F, Us Navy, Filed:Mar 13, 1968, Pub: Mar 11, 1969, 89/161, 89/33.3, 42/105, 89/148 - This is a full auto version of the Mk 18 hand cranked version.
3563132 Grenade launcher, Cashen Walter R, Chinn George M, Schnatter William P, Us Navy, Feb 16, 1971, 89/33.14, 89/149, 89/198, 89/135, 89/148, 89/132 -

Stud Driver

2931039 Cartridge firing apparatus, Henning Robert W, Roger Marsh, Olin Mathieson, Apr 5, 1960, 227/11, 89/28.5, 42/10, 89/27.11, 102/464 -
3087428 Explosive propelling device, Jr Harry E Frech, Olin Mathieson, Apr 30, 1963, 102/531, 42/69.1, 89/1.1 -

Drone Net
10197365B1 Scalable Effects Net Warhead, Tomasz Blyskal, Richard Fong, LaMar Thompson, Army, 2019 Feb 5 - for small drones (quadcopters)

Calls:
2372383 Projectile (anti-aircraft net), Filed: 1942-03-19
6626077 Intercept vehicle for airborne nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction, Filed: 2002-10-16 - web captures & slows missile
7028947 Self-powered tethered decoy for heat-seeking transport aircraft missile defense, Priority: 2004-04-30 - MANPAD (Wiki) defense for airliners
7412916 Fixed deployed net for hit-to-kill vehicle, Priority: 2002-08-29 - a net - Ref: ISBN 1-56347-255-4 & ISBN 1-56347-473-5
7415917 Fixed deployed net for hit-to-kill vehicle, Priority: 2002-08-29 - a net -
8141493 Projectile for use with a rifled barrel, Priority: 2010-11-02 - round expands because of rotation
8205537 Interceptor projectile with net and tether, Priority: 2008-08-11 - net for RPG (Wiki)
8387507 Weapon interceptor projectile with deployable frame and net, Priority: 2008-08-11 - net for RPG
8387540 Interceptor projectile and method of use, Priority: 2008-08-11 - net for RPG
9074858 Projectile-deployed countermeasure system, Priority: 2012-07-13 - semirigid barrier captures RPG

Ruger SP101 357 Mag Revolver
Hammerlli M150 Free Pistol
FN FAL ".308 Match" Rifle, optical sights, ballistics, Picatinny rail
Daisy BB Rifle
Survival Kit with Pocket Pen Gun flare launcher
Wiki: China Lake Grenade Launcher - Pump action
Semi-automatic Weapons
China Lake Patents: 40mm grenade pump action, Sidewinder, VT Fuse, &Etc.
Pop & Squirt Guns
Blasting Machines Claymore Mine, M21 Land Mine

Links

Grenade launchers able to fire Army’s new camera drones, April 8, 2020 - Grenade Launched Unmanned Aerial System (GLUAS)

20200070977 Compact unmanned aerial system, Hao Kang, John W. Gerdes, III, 2020-03-05, - "...An unmanned aerial system capable of being launched from a grenade launcher..."

Martin-Electronics Inc - Innovative low, medium & high velocity rounds including the HUNTIR video camera
Rubber grenades
Exotic Firearms - Flare components
Tech Ingredients: DIY Rocket Engines - Easy and Cheap! - Sorbitol (Wiki), [Isp: 100 - 130]
Rocket Ignition System On Steroids!, [Isp: 220]
Mixing Nitrous and Rockets is DANGEROUS... But Really FUN! - hybrid engines [pure liquid Isp: 330, hybrid Isp: 300]

https://www.rocketmotorparts.com/ - spiral would tubes and nozzles
https://www.skylighter.com/ - Chemicals

Military Factory - a Wiki type page - Small Arms by Type -Grenade Launchers (not under barrel), M79, RPG-7, - Rifle Grenades, M31, M9,
Military Info - Lists of Publications - US Rocket Launcher 3.5 inch -
Denix - so far no replica grenade launchers or rockets. - M1928 Thompsonw/drum mag, M1928A1 w/stick mag,
Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense - Products - mentioned in 7464634 Cold launch system comprising shape-memory alloy actuator, - shape-memory alloy is “Nitinol,

.Rocket Initiator

Rocket Ignition System On Steroids!,

Electric Match - Rocketry, Military, Pyro - MJG Firewire (ATF non-regulated initiator)
Quick Burst - Hot Shot conductive mix -

5423261 Pyrotechnic trigger, Giat Ind, 1995-06-13, -
7293504 Electro-pyrotechnic initiator, Stephane Phelep, Philippe Pinet, Davey Bickford SAS,
also see Krytron Tube & Electric Initiator with Exploding Bridge Wire

Estes - Engine Chart (0.625 to 20 N-sec shown) -

5410966 High reliability model rocket engine igniter system, Michael K. Dorffler, Ronald L. McClaren, Estes-Cox, 1995-05-02, - toothed plug
5509354 Igniter holder, Michael K. Dorffler, Ronald L. McClaren, Estes-Cox,1996-04-23, -

Wiki Model Rocket Motor Classification -
Rocket Equations -

back to Brooke's: PRC68, Products for Sale, Military Information, personal home page

page created 19 Oct 2008

Fig 2	Fig 3 M4 Sight	Fig 4 M4 Sight & Extension Bar Showing same end.
Fig 5 Extension bar connected to sight	Fig 6 Light, Instrument, M37 (7672875) This is for use on the M4 sight. It has two lamps one for the M4 sight and a flashlight. Runs on a single "D" cell. The knob is frozen, applied Kroil . . . The M41 Light is for aiming posts with red and green filters.	Fig 7 Front of Vest Pouches front and back.
Fig 8 Back of Vest Upper straps hold tube horizontally. Lower hanging straps used like belt.	Fig 9 Left and Right shoulder pads for vest. This makes clear this is a heavy system.	Fig 10 GTA 7-1-29 Plotting Board M16 The white backing sheet is: 10" x 9.5" x 0.01" This can be rolled up.
Fig 11 M4 sight set to 0 deflection (Azimuth) & 45 deg Elevation

	2456812 Recoilless gun, Blacker Latham Valenti Stewart, App: 1938-05-04 (W.W.II SECRET), Pub: 1948-12-21, 89/1.801; 42/105; 89/33.01; 89/179; 89/199; 89/1.813; 89/33.1; 89/194 - Uses a spring and a black cartridge to propel the round. The projectile is a shaped charge very much like that used in Rifle Grenades, including the Bazooka.
Photo from Wiki PIAT	While researching this I learned that the Boys Anti-tank Rifle (Wiki) was not able to stop a tank. These were offered in used gun catalogs in the late 1950s and I wanted one, but my mother did not agree. Another predecessor to the PIAT was the No. 68 AT grenade (Wiki) which was a small shaped charge. Wiki: PIAT Development. Note there are many design aspects to the SIG stgw57 in order to make it strong enough to fire a heavy rifle grenade. Normal combat rifles will bread after firing a small number of heavy rifle grenades.
	Flash Gordon (Wiki) dates to 1934 so was around a few years before the PIAT patent. But it's not clear when the first Zarkov (Wiki) spaceship appeared. Also see my Buck Rogers 25th Century Rocket Pistol - Wiki: Buck Rogers The rocket ship first appeared in the 1930 movie Just Imagine (IMDB). Although it has a propeller. The 1936 movie Flash Gordon (IMDB) has the probe at the front of the space ship. So the shape was a popular item at the time the PIAT was developed. The real probe is needed as part of the fuze.

Fig 1	Fig 2	Fig 3
Fig 4 "NOSHOC" i.e. No Shock 1418532 Recoil pad, James R Caldwell, Seamless Rubber Co, 1922-06-06, 42/74 -	Fig 5 The M79 barrel has 6 groove, 1/48 right hand twist This barrel appears to have zero twist, maybe a concession to the ATF to prevent real use. The twist is part of the safe and arm system.

	2151521 Gas Gun, Charles J. Manville, App: 1935-10-05, Pub: 1939-03-21, - D100350 Gas Gun, Charles J. Manville, July 7, 1936, - Design 12 Ga revolver that only shoots gas rounds. Pins (53) in each chamber prevent loading 12 Ga shot shells. Only gas round with longitudinal grove (107) can be loaded.
	2101148 Machine projector, Charles J Manville, 1937-12-07, - D98775 Gas Projecting Apparatus, Charles J Manville, March 3, 1936, - Manville Gun (Wiki) - 12 Ga, 26.5mm & 37mm versions. From Milkor M32 and M32A1 40mm Grenade Launchers - "The history of this weapon goes back to South Africa, where designer Andries Piek was inspired to create it after building the 37mm "Stopper" for the South African police and then seeing a Manville 25mm gas launcher in the movie "Dogs of War" Spring wound drum magazine. Forgotten Weapons: Manville Gas Gun -
	2172800 Shell, Charles J Manville,1939-09-12, -
	ZA200904650, Firearm, Andries Christoffel Piek, Milkor, 2010-04-28, - multiple non-lethal loads
	20100282058 Unmanned Air Vehicle Weapon Adapter, Kent C. Nelson, Kenneth Nash, Dennis C. Philpot, Northrop Grumman, 2012-10-30, - mounts M32 to unmentioned UAV.

Fig 1 M406	Fig2	Fig 3 HE + Shell, Fuze, Ogive	Fig 4 Ogive
Fig 5 HE + Shell	Fig 6 Fuze 3326132?	Fig 7 Fuze	Fig 8 Ogive
Fig 9 .38 Blank?

Rifle Grenade	Description	Wt grams (lbs)	Dia mm (In)	Len mm (In)	Velocity fps Note 1
M9	Shaped Charge Anti-Tank	590 (1.3)	50 (1.96)	284 (11.2)
M10			60 (2.36)	254 (10)
M11
M11A2	Practice				180
M11A3	Practice				145
M13
M28	Shaped Charge Anti-Tank
M29	Practice M28
M31	Shaped Charge Anti-Tank Practice


M9 Rifle Grenade Dr. L. J. Paddison	Dr. L. J. Paddison one of the scientists who developed the proximity fuse, displays an army rifle grenade with which man-made meteorites were shot from a German V-2 rocket at the White Sands, N. M. proving grounds. (AP WIREPHOTO.) Dec 19, 1946

Launcher	2.36"	Rockets	YouTube: Forgotten Weapons:
M1		M6 HEAT M7 Practice
M1A1		M6A1 HEAT M7A1 Practice
M9		M6A3 Heat M7A3 Practice M10 Smoke
M9A1			The M9A1 Bazooka: Now With Optics and Quick Takedown
M18
M20	3.5"	M28A2 HEAT T127E3/M30 WP
M20A1	3.5"		M20A1B1 Super Bazooka - It's a Super Bazooka. Need I Say More?, 15:39.
M20B1	3.5"
M25	3.5"

Feature	Size	mils note 1	Lead MPH From TM 9-294 Sec. XVII
OD Center dot	0.515	12
ID Circle 1	4.695	110	10
ID Circle 2	9.738	230	20
ID Circle 3	14.869	350	30
ID Circle 4	20.132	460	40
Bar OA len	11.081	260

Fig 1 Reticle (Wiki) seen from eye side.	Fig 2 Front of optic looks like convex mirror	Fig 3 Marked: "2.36 IN" so for the M9A1 From Wiki: Bazooka\M9A1: "An optical reflector sight replaced the iron sights beginning in September 1944" (Ref 2)
Fig 4 Shown folded for storage. Big screw: Windage (Wiki) adjustment (no change when folding for storage) Spring finger: Elevation adjustment	Fig 5 center ring = 5" from 34' Vehicle=Ranger	Fig 6 to measure reticule

Fig 1 The four parts in random order.	Fig 2 Front two tubes	Fig 3 Rear two tubes
Fig 4 Both Front & Rear tubes - front view	Fig 5 Both Front & Rear tubes - left view	Fig 6 Both Front & Rear tubes - right view
Fig 7 Both Front & Rear tubes - rear view	Fig 8 Joint showing pinch lever	Fig 9 Joint faces
Fig 10 Shown in Latched together position	Fig 11 Shown in Latched together position	Fig 12 Shown in Latched relative positions
Fig 13 Trigger drives an Impulse generator. patents: 2376557, 2400262, 2426322	Fig 14 Impulse generator There are two permanent bar magnets, one at the top and another at the bottom. The armature is strongly held in the position shown. It takes a lot of force to break it free, and then the armature snaps counter clockwise and in doing so generates a high voltage impulse.	Fig 15 switched to FIRE, was at safe. That and misalignment of trigger group causes stiff trigger pull.
Fig 16	Fig 17 Impulse Generator made by Struthers Dunn Inc. who holds many patents for devices that involve electromagnets. But no patents for this since Magnavox holds those.

Rocket model	dia inch	Type	Launcher
M6A1	2.36	HEAT	M9 Bazooka
M6A3	2.36	HEAT
M7	"	practice	"
M10	"	smoke	"
M27	"	gas	"
T12*	"	HEAT	"
T23*	"	practice
M28	3.5	HEAT	M20 Bazooka
M29	"	practice	"
M30		smoke	"

Time	Drag Force	Thrust	Net Force	Mass	Acceleration	Velocity	Altitude	Area	Velocity (mph)	Air Density
t	Fd	Ft	F	M	Acc	V	Y	Area	mph	rho
`0`	`0.00000`	`10.21`	`7.82546`	`0.24332`	`32.16120`	`3.21612`	`0.48242`	`0.00356`	`7.19446`	`1.22000`
`0.10`	`0.01684`	`10.21`	`7.82105`	`0.24205`	`32.31132`	`6.44725`	`1.28870`	`0.00356`	`14.42250`	`1.21994`
`0.20`	`0.06766`	`10.21`	`7.78264`	`0.24079`	`32.32189`	`9.67944`	`2.41825`	`0.00356`	`21.65291`	`1.21983`
`0.30`	`0.15249`	`10.21`	`7.71023`	`0.23952`	`32.19059`	`12.89850`	`3.86906`	`0.00356`	`28.85395`	`1.21969`
`0.40`	`0.27073`	`10.21`	`7.60441`	`0.23825`	`31.91762`	`16.09026`	`5.63767`	`0.00356`	`35.99392`	`1.21950`
`0.50`	`0.42122`	`10.21`	`7.46634`	`0.23698`	`31.50570`	`19.24083`	`7.71928`	`0.00356`	`43.04174`	`1.21928`
`0.60`	`0.60219`	`10.21`	`7.29779`	`0.23572`	`30.96001`	`22.33683`	`10.10777`	`0.00356`	`49.96750`	`1.21901`
`0.70`	`0.81137`	`10.21`	`7.10102`	`0.23445`	`30.28810`	`25.36564`	`12.79577`	`0.00356`	`56.74294`	`1.21870`
`0.80`	`1.04604`	`10.21`	`6.87878`	`0.23318`	`29.49961`	`28.31560`	`15.77483`	`0.00356`	`63.34201`	`1.21836`
`0.90`	`1.30308`	`10.21`	`6.63416`	`0.23191`	`28.60601`	`31.17620`	`19.03548`	`0.00356`	`69.74117`	`1.21797`
`1.00`	`1.57912`	`10.21`	`6.37053`	`0.23065`	`27.62020`	`33.93822`	`22.56740`	`0.00356`	`75.91981`	`1.21756`
`1.10`	`1.87062`	`10.21`	`6.09145`	`0.22938`	`26.55612`	`36.59384`	`26.35957`	`0.00356`	`81.86041`	`1.21710`
`1.20`	`2.17395`	`10.21`	`5.80054`	`0.22811`	`25.42835`	`39.13667`	`30.40038`	`0.00356`	`87.54873`	`1.21662`
`1.30`	`2.48552`	`10.21`	`5.50139`	`0.22685`	`24.25168`	`41.56184`	`34.67782`	`0.00356`	`92.97383`	`1.21610`
`1.40`	`2.80184`	`10.21`	`5.19749`	`0.22558`	`23.04071`	`43.86591`	`39.17961`	`0.00356`	`98.12804`	`1.21555`
`1.50`	`3.11962`	`10.21`	`4.89213`	`0.22431`	`21.80954`	`46.04686`	`43.89335`	`0.00356`	`103.00684`	`1.21497`
`1.60`	`3.43583`	`10.21`	`4.58834`	`0.22304`	`20.57143`	`48.10401`	`48.80661`	`0.00356`	`107.60866`	`1.21437`
`1.70`	`0.00000`	`0.00`	`-2.17776`	`0.22222`	`-9.80000`	`47.12401`	`53.47001`	`0.00000`	`105.41640`	`1.21374`

	2970285 Infra-red detector elements and methods of making same, Marvin E Lasser, Philip H Cholet, Philco, 1961-01-31, -
	3010677 Missile control system, John M Guthrie, Casimir J Bonk, Clark E Aliardt, Jr Glen W Ashley, George E Burkheimer, Donald I Smith, General Dynamics, App: 1957-11-12, Pub: 1961-11-28, -
	3018643 Cryogenic refrigerating means, Dundred D Evers, Philco, 1962-01-30, - Joule-Thomson cooling cryostat,
	3114149 Combined radar and infra-red conical scanning antenna, Jr Frederic A Jessen, Philco, 1963-12-10, -
	3351303 Missile control system, Jr Herbert D Depew, Donne Elmer A Le, Benish Joe, General Dynamics, Priority:1960-05-17, Pub: 1967-11-07, - probably the RIM-116 (Wiki) since it was developed around 1976? Rolling Airframe Missile
	3445659 Cryogenically cooled radiation detection apparatus, Angelo Guimento, Charles T Kitzmiller, Philco, 1969-05-20, -
	3504869 Electric missile control system, Lloyd K Evans, Elmer A Le Donne, General Dynamics, App: 1960-05-17, Pub: 1970-04-07, - probably the RIM-116
	3584945 Infrared generator and mixer, Jon R Berry, Navy, 1971-06-15, - "... useful in training personnel in the aiming of a shoulder held antiaircraft weapon."
	3598344 Missile command system, Louis G Walters, Carl H Smith, Robert Grossman, Philco, App: 1964-06-01, Pub: 1971-08-10, - command guided by gunner. IR signal from tail of missile appears in sight along with optical image of target tank. MGM-51 Shillelag anti-tank missile (Wiki) 1964 - 1971.
	3912859 Electronic tracking device, Rodger L Christopherson, Philco, App: 1962-06-08, Pub: 1975-10-14, - pitch and yaw outputs, no moving parts,
	DE1498001 Device for tracking a target object, in particular a missile, Philco, App: 1965-05-03, Pub: 1977-06-16, -
	4327624 Tip off rate reducer, Edward T. Piesik, General Dynamics, 1982-05-04, -Stinger
	4404887 Recoil reducer, Edward T. Piesik, General Dynamics,1983-09-20, - Stinger