Directional Kite Detonator
Among the remnants of incompleted projects in the Paul Garber Papers are several worth noting. One scheme proposed using crossbows and swinging targets as gunnery training aids. Garber did some research and a few experiments before dropping the idea.The project described here is a bit more war-like. As described in two memos, they attempted to arm a kite with a grenade, to be crashed into an enemy position. Only the two memos remain, no supplements or photos.
The memo requesting permission to study the idea is here:
Directional Kite Detonator, project request forAnd a subsequent memo describing the experiments they conducted:
Device 5-AP, Directional Kite DetonatorI have attempted to research the grenades mentioned in the document (A-T and T-7), but all I have found is this:
GRENADE, ANTITANK, M9A1 -- STANDARD -- The antitank grenade, M9A1, has a sheet steel body and tail assembly and weighs 1.23 pounds. The body is filled with 4 ounces of Pentolite using the "hollow charge" principle. The tail contains the impact fuze and the stabilizing fin is spot welded on a stabilizer tube screwed to the head. The impact fuze consists of a firing pin held by a spring in flight. When shipped, the firing pin is retained by a safety pin. When the grenade strikes a target the pin moves forward to activate the detonator and explode the charge. The hollow or shaped charge of this grenade has remarkable armor-penetrating qualities. The M9A1 anti-tank rifle grenade supersedes the grenade, A.T., M9. |
