Practice Bombs - 3kg

The body comprises a cylindrical glass fibre tube with four external integrally moulded stabilising fins. The body also houses the smoke and flash unit. The nose is a solid steel plug, the forward end being cupped internally to assist in the retardation of the bomb on impact. A frangible nose cap is attached to the cupped end of the nose. The rear face of the steel nose is machined to receive a fixed striker. Ground safety is achieved by a steel pin fitted between the striker, and the smoke and flash unit. The pin is secured by a screw threaded intro the steel nose.

Prior to flight, the safety pin is removed and a three-legged spring, fitted to the striker, restrains movement of the smoke and flash unit. The smoke and flash unit consists of a light alloy tube containing pyrotechnic composition, a primer tube containing gunpowder, and a percussion capped cartridge. On impact the frangible nose cap shatters. The cupped steel nose retards downward movement of the bomb, and inertia, acting on the smoke and flash unit, overcomes the three-legged spring and drives a percussion cap onto the striker. The consequent flash fires the boost charge, which in turn ignites the primer charge, which ignites and expels the main pyrotechnic filling.

The No 2 Mk 3 variant is an inert practice bomb. Without the smoke and flash impact composition, the primary structural components are the same as those of the smoke and flash bomb. For training purposes, it is fitted with a safety pin, although this has no operational function and is purely cosmetic. No striker mechanism is fitted to this store.