Degsy Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 were they the firing connection for the missile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 were they the firing connection for the missile? Good suggestion but no as the command cable was 3-core Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Stab in the dark here , but would they be sensors, to ensure the launcher was in the deployed position, and isolating the firing until it was correctly positioned. I can see a few problems if the missiles went off whilst stowed. Saying that I seem to remeber a REME officer where I worked, was attached to a Malkara unit and said he remembered one being fired but it was still locked to the launcher :-D Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 5, 2006 Author Share Posted September 5, 2006 Stab in the dark here , but would they be sensors, to ensure the launcher was in the deployed position, and isolating the firing until it was correctly positioned. I can see a few problems if the missiles went off whilst stowed. Saying that I seem to remeber a REME officer where I worked, was attached to a Malkara unit and said he remembered one being fired but it was still locked to the launcher :-D Richard No Richard but an ingenious line of thought. It was indeed a problem that the missile may go off prematurely. There was a problem that sometimes missiles fired when the radio transmitter was used. At a cost of £1million it was found the fitting of a capacitor on one of the control wires stopped the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 5, 2006 Share Posted September 5, 2006 Were they just fitted to your beloved Humbers or did other vehicles carry/use them???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Were they just fitted to your beloved Humbers or did other vehicles carry/use them???? Neil a very shrewd question. Just carried on the Hornet FV1620. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 My guess as I worked through the thread was that maybe it was a tester for a smoke discharger circuit, but: 1. subsequent answers suggest I am wrong. 2. I doubt smoke dischargers are 3.5" in calibre. Ho hum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Yes I see what you mean, but it is 3.5in long. Any such tester would have to have a central pin. Think more about what is fitted on the back of the vehicle rather than the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Taking another wild stab here - if it's from the rear of the vehicle and it's some kind of PV unit - is it some kind of interlock to ensre the rear doors were closed prior to firring???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Um, no. The NSN is 6220-99-101-3945 if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Clive, Unable to trace the NSN, but are they warning lamps to denote the launcher is armed and ready for action? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Clive, Unable to trace the NSN, Its on http://www.hmvf.co.uk/pdf/NATOparts.pdf although that is a bit misleading are they warning lamps to denote the launcher is armed and ready for action? No, not as such. But they do light up after launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougiebarder Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Is it some form of Infra red transmitter, to pass guidance information to the rocket, while it's in flight? :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Is it some form of Infra red transmitter, to pass guidance information to the rocket, while it's in flight? :? No but the FV1620 was originally designed to fire Orange William which was infra-red controlled. But OW was cancelled in 1958 to make way for Malkara which was wire controlled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Used to denote empty missile holders???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Used to denote empty missile holders???? Neil, no, I think it's fairly obvious if there was no missile :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 You have the advantage of me there sir - I never saw a Malkara unit..... Think it was swing-fire and rapiers in my day???? Really got me interested now as to what 8 PE cells would be used for in the rear of a missile launching vehicle..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Think it was swing-fire and rapiers in my day?........what 8 PE cells would be used for in the rear of a missile launching vehicle..... Neil, I admire your tenacity. But they are not PE cells something more simple, that Swingfire copied directly from Malkara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 , that Swingfire copied directly from Malkara. I learn something new every day on this forum!! :-) :-) Well simpler sems to indicate a light unit - only reasons I can think for having white lights - and you said 8 IIRC - on the rear of a vehicle is either as working/interior lamps or reversing lamps - but 8 units seem a bit excessive for the latter???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 6, 2006 Author Share Posted September 6, 2006 Well simpler sems to indicate a light unit Yup you said 8 IIRC - on the rear of a vehicle Well 8 are carried, but only 4 are visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Finally found some pics of the FV1620 on the web..... The 4 visible units - would they be mounted on the vehicle itself or on the missile carrier??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 Finally found some pics of the FV1620 on the web hope you didn't have to look far because the answer is here: http://www.hmvf.co.uk/pdf/WWWFV1620.pdf The 4 visible units - would they be mounted on the vehicle itself or on the missile carrier??? missile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Well - I've looked at the missile carriers in the pdf file - but I'm damned if I can see anything there similar. :-( :-( OK - I give up - what are they??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) OK Neil, you have been very indefatigable in your efforts. The NSC as I said was a bit misleading as 6220 is for "Electric vehicular lights & fixtures". I think it has been wrongly classified & should be NSC 1420 "Guided missile components". Anyway that light unit contains a 44 watt light bulb. One is plugged into the top wing & one in the lower wing of Mk1A Malkara. It is for the operator to track the missile & guide it onto target. The Mk1 missile had instead pyrotechnic flares. The trouble with these is that they "dribbled" & gave the operator the idea that the missile was lower than it really was. The other problem was that the top one dribbled & sometimes melted/set fire to the fiibreglass wing. So you tried well. But note I never said they were fitted to the Hornet, but carried on the Hornet. So there were 2 lights in each missile. 2 missiles carried on launcher rams & 2 missiles stowed in the Hornet. Edited November 14, 2009 by Marmite!! photo link repaired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Damn it Clive, I've just logged on and gone to your pdf on Malkara, actually read the Windsceen last night with that article, then it came to me, they are fitted to the service missile instead of flares, go back to the forum and you have beat me Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts