Dischargers, smoke generator, 4 inch

[Chris Suslowicz]

Originally Posted by Jim Burrill

As David Gordon says, we can have a live, fireable discharger here.

I have plans afoot to make an actual smoke canister that meets local reenactment safety guidelines.

Essentially, smoke compound as used for paintball games filling a cardboard cylinder, all made with no metal parts and weighing no more than one pound.

A blank .303 to ignite it and throw it down range a bit. Not an accurate tactical recreation in distance and duration, but usable for reenacting displays.

Intend to mount them on the Humber Mk4 Armoured car.

Hmmm....

Have a word with your local pyrotechnics/firework manufacturer, since the obvious choice is a 4" cylindrical shell, suitably modified (no lifting charge bag/cone and a very short delay fuse - mainly to prevent the launch charge from blowing straight through and dismantling the shell before it leaves the tube) and loaded with your smoke composition and (obviously) no bursting charge - vents needed to let the smoke out, of course! Launch with a blank cartridge loaded with coarse grained black powder - one of the "cannon" grades ought to do it, because you don't want high velocity. (Nor anyone downrange of it!) And BE CAREFUL!

It would be completely illegal to produce these in the UK (unless you hold a manufacturing licence, etc.), so don't even think about it. (See the various bits of legislation (Explosives Act(s), Control Of Explosives Regulations, HSE rules, etc.) The quantity required would be commercially uneconomical, including having them made in China, (without considering the UK testing required (at your expense) before they would be allowed into the country).

Pyrotechnic manufacture being a permitted hobby/small business in parts of the USA means that you could probably get something suitable produced in small batches.

Careful testing is essential: some smoke compositions do not play nicely if firmly initiated (or overly contained - even a heap may suffice) and can explode(1). Especially test what happens if the delay element is omitted and the lifting charge blows straight through into the smoke composition!(2)

Chris. (4)
(1) Umpteen(3) years ago we discovered what would happen if theatrical smoke powder was used in excessive quantities (or added to flash powder) - you get more bang than you bargained for and very little smoke.
(2) I recall a 75mm cylinder maroon that went off in the tube, entirely too close to where I was standing, due to the "lift" blowing through or a faulty delay element. I Do Not Want To Experience That Again!
(3) Back in 1984, I think... or possibly 1982.
(4) BPA Level 2, which means I get to do the risk assessments for our displays.

[Jim Burrill]

Great info! All cautions to investigate with our project.

So far..... over here, a smoke pot with no illumination, or noise-bangs is not illegal to have. No license required or storage requirements for home hobbiest quantities.

The licensed part would be getting the BATF tax stamp for a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) before cutting a shooting SMLE down to the right measurements. We have that sorted.

It may be that a manufactured .303 blank may not have the right charge....pressure, duration, lift... so we may find in testing that we need to hand load some discharger-only blanks.

Obviously, starting with the weakest charge and working up. And with blast shielding and other safety gear on and available during the testing.

It is common here to use No1 SMLEs with the clamp on grenade cup to fire tennis balls using a common blank. Usually blows a hole in the bottom, but not through the ball, so it goes downrange about 150 meters.

While "farby" the yellow balls allow us to police the field for trash after a tactical. We just have to "honor" the strike and either take the hit, or let the umpires note the effect on troops/vehicles. Yes, play acting, but a 100 man tactical event with no logistics trail is not really realistic for a war. But not too bad for a taste of the experiance and keeping safety foremost.

[Larry Mass]

Just wondering if the bracket to mount the smoke discharger to hull is cast, it kinda looks like it on photos. Has any one reproduced these or have an original that they might want to get rid of.
Larry

[Michael R.]

Yes, the hull bracket on the MK-I* is cast. Bronze. Hence few and far between of the originals exist. Ben H. had copies made circa 2012/2013, in woodpecker lip cast steel. The MK-I* bracket is not interchangeable with the MK-II*.

(I am reliably advised by a good friend that original examples of UC MK-I and UC MK-I* smoke discharger hull mounting brackets can be found in steel) Kia ora L.E.

While the Quebec made Ross M-10 .303BRIT action was used for Canadian Universal Carriers, the MK-I* was remotely fired by attached cable, while the MK-II* was a conventional 'finger on trigger' release.


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[Lynn Eades]

What is the diff. between the two?

[Ron Pier]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

What is the diff. between the two?

Do you mean the Mk1 and Mk2 bracket Lynn?

Mk2 is fitted inside the gunners armour and a different shape to the Mk1. To my knowledge they were always made in steel. Ron.

[B. Harris]

I have a complete MKI discharger c/w original bracket and cable etc. available in the buy/sell section.

[wheaty]

This is how you will normally find the cartridges for the launcher.

[rob love]

Good news: I had Clive scan the booklet from cover to cover and now have a PDF file that I can email. If you want a copy, simply

PM ME YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

Feel free to share it with your friends, but not for redistribution for commercial means.

[horsa]

Thanks for making the manual available to us Rob

[cpetronis]

Hi Folks,

Thanks for all the great info posted so far. Hopefully quick question here. Does anybody know what the original diameter is for the hole which transmits the ballasite (sp?) round's force from the breech, into the cup discharger?
I hope the wording that question made sense. Thanks - Chris

[horsa]

It's the same size as the rifle's bore so .303 on an Enfield or Ross rifle. With virtually no barrel they wouldn't want to restrict the cartridges gas emission on firing. Recoil would tear the device from its mounting.

[David Dunlop]

Chris.

Nothing fancy as these dischargers were all based on some form of a .303 cal rifle from which the breech and small section of the rear end of the barrel were retained. There were no modifications done to the bore diameter. The Ballistite cartridges were designed with more than enough power to get the job done.

I suspect you might be thinking of blank firing adapters that are fitted to the muzzle of automatic weapons to permit a gas pressure buildup in the barrel of the weapon to enable the action to function properly. Trying that with a Ballistite cartridge would be outright dangerous.

David