Scratch - M934 {Scratch}

Descon M934

Scratch - M934 {Scratch}

Contributed by Drake "Doc" Damerau

Manufacturer:

(Contributed - by Drake "Doc" Damerau )

T' 120 Mortar

T' M934 High Explosive Cartridges are designed for use with the M120 and M121 120mm Mortar Systems and are used against personnel, bunker and light materiel targets. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' 120mm mortar family consists o' t' High Explosive round (HE) green, t' Smoke round light green, ya bilge rat, t' Illumination round white and the Full Range Trainin' Round (FRTR) blue. T' t' HE is a 1090 steel projectile that is loaded with Composition explosive. T' 120 mortar family was initially developed by t' Israeli military. Aye aye! T' M934 is equipped with t' M734 Multi-Option Fuse which can be set t' function in t' Proximity, Near Surface Burst, Impact, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, or Delay mode. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' approximate distance is governed by t' angle of t' cannon tube and t' number o' powder bags placed on t' boom. This can be 1 bag, or as many as 4 bags. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' center picture below shows a Smoke round ready to be fired with 1 bag. T' picture above shows an HE with 4 bags installed. Arrr!

M934 Statistical Data
Minimum distance	200 meters at 101 meters per second
Maximum distance	7200 meters at 318 meters per second
Maximum rate of fire	16 rounds per min
Charge	Comp B (High Explosive - H.E.)
Weight	30 lbs

Why A 120mm Mortar?

I work at Chamberlain Manufacturing, t' operatin' contractor o' the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant as t' Plant Metallurgist and Laboratory Director. Well, blow me down! Begad! We make several products one o' which be t' 120mm mortar family. I wanted t' make a 120mm mortar as me Descon entry t' show rmr what I do for a livin' and t' show t' guys at work what me hobby is. Avast, me proud beauty! This is an exact scale model! I checked t' completed model usin' product gauges and most o' the datum's are out. Begad! Ahoy! OK, so it's nay exact but it closer than most models. Begad! Most of the dimensions that are out are only out by a few thousandth's. Aye aye! Sorry Kenny, this ones nay close enough for government work.

T' Model

T' mold

I made a mold from an actual mortar. (No, it wasn't loaded) T' one you see pictured be t' exact same mortar as t' high explosive mortar but is inertly loaded for trainin' purposes and thus painted blue (FRTR). Aye aye! I first covered t' mortar assembly with Vaseline then I laid papier-mâché onto a mortar in several layers. Ya scallywag! T' finished thickness was about 1/4 inch. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' hardest part be accurately applyin' the papier-mâché t' t' obturatin' grove (OBT groove). Arrr! (T' undercut in t' bourlet, just aft o' t' ojive) I laid thin strips in t' grove t' bring it t' t' OD level. Arrr! Begad! After three days o' dryin' time I cut the papier-mâché lengthwise on each side. It was a little difficult t' pry apart but caved in t' me proddin' in short order.

FRTR

Covered in papier-mâché

T' molds

Fin and Boom

OBT Groove Mold

Glassing
T' papier-mâché was covered with a light coatin' o' Vaseline t' facilitate removal o' t' fiberglass. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I coated the molds with West Systems epoxy and laid 4 layers o' 6 oz glass. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Again, me bucko, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, the difficult part was t' OBT grove. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Once dry, I cut t' glass so that it was even with t' sides o' t' molds. Blimey! Blimey! T' glass popped right out, shiver me timbers, right? OY! Blimey! Nay a chance. Aye aye! Blimey! A good portion o' it did but I ended up soakin' them in one o' the bathtubs for two days and pickin' off t' news paper! Blimey! (My wife is still pissed) OK, me bucko, t' paper is off and t' two halves are sanded. Begad! Blimey! I expoied them together and glassed them. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' glass didn't sit smoothly and evenly in t' molds so I had a lot o' exterior cosmetic work t' do. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I sanded and glassed for two weeks!

Fin and Boom Assembly
T' tube and fin section is called t' "fin and boom assembly" It contains t' explosive charge t' propel t' mortar. Avast! Blimey! In this case, its a 38mm motor mount tube (mmt). Can you believe that an LOC 38mm tube is only 0.028" smaller than a real tube!!! Blimey! Just enough t' take some thin glass and make it perfect. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I laid glass in t' ID on t' forward and aft ends t' size it down t' fit t' mmt. Begad! T' 38mm mmt slid in t' assembly very nicely. Well, blow me down! Once in, I epoxyied t' mmt in place and sanded t' forward flat and square. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' fins (all 8 o' them) were made using 1/8" thick aircraft ply. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! They are slightly thicker than t' real ones. Ya scallywag! No room for glass here. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I took t' real fin and boom assembly and traced t' fins on t' fin material. I cut them slightly larger than t' tracin' and sanded them t' t' proper dimensions. Arrr! Blimey! T' placement was easy usin' t' WRASP fin guide cut out.

Fuse

This was t' most difficult part o' t' project. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I modeled the fuse after a real M734 fuse. (Yes t' fuse was inert too) I took a block of balsa wood and drilled a hole t' put a piece o' all-thread about 2" in. I then commenced t' do t' drill-lathe thing. Ahoy! Begad! I mounted t' all-thread in my handy-dandy high speed drill and put t' drill in me vise. I didn't get it done for t' picture you see below. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' fuse shown be t' real fuse.

Paint and other finishin' touches

T' mmt be a no brain'er because t' boom is a 38mm mmt. Blimey! For t' first launch I used a 29mm adaptor and secured 3/16" Keelhaul®©™® rope t' t' forward end o' t' adaptor. Avast! T' parachute is a 30" Aerotech. I'm lookin' for a relatively fast decent at t' high school. Ya scallywag! At a NEPRA launch I will use a little larger chute and a I161. Paintin' was a non event. Avast, me proud beauty! I painted t' fin and boom assembly then masked it off after it dried and painted the body. Well, blow me down! Avast! Again, shiver me timbers, t' fuse on top is a real fuse. Well, blow me down! No time t' finish t' copy. Final dry weight after addin' lead t' t' nose area is 41.6 oz, me hearties, or 1,180 grams. T' diameter is 120mm and t' overall height is `37.750"

OK cool, but does it fly?

First flight went great. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I used a G38-4fj. Arrr! Aye aye! It left the pad and went up in an arch t' about 800 feet. Ya scallywag! I wanted t' keep it low because o' winds and t' small area.

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