MILITARY DARTS

• US 3,763,786 A
• Filed: 01/02/1964
• Issued: 10/09/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 01/02/1964
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gilmour C. Macdonald
• Original Assignee: Gilmour C. Macdonald
• Inventors: MacDonald, Gilmour C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stahl, Robert F.
• Application Number:
  US04/335,083
• Time in Patent Office: 3,568 Days
• Field of Search: 102/2,52,69,91,92 43/6 273/1.06,106.5 167/19,46,47
• US Class Current: 102/512
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 12/54 by implantation, e.g. hypodermic projectiles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 102/703 Flechette

Abstract

1. In an antipersonnel dart, combination comprising a magnetized head adapted to deliver poison, the poison charge including a magnetic material, a stabilizing tail section telescopically carried by the said head, and a combination igniter-propellant adapted to forceably separate the head and tail sections, at impact.

Claims

1. In an antipersonnel dart, combination comprising a magnetized head adapted to deliver poison, the poison charge including a magnetic material, a stabilizing tail section telescopically carried by the said head, and a combination igniter-propellant adapted to forceably separate the head and tail sections, at impact.

2. A military dart of such small size that there are between 1, 000 and 10,000 thereof to a pound, said darts, aside from an optional destructive agent, consisting of two metal parts and a propellant charge whereby the darts can be produced easily by fully-automated manufacture, said metal parts being a head and a tubular stabilizing tail, one of said metal parts comprising a cylinder portion having a central bore, the other metal part comprising a piston portion slidably carried telescopically in said cylinder portion, said propellant charge being contained in a cavity defined by the centRal bore of siad cylinder portion and an end of said piston portion, said propellant charge substantially completely filling said cavity with said end of said piston portion in contact with said charge.

3. A military dart of such small size that there are between 1, 000 and 10,000 thereof to a pound, said darts, consisting of two metal parts, a destructive agent and a propellant charge whereby the darts can be produced easily by fully-automated manufacture, said metal parts being a head and a stabilizing tail, said head consisting of a metal tube having a longitudinal bore extending entirely therethrough formed with a smaller bore section and a larger bore section, the smaller bore section being at the forward end of the metal tube and of substantially smaller diameter than at the larger bore section at the rearward end, the length of the smaller bore section being substantially less than the length of the larger bore section, said destructive agent filling the smaller bore section, a propellant charge contained in the larger bore section adjacent said smaller bore section and filling only a minor portion of said larger bore section, said stabilizing tail comprising a forward piston portion and a rearward tubular portion, said piston portion being at least as long as the length of said larger bore section, said piston portion being slidably carried telescopically in said larger bore section with the front end of said piston portion abutting said propellant charge.

4. A military dart as claimed in claim 3 in which the said two metal parts are magnetized to prevent the parts from becoming separated in flight of the military dart while permitting the two parts to slide relative to one another to a limited extent.

5. A military dart as claimed in claim 3 in which said destructive agent comprises an intergranular corrosive liquid metal selected from the group consisting of mercury and gallium.

6. A military dart as claimed in claim 3 in which said destructive agent is a non-explosive mixture comprising a lethal antipersonnel poison.

7. A military dart of such small size that there are between 1, 000 and 10,000 thereof to a pound, such darts, aside from an optional destructive agent, consisting of two metal parts and a propellant charge, whereby the darts can be produced easily by fully-automated manufacture, said metal parts being a head and a tubular stabilizing tail, one of said metal parts comprising a cylinder portion having a central bore, the other metal part comprising a piston portion slidably carried telescopically in said cylinder portion, said propellant charge being contained in a cavity defined by said central bore of said cylinder portion and an end of said piston portion, said propellant charge substantially completely filling said cavity with the end of said piston portion in contact with said charge, said metal part comprising said cylinder portion being formed of a straight section of metal tube having a uniform longitudinal bore, and a poison-carrying sintered head fixed at one end of said metal tube closing the longitudinal bore.

8. A military dart of such small size that there are between 1, 000 and 10,000 thereof to a pound, such darts, aside from an optional destructive agent, consisting of two metal parts and a propellant charge, whereby the darts can be produced easily by fully-automated manufacture, said metal parts being a head and a tubular stabilizing tail, one of said metal parts comprising a cylinder portion having a central bore, the other metal part comprising a piston portion slidably carried telescopically in said cylinder portion, said propellant charge being contained in a cavity defined by said central bore of said cylinder portion and an end of said piston portion, said propellant charge substantially completely filling said cavity with the end of said piston portion in contact with said charge, said metal part comprising said cylinder portion consisting of a tubular metal piece having a paiR of longitudinal bores therein, one of said bores extending into the metal piece from one end and the second longitudinal bore extending into the metal piece from the other end, said two bores terminating short of connection with one another, one of said bores being longer than the other, the shorter bore constituting said cylinder portion, said piston portion of the military dart being a sintered metal rod of a diameter to permit it to be slidably carried telescopically in said longitudinal shorter bore.

9. In an antipersonnel dart, the combination comprising a magnetized head adapted to deliver an antipersonnel agent, an antipersonnel agent including a magnetic material, a magnetized tail section telescopically carried by said head, and a combination igniter-propellant adapted to separate the head and tail sections at impact, high pressure gases from the combustion of said igniter-propellant serving to forceably eject said antipersonnel agent from said head.

10. A military dart of such small size that there are between 1, 000 and 10,000 thereof to a pound, said darts, aside from an optional military agent, consisting of two metal parts and a propellant charge whereby the darts can be produced easily by fully-automated manufacture, said metal parts being a head and a tubular stabilizing tail, said two metal parts being magnetized to prevent the parts from becoming separated in flight of the military dart while permitting the two parts to slide relative to one another to a limited extent.