CHAPTER 2
AIRCRAFT ROCKETS AND ROCKET
LAUNCHERS
The history of rockets covers a span of eight
centuries, but their use in aircraft armament began
during World War II. Rockets answered the need for a
large weapon that could be fired without recoil from an
aircraft.
Since the airborne rocket is usually launched at
close range and measured in yards or meters, its
accuracy as a propelled projectile is higher than a
free-falling bomb dropped from high altitude.
AIRCRAFT ROCKETS
LEARNING
OBJECTIVE:
State
the
principles of rocket propulsion. Identify rocket
components to include motors, warheads, and
fuzes. Identify the purpose and use of service
rocket assemblies to include the 2.75-inch
folding-fin aircraft rocket (FFAR), the low-spin
folding-fin aircraft rocket (LSFFAR), and the
5.00-inch FFAR.
There are two rockets currently used by the Navy.
The first is the 2.75-inch, folding-fin aircraft rocket
(FFAR) known as the Mighty Mouse. The second, a
5.0-inch, folding-fin rocket known as the Zuni. The
Mighty Mouse and the Zuni are discussed in detail later
in this chapter.
ROCKET AND ROCKET FUZE
TERMINOLOGY
Some of the more common terms peculiar to
rockets and rocket components used in this chapter are
defined as follows:
Acceleration/deceleration. These terms apply to
fuzes that use a gear-timing device in conjunction with
the
setback
principle.
Prolonged
acceleration
completes arming the fuze, and deceleration or
proximity initiates detonation.
Igniter.
The initiating device that ignites the
propellant grain. It is usually an assembly consisting of
an electric squib, match composition, black powder,
and magnesium powder.
Hangfire. A misfire that later fires from delayed
ignition.
Misfire.
A rocket does not fire when the firing
circuit is energized.
Motor. The propulsive component of a rocket. It
consists of the propellant,
the igniter,
and the
nozzle(s).
Propellant grain. The solid fuel used in a rocket
motor, which, upon burning, generates a volume of hot
gases that stream from the nozzle and propel the rocket
(also known as the propellant or propellant powder
grain).
Rocket.
A weapon propelled by the sustained
reaction of a discharging jet of gas against the container
of gas.
Setback. This term is applied when internal parts
react to the acceleration of the rocket. Setback is a
safety feature designed into those fuzes that use a
gear-timing device.
Thrust. The force exerted by the gases produced by
the burning of the rocket motor propellant.
PRINCIPLES OF ROCKET
PROPULSION
Rockets are propelled by the rearward expulsion of
expanding gases from the nozzle of the motor. Burning
a mass of propellant at high pressure inside the motor
tube produces the necessary gas forces. Rockets
function in an even vacuum. The propellant contains its
own oxidizers to provide the necessary oxygen during
burning.
2-1
