What is meant by proximity fuze?

: an electronic device that detonates a projectile within effective range of the target by means of the radio waves sent out from a tiny radio set in the nose of the projectile and reflected back to the set from the target. — called also radio proximity fuze, variable time fuze, VT fuze.

Who invented proximity fuse?

W. A. S. Butement
Samuel Curran
Proximity fuze/Inventors

When was proximity fuze invented?

British scientists started work on a proximity fuze in the late 1930s and solved enough of the inherent problems to test marginally effective prototypes. Their effort was stymied by cost overruns and the twin challenges of miniaturized components and adaptability for mass production.

How do proximity fuse shells work?

With a proximity fuze, the shell or missile need only pass close by the target at some time during its flight. Proximity fuzes are also useful for producing air bursts against ground targets. A contact fuze would explode when it hit the ground; it would not be very effective at scattering shrapnel.

What is a proximity fuze and what does it do?

Proximity fuze MK53 removed from shell, circa 1950s A proximity fuze (or fuse) is a fuze that detonates an explosive device automatically when the distance to the target becomes smaller than a predetermined value. Proximity fuzes are designed for targets such as planes, missiles, ships at sea, and ground forces.

What was the dream of the proximity fuse?

An estimated 3 percent of all the physicists in the United States were working on the project at one point. The proximity fuse—a fuse that would explode just before reaching its target—had long been a dream of gunners. The two existing types of fuses, contact and timed, left much to be desired.

Who was involved in the development of the proximity fuze?

Fortunately, in August 1940 the section came under the able direction of Merle Tuve, an accomplished and innovative physicist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Under Tuve’s astute leadership, a handful of scientists and engineers explored how such a device might be conceived and produced.

When was the proximity fuze first used in a rocket?

Prototype fuzes were then constructed in June 1940, and installed in ” unrotated projectiles “, the British cover name for solid fueled rockets, and fired at targets supported by balloons. Rockets have relatively low acceleration and no spin creating centrifugal force, so the loads on the delicate electronic fuze are relatively benign.