"Why is there a Bucket on your nose Mr. DOODLEBUG??"

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xylstra

Airman 1st Class
197
58
Jul 9, 2014
Photographic 'artefact' -or maybe not??
The following is a well recycled picture of a V-1 ground-crew man-handling a V-1 flying bomb on it's ground trolley. Unless my eyes deceive me the characteristic nose profile of the usual V-1 we're all used to seeing is distinctly lacking the normal ogival shape and instead, it looks for all the world like a bucket-shaped protective shield has been placed over the nose. ....or perhaps the factory made design changes to the previous nose-cap? Obviously, at this point in the pre-lauch procedures the Veeder-counter propeller has not been installed until just prior to locking the V1 to the launch ramp.
abschuss-ramp-v1_stellung_ligescourt.jpg

Compare this picture to the more common pictures one usually sees of similar pre-flight ground manoeuvres:
download (1).jpg

So, the first obvious question: protective nose-cap 'bucket', or not? ....followed by; if "Yes, it's a bucket!" then what was its purpose? Was it purely to prevent mechanical collision damage to the Veeder counter odometer/compass or could it be more subtle, like inhibiting inadvertent magnetisation from the impingement of stray magnetic fields thus preventing rogue deflection of the directional compass-disc achieved by constructing the bucket as a shield made out of Mu-metal? ...and, if this was the case, then when was this procedural change introduced since this is just about the only photo that shows this cover installed, every other picture of a V1 on the ground shows the nose uncovered: early handling procedure subsequently found to be of no merit, then quickly omitted or else found to be necessary and therefore instituted late in the V1 campaign? Anyone know??
As a brief diversion, that mention of de-magnetisation (above) prompts me to comment on the German practice for demagnetising the V1's steel fuselage. How many of you know what this 'process' entailed? Well, just prior to launch the missile was hauled into a wooden building containing no iron within its structure and the de-magnetisation team applied the super-sophisticated, high-tech process of frantically attacking the beast with wooden mallets! Seriously, that's how it was done which also neatly explains why you will see quite a number of pictures of V1's with numerous indentations which heretofore you may have just passed off as handling, transit damage. As but one example, there is a well-known picture of a V1 Having just left the end of the launch pad which displays what appears to be a large longitudinal cleft just behind the nose. The moral of the story: when press-ganging the locals into the de-magnetisation crew don't include the village black-smith!
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Its a shipping container covering electrical impact fuses
No cigar I'm afraid! Things are never so simple. There was no impact fuse on the nose tip. The extremity of the nose was occupied by the airlog veeder counter assembly behind which sat the wooden compass sphere. Moreover, there wasn't 'a' fuse; there were (initially) two and later, a third mechanical 2-hour time delay fuse. One of the first two was a belly-impact fuse -and, by the way, probably more susceptible to handling damage than the other. The latter's location I haven't been able to precisely determine but by now I think that you're getting the gist that a mere, single 'bucket' isn't going to suffice nor provide a satisfactory explanation.
 
Photographic 'artefact' -or maybe not??
The following is a well recycled picture of a V-1 ground-crew man-handling a V-1 flying bomb on it's ground trolley. Unless my eyes deceive me the characteristic nose profile of the usual V-1 we're all used to seeing is distinctly lacking the normal ogival shape and instead, it looks for all the world like a bucket-shaped protective shield has been placed over the nose. ....or perhaps the factory made design changes to the previous nose-cap? Obviously, at this point in the pre-lauch procedures the Veeder-counter propeller has not been installed until just prior to locking the V1 to the launch ramp.
View attachment 604331
Compare this picture to the more common pictures one usually sees of similar pre-flight ground manoeuvres:
View attachment 604332
So, the first obvious question: protective nose-cap 'bucket', or not? ....followed by; if "Yes, it's a bucket!" then what was its purpose? Was it purely to prevent mechanical collision damage to the Veeder counter odometer/compass or could it be more subtle, like inhibiting inadvertent magnetisation from the impingement of stray magnetic fields thus preventing rogue deflection of the directional compass-disc achieved by constructing the bucket as a shield made out of Mu-metal? ...and, if this was the case, then when was this procedural change introduced since this is just about the only photo that shows this cover installed, every other picture of a V1 on the ground shows the nose uncovered: early handling procedure subsequently found to be of no merit, then quickly omitted or else found to be necessary and therefore instituted late in the V1 campaign? Anyone know??
As a brief diversion, that mention of de-magnetisation (above) prompts me to comment on the German practice for demagnetising the V1's steel fuselage. How many of you know what this 'process' entailed? Well, just prior to launch the missile was hauled into a wooden building containing no iron within its structure and the de-magnetisation team applied the super-sophisticated, high-tech process of frantically attacking the beast with wooden mallets! Seriously, that's how it was done which also neatly explains why you will see quite a number of pictures of V1's with numerous indentations which heretofore you may have just passed off as handling, transit damage. As but one example, there is a well-known picture of a V1 Having just left the end of the launch pad which displays what appears to be a large longitudinal cleft just behind the nose. The moral of the story: when press-ganging the locals into the de-magnetisation crew don't include the village black-smith!
View attachment 604333


Just a little point of order. I don't think it was a Veeder-Root mechanical counter attached to that propeller type anemometer.

It was a turbine style anemometer that drove a threated rod via 25:1 gearbox. As the threaded rod rotated it pushed a nut along which pushed electrical switches that had been positioned to sequenced the flight.

One sequence was a course change after launch. Latter V1 could do a second in flight course change to avoid the allies using radar back tracking to find launch sites.

The final sequence was the terminal dive.

It was planed to equip the V1 with a guidance system called Ewald-2. Ewald-2 gave of a pulse at a predetermined time. Three ground stations received this and determined position by time difference. A single mid course corrective signal was then transmitted.

Ewald I was a simple beacon used to track 5% of missiles. The number of missiles fitted with Ewald-1 increased to 50% so its likely the Luftwaffe was suspicious of the double cross system.
 
Owning a propeller with contact mechanism and, behind it, a pin pointing backwards to my nose impact fuse I can insure you that there was such a thing in the very front of the nose.
 
Owning a propeller with contact mechanism and, behind it, a pin pointing backwards to my nose impact fuse I can insure you that there was such a thing in the very front of the nose.
OK, fine but any source documents or diagrams? However, the bucket still doesn't account for the second belly-impact switch. How was the latter protected in transit?
Also, for all respondants to my post in order not to detour into the swamp I think we need to make an important point of clarification. Some are erroneously referring to fuses as one and the same. They are NOT. The elements requiring protection and which trigger the fuses to detonate the warhead are the impact electrical switches whilst the actual fuses (two) that explode the charge reside in vertical pockets atop the warhead.
 
OK, fine but any source documents or diagrams?
Perhaps examine the illustration in post #8 to better understand the protective cover that was in place during transit from the manufacturer and the point of deployment to protect the nose of the Feisler.
You may also note that there will be assembly needed in order to make the aircraft serviceable and it would be reasonable to think that at THIS point, fragile components would be installed while the wings and engine were being fitted...
 
OK, fine but any source documents or diagrams? However, the bucket still doesn't account for the second belly-impact switch. How was the latter protected in transit?
Also, for all respondants to my post in order not to detour into the swamp I think we need to make an important point of clarification. Some are erroneously referring to fuses as one and the same. They are NOT. The elements requiring protection and which trigger the fuses to detonate the warhead are the impact electrical switches whilst the actual fuses (two) that explode the charge reside in vertical pockets atop the warhead.
I posted from the v-1 manual.
 
Perhaps examine the illustration in post #8 to better understand the protective cover that was in place during transit from the manufacturer and the point of deployment to protect the nose of the Feisler.
You may also note that there will be assembly needed in order to make the aircraft serviceable and it would be reasonable to think that at THIS point, fragile components would be installed while the wings and engine were being fitted...
Too much speculation however reasonable the guesses may be. What would be nice to have is an Fi-103 pre-launch procedure operational manual. Anyone have one they can up-load? What about the equivalent American one for the Loon?
 
The V1 was known as a flying bomb, most bombs were transported and stored with special protection and in a condition where they couldn't be damaged or set off.
 

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