An Investigation of Inadvertent Arming of MK-82 and M-117 General Purpose and MK-82 Snakeye Bombs

An investigation into the inadvertent arming of MK-82 and M-117 general purpose bombs and MK-82 Snakeye bombs was initiated after a review of flight test film from A-7D munition certification tests indicated that the bomb nose fuze was often arming when it was not intended to arm or before it was intended to arm. Data collected from approximately 45 flight test missions indicated that the primary variables which contributed to the high rate of inadvertent arming were ejector foot design, arming solenoid operation, and the wire routing procedures. The tests revealed that, by routing the arming wire on the lower side of the ejector foot and by use of the smaller design ejector foot, the rate of inadvertent arming can be substantially decreased but not eliminated. The tests also revealed that the operation of the arming solenoids in the safe mode was extremely unreliable.