AT/APERS WARHEAD

A8. The stabilizing rod is salt coated to prevent unstable burning of the rocket propellant. A9. You should remove the fin retainer band on the Mk 71 rocket motor when the rocket is installed into the launcher tube. AT/APERS WARHEAD.—The high-explosive antitank/antipersonnel (AT/APERS) warhead (fig. 2-7) combines the effectiveness of the HE-FRAG and HEAT warheads. The explosive shaped-charge in the AT/ APERS warhead detonates at the aft end, producing the jet from the cone at the forward end. The booster in the aft end detonates the warhead by transmitting an explosive impulse along a length of detonating cord. It connects the booster charge to the initiating charge, which is next to the nose fuze. The combination of an instantaneous-acting nose fuze and rapid-burning detonating cord permits detonation of the explosive load in time for the shaped-charge to produce its explosive jet before being disintegrated upon target impact. The only AT/APERS warhead currently in use is the Mk 32 Mod 0. GP WARHEAD.—The high-explosive, general- purpose (GP) warhead (fig. 2-8) is a compromise between the armor-piercing and the fragmentation designs. The walls and nose section are not as strong as those of an armor-piercing warhead, yet they are stronger than those of a fragmentation warhead. The explosive charge is greater than that in the armor- piercing warhead, but less than that in the frag- mentation warhead. 2-7 TYPE 2.75-INCH 5.0-INCH HE-FRAG AT/APERS GP FLECHETTE SMOKE FLARE M151 ---------- ---------- WDU-4A/A M156 Mk 67 Mod 0 M257 M278 IR Mk 63 Mod 0 Mk 32 Mod 0 Mk 24 Mod 0 ----------- Mk 34 Mods 0 and 1 Mk 33 Mod 1 Table 2-1.—Service Warheads Figure 2-7.—Mk 32 Mod 0 AT/APERS warhead. Figure 2-8.—Mk 24 Mod 0 high-explosive, general-purpose (GP) warhead.