ROCKETS AND CANNONS

     Rockets and cannon are generally thought of as heavy artillery.
Perpetrators of violence do not usually employ such devices, because they are
difficult or impossible to acquire.  They are not, however, impossible to
make. Any individual who can make or buy black powder or pyrodex can make such
things. A terrorist with a cannon or large rocket is, indeed, something to
fear.


ROCKETS

     Rockets were first developed by the Chinese several hundred years before
the myth of christ began.  They were used for entertainment, in the form of
fireworks. They were not usually used for military purposes because they were
inaccurate, expensive, and unpredictable.  In modern times, however, rockets
are used constantly by the military, since they are cheap, reliable, and have
no recoil. Perpetrators of violence, fortunately, cannot obtain military
rockets, but they can make or buy rocket engines.  Model rocketry is a popular
hobby of the space age, and to launch a rocket, an engine is required.  Estes,
a subsidiary of Damon, is the leading manufacturer of model rockets and rocket
engines.  Their most powerful engine, the "D" engine, can develop almost 12
lbs. of thrust; enough to send a relatively large explosive charge a
significant distance. Other companies, such as Centuri, produce even larger
rocket engines, which develop up to 30 lbs. of thrust.  These model rocket
engines are quite reliable, and are designed to be fired electrically.  Most
model rocket engines have three basic sections.  The diagram below will help
explain them.


     _________________________________________________________
    |_________________________________________________________| -- cardboard
     \ clay   | - - - - - - - - - - | * * * | . . . .|c|            casing
      \_______|  - - - - - - - - -  | * * * |  . . . |l|
        _______ - - - thrust - - -  | smoke | eject  |a|
      / clay  |  - - - - - - - - -  | * * * | . . . .|y|
     /________|_____________________|_______|________|_|_______
    |_________________________________________________________| -- cardboard
                                     casing


     The clay nozzle is where the igniter is inserted.  When the area labeled
"thrust" is ignited, the "thrust" material, usually a large single grain of a
propellant such as black powder or pyrodex, burns, forcing large volumes of
hot, rapidly expanding gasses out the narrow nozzle, pushing the rocket
forward.

     After the material has been consumed, the smoke section of the engine is
ignited.  It is usually a slow-burning material, similar to black powder that
has had various compounds added to it to produce visible smoke, usually black,
white, or yellow in color.  This section exists so that the rocket will be
seen when it reaches its maximum altitude, or apogee.

     When it is burned up, it ignites the ejection charge, labeled "eject".
The ejection charge is finely powdered black powder.  It burns very rapidly,
exploding, in effect.  The explosion of the ejection charge pushes out the
parachute of the model rocket. It could also be used to ignite the fuse of a
bomb...

     Rocket engines have their own peculiar labeling system.  Typical engine
labels are: 1/4A-2T, 1/2A-3T, A8-3, B6-4, C6-7, and D12-5.  The letter is an
indicator of the power of an engine.  "B" engines are twice as powerful as "A"
engines, and "C" engines are twice as powerful as "B" engines, and so on.  The
number following the letter is the approximate thrust of the engine, in
pounds. the final number and letter is the time delay, from the time that the
thrust period of engine burn ends until the ejection charge fires; "3T"
indicates a 3 second delay.

NOTE: an extremely effective rocket propellant can be made by mixing aluminum
      dust with ammonium perchlorate and a very small amount of iron oxide.
      The mixture is bound together by an epoxy.


BASIC ROCKET BOMB

     A rocket bomb is simply what the name implies: a bomb that is delivered
to its target by means of a rocket.  Most people who would make such a device
would use a model rocket engine to power the device.  By cutting fins from
balsa wood and gluing them to a large rocket engine, such as the Estes "C"
engine, a basic rocket could be constructed.  Then, by attaching a "crater
maker", or CO2 cartridge bomb to the rocket, a bomb would be added.  To insure
that the fuse of the "crater maker" (see sect. 4.42) ignited, the clay over
the ejection charge of the engine should be scraped off with a plastic tool.
The fuse of the bomb should be touching the ejection charge, as shown below.



          ____________ rocket engine
          |                         _________ crater maker
          |                         |
          |                         |
          V                         |
     _______________________________V_
     |_______________________________|  ______________________
      \   | - - - - - -|***|::::|      /# # # # # # # # # # # \
       \__| - - - - - -|***|::::|  ___/  # # # # # # # # # # # \
        __  - - - - - -|***|::::|---fuse--- # #  explosive  # # )
       /  | - - - - - -|***|::::|  ___   # # # # # # # # # # # /
      /___|____________|___|____|____ \_______________________/
      |_______________________________|

     thrust> - - - - - -
     smoke>  ***
     ejection charge> ::::


     Duct tape is the best way to attach the crater maker to the rocket
engine. Note in the diagram the absence of the clay over the ejection charge
Many different types of explosive payloads can be attached to the rocket, such
as a high explosive, an incendiary device, or a chemical fire bottle.

   Either four or three fins must be glued to the rocket engine to insure that
the rocket flies straight. The fins should look like the following diagram:



          |\
          | \
          |  \
          |   \  <--------- glue this to rocket engine
          |    \
          |     \
          |      \
          |       |
          |       |
          |       |
  leading edge    |
   ------->       |
          |       |
          |       |  trailing edge
          |       |    <--------
          |       |
          |       |
          |       |
          |       |
           \_____/


     The leading edge and trailing edge should be sanded with sandpaper so
that they are rounded.  This will help make the rocket fly straight.  A two
inch long section of a plastic straw can be attached to the rocket to launch
it from.  A clothes hanger can be cut and made into a launch rod.  The segment
of a plastic straw should be glued to the rocket engine adjacent to one of the
fins of the rocket.  A front view of a completed rocket bomb is shown below.


                              |
           fin                | <------ fin
            |                 |           |
            |                 |           |
            |               __|__         |
            V              /     \        V
           ---------------|       |---------------
                           \_____/
                              |o <----------- segment of plastic straw           
                   |
                              |
                              | <------ fin
                              |
                              |

     By cutting a coat hanger at the indicated arrows, and bending it, a
launch rod can be made.  After a fuse is inserted in the engine, the rocket is
simply slid down the launch rod, which is put through the segment of plastic
straw. The rocket should slide easily along a coathanger, such as the one
illustated on the following page:


                        ____
                       /    \
                      |      |
          cut here _____     |
                       |     |
                       |     |
                       |    / \
                       V   /   \
         _________________/     \________________
        /                                        \
       /                                          \
      /____________________________________________\
                                   ^
                                   |
                                   |
                    and here ______|


     Bend wire to this shape:


                         _______ insert into straw
                         |
                         |
                         |
                         V
          ____________________________________________
          \
           \
            \
             \
              \  <--------- bend here to adjust flight angle
               |
               |
               |
               |
               |
               | <---------- put this end in ground
               |


LONG RANGE ROCKET BOMB

     Long range rockets can be made by using multi-stage rockets.  Model
rocket engines with an "0" for a time delay are designed for use in
multi-stage rockets.  An engine such as the D12-0 is an excellent example of
such an engine. Immediately after the thrust period is over, the ejection
charge explodes.  If another engine is placed directly against the back of an
"0" engine, the explosion of the ejection charge will send hot gasses and
burning particles into the nozzle of the engine above it, and ignite the
thrust section.  This will push the used "0" engine off of the rocket, causing
an overall loss of weight.

 The main advantage of a multi-stage rocket is that it loses weight as
travels, and it gains velocity.  A multi-stage rocket must be designed
somewhat differently than a single stage rocket, since, in order for a rocket
to fly straight, its center of gravity must be ahead of its center of drag.
This is accomplished by adding weight to the front of the rocket, or by moving
the center of drag back by putting fins on the rocket that are well behind the
rocket.  A diagram of a multi-stage rocket appears on the following page:

                    ___
                   /   \
                   |   |
                   | C |
                   | M | ------ CM: Crater Maker
                   |   |
                   |   |
                   |___|
                   |   |
                   |   |
                   |   |
                   | C | ------ C6-5 rocket engine
                  /| 6 |\
                 / | | | \
                /  | 5 |  \
               /   |___|   \ ---- fin
              /   /|   |\   \
             /   / |   | \   \
            /   /  |   |  \   \
           /   /   | C |   \   \
          |   /    | 6 |    \   |
          |  /     | | |     \  |
          | /      | 0 |      \ |
          |/       |___|       \|
          |       /     \       |
          \______/   ^   \______/ ------- fin
                     |
                     |
                     |
                     |
                     C6-0 rocket engine

     The fuse is put in the bottom engine.

     Two, three, or even four stages can be added to a rocket bomb to give it
a longer range.  It is important, however, that for each additional stage, the
fin area gets larger.


                                        -= RFLAGG =-
                                             '97
