Sweep Obstructors
♦ Mk53
Mk 53 is a 500-lb air-dropped sweep-obstructor (to protect mine fields against sweepers), the first such to enter service. Reportedly, the entire U.S. stock was transferred to Turkey in 1978. Mk 53 fires when a sweep wire contacts the firing ring in the base of the mine case. Dimensions: 14.125 x 52.367 in (365 lb) in unstreamlined form (Mk 53 resembles an unstreamlined bomb with a box tail). For external carriage, it is faired at the ends, with a blunt nose and a pointed tail (which opens into stabilizing fins). Total length is 77.559 in (395 lb). Mk 53 can be planted in water as shallow as 36 ft, with a case depth of 24-300 ft.
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Derick S. Hartshorn -
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