Possible WW2 artifact I fond in the Lucerne Valley area

[soupfreak]

I found this interesting item in a dry lake bed area about 6 years ago. I'm not completely sure what it is though. I think it's a trigger to a WW2 era bomb.



Any ideas?

 

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[Charlie P. (NY)]

Can't say that's not what it is, but it looks to be in too good a shape if it worked. And if it didn't it still would have been attached to a bomb.

My guess would be an oil pressure sensor.

 

[soupfreak]

A little more info: This was found buried in a crater in Means Dry Lake near Landers (couldn't think of the lake name earlier.) During WW2 the area was used as a training site for bombing crews. I've always guessed that it was part of a bomb trigger but I have never been able to confirm it.

 

[Lee-MI-MI]

Not sure what the brass pin or tube is. Is it solid or hollow. If hollow, does the hole come through the steel plate?

The rusted pin - does it look like it could have moved in a single direction and moved the gears on the other side of the plate? If so my guess is a level sensor. The two flat tabs on the other side would be electrical connections for push on 1/4" connectors. If so, the brass pin could have been either a positioning device to make sure the sensor was put in correctly or it may have been a vent/overflow.

Another possibility is that the steel shaft is bent and should have come straight out of the plate. If so, it may have rotated and turned the gears for some kind of pulse output. (To arm a bomb?) If so, bomb may have gone off creating the crater. May be pieces of bomb casing in the general area.

 

[soupfreak]

Not sure what the brass pin or tube is. Is it solid or hollow. If hollow, does the hole come through the steel plate?

The rusted pin - does it look like it could have moved in a single direction and moved the gears on the other side of the plate? If so my guess is a level sensor. The two flat tabs on the other side would be electrical connections for push on 1/4" connectors. If so, the brass pin could have been either a positioning device to make sure the sensor was put in correctly or it may have been a vent/overflow.

Another possibility is that the steel shaft is bent and should have come straight out of the plate. If so, it may have rotated and turned the gears for some kind of pulse output. (To arm a bomb?) If so, bomb may have gone off creating the crater. May be pieces of bomb casing in the general area.

Yes, the steel shaft is definitely bent. The brass pin is solid. Their is a smaller gear on the outside part of the plate just opposite the brass pin that looks like it rotates around the center.

One of the tabs looks like it rotates while the other one is stationary.

As for shrapnel; all over the place out there. I also remember that in almost every crater I checked there was a layer of fine glass in the center.

 

[Claim Jumper]

I don't know if you will see this soupfreak as this thread is very old. I just saw it though today.
That is a detonator for a dummy bomb. They used to drop them for accuracy training from Lucerne Valley to Johnson Valley. Look closely and you may find remnants of the target on the ground. They often used an asphalt type mixture to make concentric rings on the ground like a target. Approx. 75-100 feet in dia. The bombs were usually filled with flour or white paint so the pilot could fly back over and see how well they did. I know where many of these targets are located.

 

[Ant]

I didn't read any of the other responses and it looks like a switch for a fuel tank sending unit.

 

[bigfoot1]

I have seen those asphalt rings in the ohv riding area near soggy dry lake.It is interesting to detect those areas.I leave my mountain alot in the winter to detect down there.

 

[BosnMate]

It's an old post, but also the first time I've seen it. WWII bombs had little propellers on them, and when the bomb was dropped the propeller spun so many times, and it armed the bomb. There was a safety wire that kept the propeller from spinning, and when dropped the wire stayed in the plane, but if they needed to jettison the bombs and didn't want them to explode, the wire stayed with the bomb when dropped.