Pyrotechnic Signals Flashcards
Pyrotechnic Signals
Classifications
Hand held or ground smoke signals.
Used for signaling or illuminating missions.
Pyrotechnic Signals
Characteristics
Ground pyrotechnic signals rise to a height of 180 to 250 meters before functioning.
Hand-held signals. These signals are issued their own mechanisms and are designed to reach a minimum height of 200 meters. This group of signals includes single-star parachutes, five-star clusters, and smoke parachutes.
Pyrotechnic Signals
Capabilities and Uses
- Signaling (Communication)
Effective control of units on the battlefield depends largely on communication. Pyrotechnics are utilized to supplement or take the place of normal communication means.
Changing direction of fire, marking LZ, marking pick up spot.
- Illuminating
Illuminating capabilities of pyrotechnics are limited because of their size. However, they can be used to illuminate a small area for a short period of time.
Pyrotechnical Signals
3 types of hand-held signals
Star clusters, star parachutes, and smoke parachutes
Pyrotechnic Signals
Star Clusters
Star Clusters are used for signaling and illuminating. They are issued in an expendable launcher, which consists of a launching tube and firing cap. These signals produce a cluster of five free-falling pyrotechnics.
Three types: green star cluster, red star cluster, white star cluster.
Burn 6-10 seconds.
Rate of descent is 14 m per second.
Pyrotechnic Signals
Star Parachutes
Also used for signaling and illuminating.
Issued in an expendable launcher that consists of a launching tube and a firing cap.
These signals produce a single parachute-suspended illuminate star.
Three types:
Red star parachute, white star parachute, green star parachute.
Ride to a height of 200-215 m.
Red star parachute burns for 50 secs. White for 25 secs.
Average rate of descent is 2.1 m per second.
Signal can be seen for 50-58 km (30-35 miles) at night.
Pyrotechnic Signals
Smoke Parachutes
Smoke parachutes are used for signaling only. They are issued in an expendable launcher that consists of a launching tube and firing cap.
These signals produce a single, perforated colored smoke canister that is parachute-suspended.
Types: green smoke, red smoke, yellow smoke.
Smoke parachutes rise to a height of 200-250 meters. The signals emit smoke for 6-18 seconds, forming a smoke cloud which persists for 60 secs.
Rate of descent is 4 m per second.
