Abstract: An in-flight jettisonable protective cover device for protecting fragile, accurate, radomes or signal-responsive components for the major portion of a flight which is capable of being jettisoned in one piece at supersonic speeds from a guided missile, other air vehicles, or space vehicles. The cover device is for use, for example, in combination with a guided missile having a shell structure, a nose portion, and a radome in the missile nose. The cover device is attached to the missile nose for covering the radome such that an inner space is defined. A plurality of shear pins or other quick-release mechanisms attach and retain the cover device to the missile shell. A source of low pressure gas pressurizes the inner space to approximately 50 psi. A rapid-discharging, high pressure gas cartridge produces a high pressure gas for exerting a pressure force on the aft face of the cover device.

Abstract: An improved missle tail fin assembly. The missile utilizes four tail fin assemblies, each assembly comprising a fitting having three locking portions, each of which comprises a gudgeon having a pair of locking teeth, and a fin having mating recesses for the locking portions. A portion of the material associated with recesses of the two forward locks of each fin is removed, leaving clearances which permit limited rotation about the fin pivot axis in one direction only. When the fin is loaded in a direction to produce clockwise torque, all three locks which form the lock assembly are loaded approximately equal and this locates the elastic axis of the tail lock approximately just aft of the center of pressure which produces a small increase in cant angle with load. When the tail is loaded in the direction to produce a counterclockwise torque, the aft lock of the assembly will take all the torque. This moves the elastic axis further aft thus producing a larger increase in cant angle with load.

Abstract: An improved missile tail fin assembly. The missile utilizes four tail fin assemblies, each assembly comprising a fitting having three locking portions, each of which comprises a gudgeon having a pair of locking teeth, and a fin having mating recesses for the locking portions. A portion of the material associated with recesses of the two forward locks of each fin is removed, leaving clearances which permit limited rotation about the fin pivot axis in one direction only. When the fin is loaded in a direction to produce clockwise torque, all three locks which form the lock assembly are loaded approximately equal and this locates the elastic axis of the tail lock approximately just aft of the center of pressure which produces a small increase in cant angle with load. When the tail fin is loaded in the direction to produce a counterclockwise torque, the aft lock of the assembly will take all the torque. This moves the elastic axis further aft thus producing a larger increase in cant angle with load.

Abstract: A wing support structure for a self-erecting collapsible wing includes a telescoping strut assembly including a leading strut and a trailing strut each pinned at an inner end to fixed pins on a base support structure and pinned to a common pivot pin at the outer end and each strut being telescoping for retraction to a colinear position and spring biased to an outward fully deployed position. Each strut includes inner and outer tubular strut members in which is confined a compression spring with the inner and outer members including an antirotation lock and an anticollapse lock.

Abstract: A self-erecting collapsible wing for an airframe includes a telescoping strut assembly including a leading strut and a trailing strut each pivoted at an inner end to fixed pins on a base support structure of a wing housing within a slot in the airframe for retraction to a colinear position within the housing and spring biased to an outward fully deployed position. A releasable cover conforming to the curvature of the airframe is normally latched in position over the slot when the wing is in the collapsed position within the wing housing and is jettisoned to permit automatic self-erection of the wing.