Flechette weapon system

Claim 1

A flechette weapon system for ejecting a plurality of flechettes from a missile comprising: a launch tube in said missile; an ogive tip engaging one end of said launch tube; a container for stacking said flechettes in said launch tube, said container including an arm for separating said ogive tip from said missile; an ejection piston disposed in said launch tube engaging said container and said missiles; gas pressurizing means in said missile to provide gas pressure for actuating said ejection piston; means controlling flow of said gas pressure to said ejection piston, said controlling means includes a valve housing having an opening therein, a valve seat adjacent said opening, a valve disposed for cooperation with said seat, a spring in said housing for biasing said valve to the open position, and dowel pins cooperating with said housing for holding said valve in the closed position, said dowel pins provided with shear pins to be sheared by said gas pressure to release said dowel pins for movement and provided with resilient means for assisting dowel pin movement, said container consisting of a plurality of sections.