Fall 2026 Militaria and Aviation Auction
Lot 194:
Description
Unissued WWII US Ordnance Arming Wire C4, sealed in original kraft envelope for Aimable Clusters M19, E47, E48, E61, and E67. Offered here is an unopened wartime supply packet containing a single Arming Wire C4 assembly, the fuze-arming linkage used aboard US bombers to activate aerial cluster bomb units. No named recipient, unit, or combat provenance accompanies the piece; its identity rests entirely on the printed markings of the envelope itself, which mark it as standard government ordnance stores rather than a personal or covert-issue item. Arming wires of this type were a small but essential link in the chain of aerial ordnance delivery during the Second World War. Fitted between the aircraft’s bomb rack and the fuze or arming-vane mechanism of an Aimable Cluster munition, the wire remained attached to the aircraft as the cluster fell away, physically withdrawing from the fuze pocket to arm the weapon only after safe release from the aircraft. The cluster types printed on this envelope – M19, E47, E48, E61, and E67 – were incendiary and chemical submunition clusters developed and fielded by the US Army Air Forces and Chemical Warfare Service for area-bombing operations against industrial and urban targets in both the European and Pacific theaters. Wires of this pattern were produced under wartime contract by firms such as Chrysler Corporation’s Evansville Ordnance Plant in Indiana; a comparison example on its original printed card, bearing the Chrysler Evansville markings, is illustrated for reference only and should not be taken as proof of the maker’s mark on the sealed wire offered here, which remains unopened and unexamined. The lot comprises a single rectangular brown kraft paper envelope, its top flap folded down and closed by the original metal staples, still intact and undisturbed. Black stamped text across the face reads "CONTAINS ONE ARMING WIRE C4 FOR AIMABLE CLUSTERS M19, E47, E48, E61, E67," in bold sans-serif capitals, fully legible. The reverse is unmarked. Given the sealed staple closure, the wire and its safety clip are not visible for direct inspection but are presumed present within the factory-sealed packet. No additional wires, tags, or documentation accompany this lot beyond the single sealed envelope. Condition is sound for its age, with light overall toning, minor creasing along the fold lines, and faint handling marks consistent with decades of storage; the printed text remains crisp and fully readable, and the staple closure appears original and undisturbed. A scarce, honestly catalogued example of unissued WWII aerial ordnance packaging preserved sealed since its original wartime manufacture.
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