Hello All,

While I don't expect B14 motors to make a comeback, I am curious about the details of how they were produced. This could shed light on possible new B14 production.

Were their propellant grain voids drilled out manually or by some kind of automated system? In any event, this last production step was probably less dangerous than the initial propellant grain/delay charge/ejection charge pressing operation because the (initially) loose black powder involved could have set off the entire loose powder batch in the motor production building if it had ignited. A B14 that ignited during the later void drilling step would probably have affected only that particular motor and the drill.

It would seem that an automated system (especially using today's technology) could drill out B14 propellant grain voids safely. The costs of developing such a system could, of course, make the production of new B14 motors economically non-viable, especially for making small quantities of the motors. But if the production quantities were large enough (whatever that number might be), they would be worthwhile to produce.

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