Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1921-11-20
Largest Bomb in World
Is Latest Aircraft Idea

win be caught in the crater and be
TN attacking naval targets the most
effective results are obtained
when the bomb strikes close alongside
a chip and the fuse delays the detona-
ton until the bomb reaches an appre-
ciable depth. 1t then acts As a mine
!. and blows in the side of the ship.
When the target is line Of COM
munication, such as road or rail-
road, a large crater effect is desired
on account of the resulting difficulty
of restoring the roadbed. and to pro-
duce this slight delay is require ed.
enabling the bomb to bury itself be
fore decorating.
The fuses must be SO designed that
the bomb can be carried by airplane
with perfect safety for in the event of
a crash the safety devices in the fuses
must prevent the bomb from func-
tioning. Also, in case OF a forced land
ing, when it Is necessary for the safe
ty of the airplane to release Its load
of bombs the mechanism of the fuse
must allow them to be dropped safe.
In designing the bomb body careful
consideration must be given to adapt
ability to stowage OF the bomb in the
airplane, to its proper fight and to
efficient blast effect The structure of
the present airplanes requires that
large bombs be carried outside the
| fuselage, but since in that position
they OFFER added resistance to the pas
sage Of the airplane through the air.
'stream-line" form should be used II
possible. This stream line" form is
also of advantage, since ii tends TO
duces the time of flight. All bombs
must ny true, and to insure this they
are guided in their flight by four fins.
properly proportioned with respect TO
the bodY, and attached to 1t. The di-
rection of blast from the defamation
OF charge in bomb is approximate
~ perpendicular to the exterior sur
race or the explosive. and the bomb
: case should be so designed that the
maximum blast will be in a hort
zontal direction, as this is most ef-
iectlve against the usual target
flnaliy, the bomb as a whole must
pc designed SO that it can be pro-
uuged IN quantity in this country.
uti!Zing such facilities as will be
available for its manufacture in the
event of war This last consideration
Is OF the utmost Importance
win these general requirements the
aesien OF a 4.00o-pound bomb was un-.
Z,o00-ponnd bomb had been SO satisfac
tory that this bomb was used as a guide.
me pictures show the bomb as devel-
opeo. 1t is thirteen and one-half feet
~ length and two feet in diameter
me body Is cylinder Of steel tubing.
each end OF which is closed by a stee
casing, the nose being brought to a
point, tne rear end being a slightly con-
Vek piate ribbed to carry a rim, over
~hich the cone of the IN assembly is
ntted. The fin assembly is made up OF
l1ur large sheet steel fms riveted to "a
sheet steel cone The fms are braced
IN two places by steel tubes extending
between the INNS and riveted to them
Inc mn assembly is held to the body OF
inc bomb by a steel tube which extends
backward from the rear of the body
rear end OF the cone and forcing m.
cone over the rim Of the casting at The.
rear end Of the bomb.
1.-THE bomb is equipped with two
fuses, one in the nose, the other
In the rear end Of the body. These
fuses can be equipped with delay eIe-
ments as desired, so that instantaneous
action or delays Of a few hundredths
OF second up to several seconds can
De obtained. The fuses have the usual
windshield safety feature, which OPP
crates as the bomb falls, the wind
wheels releasing the firing pins SO that
on impact the primers in the fuses will
be struck and the bomb detonated.
| FOR attachment to the airplane two
rugs are provided which are bolted to
the bomb body at equal distances from
the center Of gravity and spaced to fit
the carrying device.
) The bomb, though designated as the
4.o00-pound demolition bomb, actually
weighs about 1900 pounds and has q
main charge Of about 1000 pounds of
7. N. T. The design was drawn up by
the aircraft armament division in the
once OF the CHIEF of ordnance in Wash
lngton. the production Of the metal
: parts was handled by Frankfort Ar
senal, Philadelphia, Pa, and the load
, Ing was done at Picatinny Arsenal.
, Dover, N j.
The body was probably the largest
contalner ever loaded with high ex-
} plosiVe and one week was required
Tor the nlling of each bomb. The ex-
plosiVe L. n. T. is melted and poured
into the case in increments, time
being allowed for each increment to
sol.dify before the next is added 1t
| is interesting to note that after final
pouring the charge was four days
more in cooling, while only about six
thours are necessary for the charge of
ten-inch shell to cool.
The testing of the bomb took place.
as has been mentioned. at Aberdeen
proving ground. The largest air.
. plane available at this time was a
Handley Page, and the question nat
urally arose, first, as to whether it
could lift SO great a load, and second
J as to what effect the release of so
much weight, all at one time, would
have upon it. A bomb loaded to
weight with inert material was there
fore used first to test the airplane and
, the carrying device. The airplane
: took off successfully and the bomb
was dropped without apparent diff
Guilty. The officer of the air service
who piloted the airplane stated that
when the bomb was released the air
plane shot up about twenty feet, but
, the effect was no greater than that
from bad bump often encountered
in flying.
!! With this problem disposed of.
everything was ready for the final
test. A loaded bomb was taken up
and released from an altitude Of 1000
feet. The observing party was sta
toned for safety in a tower fully
1000 yards from the point OF impact
but even at this distance every fea-
, ture of the test was clearly discern
ibIe.
1.-THE bomb fell perfectly. without
apparent oscillation, and to those
watching, appeared like a large pen
Gil dropping from the sky. When it
struck, a great mass of earth and
dense black smoke was blown up hun
dreds of feet in the air, and several
seconds later the crash OF the detona-
ton reached the Observers The bomb
was equipped with 9 short delay fuse
which allowed it to penetrate at least
ten feet before 1t detonated. The
formation Of the crater smothered to
a certain extent Hhe blast or concus-
| he Anfn