Grand Slam Bomb.......

[tdm34]

I'd love to know how this happened, a bit of an administration cock up!.....

https://web.archive.org/web/20090918075619/http://...

[matchmaker]

Wow!

[mac96]

Double wow! Someone must have been pleased that the records were missing...

Although I think the idea of it demolishing the cathedral might be OTT- that's over 5k away. Damaged yes, but flattened?

[Dr Jekyll]

mac96 said:

Double wow! Someone must have been pleased that the records were missing...

Although I think the idea of it demolishing the cathedral might be OTT- that's over 5k away. Damaged yes, but flattened?

To damage a building 5KM away you would need the equivalent of around 100 tons of TNT. I believe the explosive in a Grand Slam was a bit more potent than TNT but not that much more. To flatten it you would need a Hiroshima style bomb.

Perhaps we should start a conspiracy theory about what kind of bomb it was...….

[RicksAlfas]

It must be at least 150 miles to Shoeburyness from Scampton. Wouldn't fancy making that trip!

[FourWheelDrift]

Imagine doing it today with all the potholes in the roads.

[Krikkit]

Smacks of urban legend to me! As noted, the explosives in a grand slam wouldn't be anywhere near enough to reach Lincoln from Scampton, especially since the landscape is quite rolling.

They wouldn't have trucked it all the way down to Essex either, having a range at Donna Nook which is 40 miles of quiet roads away.

[mac96]

Krikkit said:

Smacks of urban legend to me! As noted, the explosives in a grand slam wouldn't be anywhere near enough to reach Lincoln from Scampton, especially since the landscape is quite rolling.

They wouldn't have trucked it all the way down to Essex either, having a range at Donna Nook which is 40 miles of quiet roads away.

I suppose the other giveaway is that the article begins with the word 'Apparently'. It's a good story though.

[tdm34]

Dr Jekyll said:

mac96 said:

Double wow! Someone must have been pleased that the records were missing...

Although I think the idea of it demolishing the cathedral might be OTT- that's over 5k away. Damaged yes, but flattened?

To damage a building 5KM away you would need the equivalent of around 100 tons of TNT. I believe the explosive in a Grand Slam was a bit more potent than TNT but not that much more. To flatten it you would need a Hiroshima style bomb.

Perhaps we should start a conspiracy theory about what kind of bomb it was...….

I'm sure that it wouldn't have flattened the Cathedral, but i'm fairly certain that it would've caused extensive superficial damage, you've only got to look at the damage the IRA bomb in Manchester caused in 1996 and that was a crude 1500kg fertiliser based device.

[daddy cool]

Shame no-one thought to video it when they detonated it...

[Yertis]

Krikkit said:

Smacks of urban legend to me! As noted, the explosives in a grand slam wouldn't be anywhere near enough to reach Lincoln from Scampton, especially since the landscape is quite rolling.

They wouldn't have trucked it all the way down to Essex either, having a range at Donna Nook which is 40 miles of quiet roads away.

I'm pretty sure the story is true, it's quite well documented.

I agree that the destruction described is exaggerated – in any case the Grand Slam was designed to explode deep underground, and create 'earthquakes'.

[Dr Jekyll]

In any case I think Lincoln cathedral is a lot more than 5KM away from RAF Scampton, 15-20KM is more like it.

[skirk]

7.4km in a direct line.............

[Seight_Returns]

daddy cool said:

Shame no-one thought to video it when they detonated it...

Cine rather than Video in 1958 - but I agree.

By way of consolation - here's a Pathe Newsree showing a Grand Slam being detonated at the Shoeburyness Range in 1950. Impressive for sure but fears of flattening cathedrals 5 miles away seem to be unsubstantiated.

https://www.britishpathe.com/video/bomb-story

[colin_p]

Just checked on Nukemap...

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=0.1&am...

And a 10 tonne equivalent Nuke barely leaves the base. Of course a nuke is different to Torpex but the explosive yield of 10t gives an approximation.

For those that have never played about with the Nuketest....

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

Hours of fun can be had dropping "full" 100 megaton Tzar bombs on various parts of the world that you don't like. Chilling stuff.

[FourWheelDrift]

For a little comparison here's just a 500lb wartime bomb being detonated in Munich 2012. There are also believe to be over 1000 more under Munich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idF3Nq11BcM

[Seight_Returns]

colin_p said:

Just checked on Nukemap...
For those that have never played about with the Nuketest....

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

Hours of fun can be had dropping "full" 100 megaton Tzar bombs on various parts of the world that you don't like. Chilling stuff.

Colin, you utter start, that's brilliant. Hours of fun.

I just detonated a 30kt airburst over my Mother In Law's house - and now I feel Epic .........

[aeropilot]

Yertis said:

Krikkit said:

Smacks of urban legend to me! As noted, the explosives in a grand slam wouldn't be anywhere near enough to reach Lincoln from Scampton, especially since the landscape is quite rolling.

They wouldn't have trucked it all the way down to Essex either, having a range at Donna Nook which is 40 miles of quiet roads away.

I'm pretty sure the story is true, it's quite well documented.

Yes, story is basically true, although as said the 'facts' of the effects if it had gone bang are wide of the mark!

Pretty sure there was an amusing thread on pprune many years ago, with many confirmation and anecdotal posts from V-Force personal that were stationed there at the time.

[Dr Jekyll]

colin_p said:

Just checked on Nukemap...

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/?&kt=0.1&am...

And a 10 tonne equivalent Nuke barely leaves the base. Of course a nuke is different to Torpex but the explosive yield of 10t gives an approximation.

For those that have never played about with the Nuketest....

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/

Hours of fun can be had dropping "full" 100 megaton Tzar bombs on various parts of the world that you don't like. Chilling stuff.

Bear in mind 10 tons was the total weight, only about 5 tons was Torpex. So equivalent to around 7.5 tons of TNT.

Edited by Dr Jekyll on Wednesday 1st May 16:35

[Lotobear]

Is this the bomb they used on Tirpitz?