Tallboy explosion in Poland
Discussion
I am pretty sure i have seen an example of the tall boy bomb (inert) ,on display, on it's trailer at Brooklands Museum,and a replica of a grand slam bomb at the East Kirkby aviation heritage Lancaster museum in Lincolnshire.
I find it remarkable that no divers were in the water in the area when it went up ,seems they anticipated the possibility of detonation once the process of burning started and all persons were outside the danger area.Perhaps it was a staged event as it was captured by several camera's all pointing in the right direction,whatever occurred it was newsworthy and spectacular and offered a glimpse of the destructive power of such weapons created by Barnes Wallis et al.
I find it remarkable that no divers were in the water in the area when it went up ,seems they anticipated the possibility of detonation once the process of burning started and all persons were outside the danger area.Perhaps it was a staged event as it was captured by several camera's all pointing in the right direction,whatever occurred it was newsworthy and spectacular and offered a glimpse of the destructive power of such weapons created by Barnes Wallis et al.
Eric Mc said:
Whoever chained down that navigation buoy deserves a bonus.oilrag1 said:
I am pretty sure i have seen an example of the tall boy bomb (inert) ,on display, on it's trailer at Brooklands Museum,and a replica of a grand slam bomb at the East Kirkby aviation heritage Lancaster museum in Lincolnshire.
I find it remarkable that no divers were in the water in the area when it went up ,seems they anticipated the possibility of detonation once the process of burning started and all persons were outside the danger area.Perhaps it was a staged event as it was captured by several camera's all pointing in the right direction,whatever occurred it was newsworthy and spectacular and offered a glimpse of the destructive power of such weapons created by Barnes Wallis et al.
They were very aware that it might go bang so they made sure that everybody was out of the danger area when they began the process of "deflagration". They thought there was a 50:50 chance of it going bang - so they were taking no chances.I find it remarkable that no divers were in the water in the area when it went up ,seems they anticipated the possibility of detonation once the process of burning started and all persons were outside the danger area.Perhaps it was a staged event as it was captured by several camera's all pointing in the right direction,whatever occurred it was newsworthy and spectacular and offered a glimpse of the destructive power of such weapons created by Barnes Wallis et al.
oilrag1 said:
I find it remarkable that no divers were in the water in the area when it went up ,seems they anticipated the possibility of detonation once the process of burning started and all persons were outside the danger area.
They were using an EOD ROV to try and work on the bomb - as they had already decided it was too risky to use other methods.Dan_1981 said:
3.5t of explosive in one of these I understand?
and they reckon 1400t left on the SS Richard Montgomery, hmm I can see why people are a little worried about it now...
and they reckon 1400t left on the SS Richard Montgomery, hmm I can see why people are a little worried about it now...
wiki said:
According to a BBC News report in 1970, it was determined that if the wreck of Richard Montgomery exploded, it would throw a 1,000-foot-wide (300 m) column of water and debris nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) into the air and generate a wave 16 feet (5 m) high. Almost every window in Sheerness (pop. circa 20,000) would be broken and buildings would be damaged by the blast. However, news reports in May 2012 (including one by BBC Kent) stated that the wave could be about 4 feet (1 m) high, which although lower than previous estimates would be enough to cause flooding in some coastal settlements.
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomer...
Newc said:
Why is the water spout a spout, and not a (surface of a) sphere ? I can see there would be a reflected shockwave off the riverbed causing interference patterns, but that should be a secondary effect, and the initial upwards wavefront should be spherical, no ?
I'd guess it's a path of least resistance effect - if you've got explosives underwater then the shortest path to the surface (and thus the least amount of water needing to be displaced) is straight up.There’s actually very little height on the wave. It barely splashes the nearby river bank / quay side and that’s within the confines of a river. Maybe the flooding risk of the SS Montgomery out in the open sea would be negligible after all.
On another point: won’t someone think of the fish?
On another point: won’t someone think of the fish?
Simpo Two said:
You would think, wouldn't you, that given the fantastic amount of effort, man hours, skill and risk it took to make the bomb, make the aircraft, train the crew and send them off in peril - that someone would make sure the bloody bombs worked properly!
The 12,000lb bomb has 3 separate fuses, either there was a faulty batch or more likely the arming wires did not extract fully when the bomb left the aircraft.Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
Krupp88 said:
The 12,000lb bomb has 3 separate fuses, either there was a faulty batch or more likely the arming wires did not extract fully when the bomb left the aircraft.
Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
Pretty damn poor IMHO.Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
In the case of the Tallboy, which was dropped from great height, a little propeller on the front would have done it.
Interesting username BTW! If we send some more bombers over presumably you'll be firing coffee machines at them
Simpo Two said:
Krupp88 said:
The 12,000lb bomb has 3 separate fuses, either there was a faulty batch or more likely the arming wires did not extract fully when the bomb left the aircraft.
Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
Pretty damn poor IMHO.Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
Simpo Two said:
Pretty damn poor IMHO.
In the case of the Tallboy, which was dropped from great height, a little propeller on the front would have done it.
Interesting username BTW! If we send some more bombers over presumably you'll be firing coffee machines at them
The Tallboy fuses (No. 58 pistols) were mounted at the tail end of the bomb due to the design of the nose which was intended for penetration. In the case of the Tallboy, which was dropped from great height, a little propeller on the front would have done it.
Interesting username BTW! If we send some more bombers over presumably you'll be firing coffee machines at them
There is also reference to the use of delayed action fuses in these as well. A tallboy recovered from the base of the Sorpe dam in 1959 was found to have these fitted.
If the one in the news story was pointy end up it may have caused them some issues in trying to identified what was fitted.
I collect ordinance hence my username!
aeropilot said:
Simpo Two said:
Krupp88 said:
The 12,000lb bomb has 3 separate fuses, either there was a faulty batch or more likely the arming wires did not extract fully when the bomb left the aircraft.
Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
Pretty damn poor IMHO.Approx. one third of bombs dropped by the RAF did not explode, although I don't know if this is tonnage or unit based.
of detonation as the capacitors in the fuses were empty.
However the most destructive of bombs (by weight) used by both sides, small incendiaries, used very simple striker pin impact fuses, the sheer volume of these dropped overcame any issues of 'duds'.
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