Tallboy explosion in Poland

[Yertis]

Krupp88 said:

the electric fuses used by Germany were more advanced...

Well you would say that.

[Simpo Two]

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.

Not by the mass production standards and technology of the day it wasn't.......the percentage of German and USA dropped bombs that didn't explode was equally high.

Were they unaware of that at the time? Otherwise they might have thought 'Hang on if we can make them go bang properly we'll increase the effectiveness of our air force by 50%'.

[JuniorD]

Yertis said:

Krupp88 said:

the electric fuses used by Germany were more advanced...

Well you would say that.

I wonder how many fish were knocked unconscious by that detonation, and if they would have floated to the top, or sunk to the bottom.

[Halmyre]

LotusOmega375D said:

Krupp used to make these.

Bet that makes one hell of an espresso.

[Huff]

Sure.

Fortunately it rarely landed anywhere near one's own table...

[DJFish]

BrettMRC said:

Some mangled quotes/facts from Edwyn Grays "Hitlers Battleships":

11th September 1944
27 Lancasters from 9 & 617 squadrons + 1 photographic lanacaster attacked Tirpitz at Kaajford.
The bomber crews claimed no hits, but one did hit the bows and blew a 150sq/ft hole at the waterline. Two other near misses caused more chaos and to add to the problems, the main engines seized up.

At this point the Captain Junge sent a request that Tirpitz be removed from active duty. The request was denied and she was towed 200miles to Tromso for repair and refit. This meant she was in direct striking range for the RAF, without the need to stage from Russian airbases.

My Granny’s brother (my great uncle) was a bomb aimer on that raid.
They landed in Yagodnic In Russia after the raid and set off back to the uk on the 16th.
Unfortunately they flew into a mountain and were buried in the woods by locals to keep the bodies out of the hands of the Germans, after the war they were reburied in a local church.

https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memo...

[Flying Phil]

I am still trying to understand how that bomb ended up landing tail first and why it wasn't much deeper, given that it landed in water/mud and was designed to penetrate 10 - 20 feet of concrete.....?

[DJFish]

Could they have ditched the bomb at low level due to a failed raid?
I read they used canals for navigation so might have been on their way to or from another target?

[DoubleD]

Flying Phil said:

I am still trying to understand how that bomb ended up landing tail first and why it wasn't much deeper, given that it landed in water/mud and was designed to penetrate 10 - 20 feet of concrete.....?

Water is very different to concrete

[aeropilot]

Flying Phil said:

I am still trying to understand how that bomb ended up landing tail first and why it wasn't much deeper, given that it landed in water/mud and was designed to penetrate 10 - 20 feet of concrete.....?

Probably a problem with the one or more of the fins, were were designed to spin the bomb and thus give it bullet from a gun type trajectory and thus its penetrative ability.........so damaged fins(s) once released probably meant it tumbling or not spinning as it should, hence why it landed tail up and didn't detonate.

[Ayahuasca]

Flying Phil said:

I am still trying to understand how that bomb ended up landing tail first and why it wasn't much deeper, given that it landed in water/mud and was designed to penetrate 10 - 20 feet of concrete.....?

The canal has been dredged over the years, possibly the action of moving mud around has turned the bomb over as well as bringing it closer to the surface.