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A blockbuster bomb or cookie was one of several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The term blockbuster was originally a name coined by the press and referred to a bomb which had enough explosive power to destroy an entire street or large building through the effects of blast in conjunction with incendiary bombs.
The bombs, then called Blockbusters, were the RAF's HC (high capacity) bombs. These bombs had especially thin casings that allowed them to contain approximately three-quarters of their weight in explosive, with a 4,000 lb bomb (nominal weight) containing about 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of explosive (Amatol, RDX or Torpex). Most general-purpose bombs, termed "medium capacity'" (MC) by the RAF, contained 50% explosive by weight, the rest being made up of the fragmentation casing. Larger Blockbusters were made later in the war, from the original 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) version, up to 12,000 lb (5,400 kg).
The 4000 lb High Capacity Mark I bomb – actual weight around 3,930 lb (1,780 kg) – was a welded, cylindrical shell of 0.31 in (7.9 mm) thick steel. The body of the bomb was 30 in (76 cm) in diameter and 88 in (2.24 m) long. The nose of the bomb was conical and a 27 in (69 cm) long lightweight, empty cylindrical tail with a closed end was fitted, for a total overall length of 115 in (2.92 m). A T-section steel beam was welded to the inner surface of the bomb to strengthen it. [1] Subsequent Mark II and Mark III HC bombs differed in detail; the conical nose was replaced with a domed nose and the number of fuzes was increased from one to three to guarantee detonation. The Mark IV bomb did not have the T-section beam and the Mark V and Mark VI bombs were versions manufactured in the United States. [2]
The larger 8,000 lb (3.6 t) bomb was constructed from two 4,000 lb (1.8 t) sections, of a larger 38 in (0.97 m) diameter, that fitted together with bolts. [3] A 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) version was created by adding a third 4000 lb section [4] [5] and should not be confused with the 12,000lb Tallboy ground-penetrating "earthquake" bomb.
The 4000-lb high-capacity design was little more than a cylinder full of explosives: it was unaerodynamic and did not have fins. By comparison the similar American "4,000 pound LC Bomb AN-M56" bomb was aerodynamically designed as other US bombs were, with a sheet metal tailfin assembly and shaped nose and aft sections. When fitted with a conical "nose piece" and a drum tail, the 1,800 kg (2 short tons) British "Blockbuster" bomb fell straight down. These bombs were designed for their blast effect, to cause damage to buildings, specifically to blow roof tiles off, so that the small 4 lb (1.8 kg) incendiary bombs could reach the building interiors. In contrast to the American AN-M56 ordnance, the cylindrical "HC"-class British-design high capacity bombs were used only by the RAF and associated Commonwealth air forces, which were the only air forces with bombers with bomb bays large enough to hold them.
In 1947 Alfred Cecil Brooks of Stourbridge was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for creating the Blockbuster, although his citation was worded "outstanding services to the King of a nature that cannot be revealed". [6] The local newspaper referred to him as "Blockbuster Brooks".[ citation needed ]
The first type of aircraft to carry 4,000 lb (1.8 t) bombs operationally was the Wellington during a strike on Emden in April 1941; [7] carriage of the bomb required the bomb beam to be removed from the bomb bay and a slot cut in the bomb doors - the bomb protruded slightly through this and, on release, simply fell out through the hole. [8] The bomb later became part of the standard bomb load of the RAF's heavy night bombers, as well as that of the Mosquitoes of the Light Night Strike Force, whose aircraft would sometimes bomb Berlin twice in one night, flown by two different crews.
The 2,000-lb HC was used until the end of the war; use peaked in 1944 with over 16,000 dropped [9]
The 8,000 lb (3.6 t) and the 12,000 lb (5.4 t) could be carried only by the Avro Lancaster which needed to be slightly modified with bulged bomb-bay doors.
The first use of the 8,000 lb (3.6 t) HC was by 15 Squadron Lancasters against Berlin on 2 December 1943. Bad weather and other factors meant their effectiveness was not noted. [10]
The 4,000 lb (1.8 t) "cookie" was regarded as a particularly dangerous load to carry. Due to the airflow over the detonating pistols fitted in the nose, it would often explode even if dropped in a supposedly "safe" unarmed state. The safe height above ground for dropping the "cookie" was 6,000 ft (1,800 m); any lower and the dropping aircraft risked being damaged by the explosion's atmospheric shock wave:
We were flying at 6,000 feet which was the minimum height to drop the 4,000 pounder. We dropped it in the middle of town [Koblenz], which gave the aircraft a hell of a belt, lifted it up and blew an escape hatch from out of the top.
— Jack Murray, pilot of "G for George", reporting on G for George's mission on 17th April 1943. [11] [ page needed ]
617 Squadron developed a technique of dropping a 1,000lb MC bomb just before a 12,000lb HC bomb; the shock wave from the 1,000lb explosion fired the pistols on the 12,000lb bomb to give an "air burst"; this technique was used successfully in attacks including the Michelin factory at Clermont-Ferrand in March 1944. [12]
An unusual dry period led to low river levels in the Rhine in December 2011, exposing a 4,000-lb HC bomb in the riverbed near Koblenz. A radius of 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) around the bomb site (containing about 45,000 people) was evacuated while the bomb was defused. [13] Another unexploded blockbuster was found in Dortmund in November 2013, requiring the evacuation of more than 20,000 people from the area. [14] Other bombs were found and defused in Vicenza on 29 April 2001 and 25 April 2014. In 2001, defusing operations required the evacuation of 70,000 within a radius of 3 km (1.9 mi), [15] while in 2014 defusing operations required the evacuation of 30,000 within a radius of 2.5 km (1.6 mi). [16]
On 19 December 2016, a British bomb identified as a 4,000-lb HC "blockbuster" [17] was discovered in Augsburg, Germany. It was defused on Christmas Day, requiring evacuation of more than 54,000 people within a radius of 1.5 km. [18]
On 29 August 2017, another British HC 4000 bomb was discovered during construction work near the Goethe University in Frankfurt, requiring the evacuation of approximately 65,000 people within a radius of 1.5 km (0.93 mi). This was the largest evacuation in Germany since the Second World War. [19] [20] [21]
On 8 April 2018, an HC 4000 bomb was discovered during gardening jobs in Paderborn, near the local university, leading to the evacuation of 26,400 people while the bomb was defused. [22] [23] [24]
On 20 March 2024, a MK IV Bomb was found in a construction site in Viterbo, Italy causing an evacuation of more than 30,000 people in a range of 1400m from the discover site. [25]
Design of a 2,000 lb to meet requirements of similar size to existing 1900-lb GP bomb was by Vickers with parachute arrangements by the RAF; this was at the same time Woolwich was designing the 4000lb bomb. Actual case construction was by Great Western Railway Company. Live tests began at start of 1941; a few were used operationally in late 1941 with parachute dropping and delay timer. The parachute requirement was dropped and from early 1942 they were used with conventional tail. Improved Mark II and Mark III (with different fuse positions) followed in 1943. Actual weight was 1,723 lb (782 kg) for Mark II and III with 71% charge to weight filling of 60/40 or 50/50 Amatol, RDX/TNT 60/40, or Torpex 2. [9]
Filling was Amatol, RDX/TNT, Minol, or Torpex. In 1943, 25,000 of these were used; this rose to 38,000 in 1944. In 1945 up to the end of the war a further 25,000 were used.
Actual weight 7,860 lb (3,570 kg) with charge to weight ratio of 68%. Filling was 'Amatex 9' or 'Torpex 2'. Bombs were produced from 1942 to 1945. [3]
Charge weight ratio of 80%. Filling was Amatex or Torpex. 170 were produced in the last two years of the war. [4]
During The Blitz the Germans used naval mines dropped with parachutes as improvised blockbusters. Their fuse was triggered by the shock of landing, with the bomb exploding after a 17-second delay. As the bomb was not in a crater, the force of the blast would disperse laterally, causing extensive damage. [26] [27] The large raid on Coventry on 14–15 November 1940 included the use of 50 parachute mines, which caused extensive blast damage. The British called these devices air-mines, [28] a calque of the German term Luftmine . These types were used also during air raids on Malta, especially on its harbour areas.
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarines by detonating in the water near the target and subjecting it to a destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosives with a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth from the surface. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft and helicopters.
The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same era.
The GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is a large-yield bomb, developed for the United States military by Albert L. Weimorts, Jr. of the Air Force Research Laboratory. It was first tested in 2003. At the time of development, it was said to be the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the American arsenal. The bomb is designed to be delivered by a C-130 Hercules, primarily the MC-130E Combat Talon I or MC-130H Combat Talon II variants. The bomb's name and nickname were inspired by Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's invocation of the "mother of all battles" during the 1991 Gulf War.
The Mark 84 or BLU-117 is a 2,000-pound (900 kg) American general purpose aircraft bomb. It is the largest of the Mark 80 series of weapons. Entering service during the Vietnam War, it became a commonly used US heavy unguided bomb. At the time, it was the third largest bomb by weight in the US inventory behind the 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" and the 3,000-pound (1,400 kg) M118 "demolition" bomb. It is currently sixth in size due to the addition of the 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) GBU-28 in 1991, the 22,600 lb (10,300 kg) GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb (MOAB) in 2003, and the 30,000 lb (14,000 kg) Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiaries utilize materials such as napalm, thermite, magnesium powder, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus. Though colloquially often called "bombs", they are not explosives but in fact operate to slow the process of chemical reactions and use ignition rather than detonation to start or maintain the reaction. Napalm, for example, is petroleum especially thickened with certain chemicals into a gel to slow, but not stop, combustion, releasing energy over a longer time than an explosive device. In the case of napalm, the gel adheres to surfaces and resists suppression.
Unexploded ordnance, unexploded bombs (UXBs), and explosive remnants of war are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and remain at detonative risk, sometimes many decades after they were used or discarded. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results.
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be predetermined, in a similar fashion to a regular naval depth charge. The inventor of the first such bomb was the British engineer Barnes Wallis, whose "Upkeep" bouncing bomb was used in the RAF's Operation Chastise of May 1943 to bounce into German dams and explode underwater, with an effect similar to the underground detonation of the later Grand Slam and Tallboy earthquake bombs, both of which he also invented.
Yellow Sun was the first British operational high-yield strategic nuclear weapon warhead. The name refers only to the outer casing; the warhead was known as "Green Grass" in Yellow Sun Mk.1 and "Red Snow" in Yellow Sun Mk.2.
Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
The Bomb, Medium Capacity, 22,000 lb was a 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) earthquake bomb used by RAF Bomber Command against German targets towards the end of the Second World War. The bomb was originally called Tallboy Large until the term Tallboy got into the press and the code name was replaced by "Grand Slam". The bomb was similar to a large version of the Tallboy bomb but a new design and closer to the size that its inventor, Barnes Wallis, had envisaged when he developed the idea of an earthquake bomb. It was the largest and most powerful conventional aerial bomb used by either side during the war.
A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.
High Blast Explosive, or HBX, is an explosive used as a bursting charge in missile warheads, mines, depth bombs, depth charges, and torpedoes.
A bomb suit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) suit or a blast suit is a heavy suit of body armor designed to withstand the pressure generated by a bomb and any fragments the bomb may produce. It is usually worn by trained personnel attempting bomb disposal. In contrast to ballistic body armors, which usually focus on protecting the torso and head, a bomb suit must protect all parts of the body, since the dangers posed by a bomb's explosion affect the entire body.
The SC 250 was an air-dropped general purpose high-explosive bomb built by Germany during World War II and used extensively during that period. It could be carried by almost all German bomber aircraft, and was used to notable effect by the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. The bomb's weight was about 250 kg, from which its designation was derived.
There have been a number of 18-inch (45cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
The SC 1000 or cylindrical explosive bomb was a large air-dropped general-purpose thin-cased high explosive demolition bomb used by Germany during World War II. Weighing more than 1,000 kg (2,200 lb), it was nicknamed the Hermann by the Germans in reference to the Luftwaffe commander, Hermann Göring.
There have been a number of 21-inch (53.3cm) torpedoes in service with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.
The SC 50 or cylindrical explosive bomb in English was a family of general-purpose bombs used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
The FAB-500 is a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) general purpose air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive warhead, primarily used by the Russian Aerospace Forces, former Soviet republics and customer countries. The original M-54 model was rolled out in 1954, shaped for internal carriage by heavy bombers, a low-drag M-62 version in 1962 was intended for fighter bomber external hardpoint carriage. Early models were unguided, with a single nose fuze, and compatible with most models of Soviet aircraft.
The Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces dropped 2.7 million tonnes of bombs on Europe during World War II. In the United Kingdom, the German Luftwaffe dropped more than 12,000 tonnes of bombs on London alone. In 2018, the British Ministry of Defence reported that 450 World War II bombs were made safe or defused since 2010 by disposal teams. Every year, an estimated 2,000 tons of World War II munitions are found in Germany, at times requiring the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents from their homes. In Berlin alone, 1.8 million pieces of ordnance have been defused between 1947 and 2018. Buried bombs, as well as mortars, land mines and grenades, are often found during construction work or other excavations, or by farmers tilling the land.
