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A daisy cutter is a type of fuse designed to detonate an aerial bomb at or above ground level. The fuse itself is a long probe affixed to the weapon's nose, which detonates the bomb if it touches the ground or any solid object.
The purpose for a daisy-cutter fuse is primarily to maximize blast damage on the surface of a target. A bomb with a conventional fuse will often be driven deeply into the ground by the force of its impact, limiting the range of its blast. A bomb with a daisy-cutter fuse will detonate before it has a chance to penetrate the ground, allowing its energy to spread over a larger area. For this reason daisy-cutter fuses are often used to clear foliage and vegetation, such as for the purpose of creating landing zones for helicopters. [1] [2]
The first reference to a "daisy-cutter type of bomb" is found in the memoir of Lieutenant Jack Wilkinson in describing the 1918 attack on the Royal Air Force airfield at Bertangles. Wilkinson describes it as a "bomb that seemed to explode before it buried itself in the ground so that bits and pieces flew horizontally in all directions." [3]
Oskar Dinort invented an extended-nose fuse device known as the Dinort rod (Dinortstäbe).[ citation needed ] These were placed on the noses of German World War II-era bombs up to 250 kg (550 lb) in mass, such as the SC 50 and 250 bombs dropped from Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka) dive bombers.
"Daisy cutter" fuses, when known under that exact name, were used by the United States during the Vietnam War. The concept for the fuse is attributed to an Air America employee who grasped the idea during a night of drinking. Shortly thereafter, his drinking buddy, a Royal Lao Air Force airman at Louang Phrabang, gathered the needed materials for the prototype and started welding used aircraft gun barrels directly into the nose fuse cavity of bombs. After the concept proved itself useful it was made famous by being used for the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. military's arsenal at the time, the BLU-82. When used gun barrels were in short supply, water pipes were requisitioned for the task. The welded pipe versions had several adverse effects, such as vibration, pipe weld separation or breakage while in flight, and wind drag, due to impossibility of aligning the pipes correctly with the nose of the weapon, so that phase of development eventually gave way to threaded steel water pipes screwed into the nose cavity of the bombs, leaving only the tail fuse for detonation. After the war more precise fuses were created for this purpose.[ citation needed ]
These weapons were used in the "shock and awe" phase of the Iraq War and against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. [4] [5]
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanical stress, the impact and penetration of pressure-driven projectiles, pressure damage, and explosion-generated effects. Bombs have been utilized since the 11th century starting in East Asia.
A nuclear bunker buster, also known as an earth-penetrating weapon (EPW), is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional bunker buster. The non-nuclear component of the weapon is designed to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to an underground target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers or other below-ground facilities. An underground explosion releases a larger fraction of its energy into the ground, compared to a surface burst or air burst explosion at or above the surface, and so can destroy an underground target using a lower explosive yield. This in turn could lead to a reduced amount of radioactive fallout. However, it is unlikely that the explosion would be completely contained underground. As a result, significant amounts of rock and soil would be rendered radioactive and lofted as dust or vapor into the atmosphere, generating significant fallout.
The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank (PIAT) Mk I was a British man-portable anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon and entered service in 1943.
An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside bombs, or homemade bombs.
A shell, in a military context, is a projectile whose payload contains an explosive, incendiary, or other chemical filling. Originally it was called a bombshell, but "shell" has come to be unambiguous in a military context. A shell can hold a tracer.
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.
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.
An air burst or airburst is the detonation of an explosive device such as an anti-personnel artillery shell or a nuclear weapon in the air instead of on contact with the ground or target. The principal military advantage of an air burst over a ground burst is that the energy from the explosion, including any shell fragments, is distributed more evenly over a wider area; however, the peak energy is lower at ground zero.
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon system, known under program "Commando Vault" and nicknamed "Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam for its ability to flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone, was an American 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or MC-130 transport aircraft or a CH-54 heavy-lift "Skycrane" helicopter from the 1st Air Cavalry. A total of 225 were constructed. It was successfully used during military operations in Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan. The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful GBU-43/B MOAB.
Insurgency weapons and tactics (IWAT) are weapons and tactics, most often involving firearms or explosive devices, intended for use by insurgents to engage in guerrilla warfare against an occupier, or for use by rebels against an established government. One type of insurgency weapon are "homemade" firearms made by non-professionals, such as the Błyskawica (Lightning) submachine gun produced in underground workshops by the Polish resistance movement. One weapon that is part of the conventional military arsenal but which has been taken up to great effect by insurgents, is the RPG. Two examples of an improvised weapon used by insurgents would be the improvised explosive devices used in Iraq and the Molotov cocktails used against vehicles and tanks. Two tactics used by many insurgents are assassinations and suicide bomb attacks. The latter tactic is used when an insurgent has a bomb strapped to them or in their car, which provides a low-tech way for insurgents to get explosives close to critical enemy targets.
An airdrop is a type of airlift in which items including weapons, equipment, humanitarian aid or leaflets are delivered by military or civilian aircraft without their landing. Developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, themselves often airborne forces, airdrops can also refer to the airborne assault itself.
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.
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing, shot, or other components of an anti-personnel weapon, bomb, barrel bomb, land mine, IED, artillery, mortar, tank gun, autocannon shell, rocket, missile, grenade, etc. are dispersed and/or shattered by the detonation of the explosive filler.
In military munitions, a fuze is the part of the device that initiates its function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze designs can be seen in cutaway diagrams.
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.
The SC 500 was a Sprengbombe Cylindrisch family of 500 kg weight general-purpose bombs used by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.
The SB 2500 (Spezialbombe) was a luftmine or aerial mine in English used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
The SD 50 or thick walled explosive bomb in English was a fragmentation bomb used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
The SD 70 or thick walled explosive bomb in English was a fragmentation bomb used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
The SD 250 or thick walled explosive bomb in English was a fragmentation bomb used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.