Blockbuster bomb
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Blockbuster or cookie was the name given to 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 a city block.
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[edit] Design
The bombs then called blockbusters were the RAF's 4,000 lb — also known as a cookie — 8,000 and 12,000 lb (1,800, 3,600 and 5,400 kg) HC (High Capacity) bombs. These bombs had especially thin casings that allowed them to contain approximately three-quarters of their weight in explosive, the 4,000 pounder containing over 3,000 lb (1,360 kg) of explosive filling. Most 'normal' bombs (termed Medium Capacity — or MC — by the RAF) contained 50% explosive by weight, the rest being made up of the fragmentation bomb casing.
Blockbusters got larger as the war progressed from the original 4,000 lb version, up to 12,000 lb (1,800 to 5,400 kg). The initial 4,000 lb version was 2 ft 6 in (76 cm) diameter. The larger 8,000lb version was constructed from two 4,000 lb sections, however these sections were of a larger 3 ft 2 (97 cm) in diameter. A 12,000 lb version was created by adding a third 4,000 lb section.[1]
The High Capacity design was little more than a cylinder full of explosives — it was unaerodynamic and did not have fins. Accuracy was not important, however, as these bombs were designed for blowing the tiles off the roofs of buildings so that the smaller 4 lb (1.8 kg) incendiary bombs could reach the building interiors. These 'High Capacity' bombs were only used by the RAF, being too big to fit in the bomb bays of other countries' aircraft.
[edit] Platforms
The first type of aircraft to carry cookies operationally was the Wellington but they later became part of the standard bombload of the RAF's heavy night bombers, as well as that of the Mosquitoes of the Light Night Strike Force, whose aircraft would sometimes visit Berlin twice in one night carrying cookies, flown by two different crews. The 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) bomb, because of its large size, could only be carried by the Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster and the 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) variant only by the Lancaster.
The 4,000 lb (1,800 kg) 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 (i.e. jettisoned) in a supposedly 'safe' unarmed state.
[edit] Other uses
[edit] Air mines
During The Blitz the Germans used naval mines dropped on parachutes as improvised blockbusters. They exploded on contact with a hard surface; as the bomb was not in a crater, the blast could go sideways causing a great deal of damage.[2][3] The large raid on Coventry on November 14/November 15, 1940 included the use of 50 parachute naval mines which caused extensive blast damage. The British called these devices air-mines.[4] These types where used also during air raids on Malta especially on its harbour areas.
[edit] Bunker busters
"Blockbuster" may also refer to a bomb designed to destroy a blockhouse. Bombs which can penetrate reinforced concrete of a blockhouse are also referred to as bunker busters. The two World War II bombs which best fit the description of bunker busters are the Tallboy bomb 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) MC and the Grand Slam bomb 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) MC both designed by Barnes Wallis for the RAF. The Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs had a thick skin to withstand the initial impact of hitting hardened targets and were therefore classified as Medium Capacity (MC) bombs.
[edit] In popular culture
- The slangy nature of the term "blockbuster" made it a frequent popular culture reference during World War II, for example the Bugs Bunny cartoon Falling Hare, about a gremlin trying to detonate a blockbuster bomb.
- "Block Buster!" was a 1973 chart-topping song by British rock band Sweet, featuring the wailing sound of air raid sirens.
- The 1979 TV mini-series about World War II, titled Danger UXB (Unexploded Bomb), was parodied by Steve Allen as Danger: UXBB (Unexploded Blockbuster).
- The term "blockbuster" was also once used for unscrupulous real estate speculators who would try to racially integrate an all-white neighborhood for the sole purpose of impelling the established residents to sell their houses at deflated prices.[citation needed]
- This term was used in colonial Rhodesia, racial groups clubbing together to buy one house in a block at an inflated price and leading to a fall in price of the other units and was said to have led to the Land Apportionment Act 1944 of that country.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- 4,000lb High Capacity bomb development
- 8,000lb High Capacity bomb development
- 12,000lb High Capacity bomb development
- Constable.ca Picture of English Bombs of WWII
[edit] References
- ^ Air Publication AP1661B Vol I
- ^ The Luftwaffe over the Bristol area - Luftwaffe weapons
- ^ Montague Trout comment in a Collaborative Article: The Blitz by Mark E
- ^ Taylor, Fredrick; Dresden Tuesday 13 February 1945, Pub Bloomsbury (First Pub 2004, Paper Back 2005). ISBN 0-7475-7084-1. Page 120
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