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From: cirby@vaxb.acs.unt.edu (((((C.Irby)))))
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Fuel-Air Explosives
Message-ID: <1991Jan19.043207.6295@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 19 Jan 91 04:32:07 GMT
References: <1991Jan16.013121.9797@cbnews.att.com> <1991Jan18.003251.8296@cbnews.att.com>
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From: cirby@vaxb.acs.unt.edu (((((C.Irby)))))

In article <1991Jan18.003251.8296@cbnews.att.com>, etnibsd!denbeste@uunet.UU.NET (Steven Den Beste) writes:
> The blockbuster bomb was enormous, 6000 pounds or more, and had a delayed
> fuse and an armored nose. When it was dropped, it would hit the ground
> hard and keep going, burrowing down a hundred feet, and only then would
> it explode. This gave the explosion excellent "tamping", and almost all
> of the power of the explosion went directly into a shock wave in
> the ground. As a result, instead of merely breaking windows it shook
> all the buildings (or whatever) completely apart. Hence their nickname
> "earth-quake bombs".

You're referring to Barnes Wallis' famous "Tallboy" and Grand Slam"
bombs.  They were designed for use against hard targets, such as bridges,
submarine pens, and bunkers.  The most interesting effect was the
"trapdoor."  The bomb made a big enough underground hole that the
building would often fall right into the crater...

We don't need bombs this big any more (12,000 and 22,000 pounds),
since we can drop a precision-guided munition down an elevator
shaft if we want (as evidenced by the video this morning (Jan. 18)).

> Does the gain from not carrying oxidizer in the bomb make up for the loss
> inherent in an atmospheric detonation?

Fuel-Air Munitions aren't designed to work against hard targets.  They
work best versus widely-dispersed soft and medium targets, like infantry,
light buildings, and storage areas.  The overpressures involved (someone
mentioned the 300 psi figure) will easily destroy a non-hardened building,
and will kill any unprotected person (and I'd wager that the shock wave
would have a shot at breaking any tank you'll find...)



-- 

*C Irby      Bitnet: cirby@untvax  *  "Admiration is for poets and for
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