Submunition Challenge

[US-Subs]

Ordnance is very close and is the clear winner for this one. Please say hello to the BLU-6/B submunition, filled with FS smoke.

These submunitions were actually part of a long, multi-service development attempt in the 1950s-60s, trying to dispense a linear "smoke curtain" that could extend at length, and from altitude to ground/sea level. It began with the E33 smoke tank (1a & 1b) where it was also tested for chemical/toxin dispersal. The Navy pushed it further with the MK12 Mod Aircraft Chemical Tank (sorry, pub is in transit and no electronic copy), and the Air Force then gave it their best effort, designating the submunitions as the BLU-6/B, used in the A/B 37B-1 dispenser (2a, b, c).

All functioned pretty much the same way. Around 500 of the submunitions were placed in a sealed dispenser which was filled with liquid smoke agent FS (sulfer trioxide/chlorosulfonic acid) which combines with moisture in the air to produce smoke (WP would not burn reliably from such small holes and was not used). A vacuum was drawn on the container to remove the air and fill the balls with smoke agent.

When released, the loose agent that remained outside of the balls in the extra space of the dispenser would immediately produce smoke, forming the top portion of the smoke curtain. The falling balls with the large holes would lose agent most quickly, forming the middle part of the curtain. The falling balls with the small holes would lose agent more slowly, forming the bottom part of the curtain.

All of the programs had mixed results; the Air Force portion is referenced as finally being cancelled in 1963.

These are the only surviving examples of the BLU-6 I have ever found, hopefully more exist but have just been waiting for proper identification.

[HAZORD]

In my research on air delivered weapons using the "EYE" suffix, I came across photos of a program called Padeye, which appears to have split into a couple of applications. The attached photos label it as a smoke tank. There wasn't any explanation as to the contents, but you can see the smoke curtain that Jeff is describing.

The other appplication used a design to base eject CW agent grenades on parachutes.

The first photo shows the curtain being created over a lake. They liked to test the burning things over a lake, as can be seen in the last photo of napalm being dropped on the water.