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M125A1 GB Gas Submunition Bomb

ordnance

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Had an interesting reunion of components today, separated by about 55 years and now back together.

One of the first surplus store items I ever bought as a child was this little grey parachute canister. The price tag said 49 cents and I think I bought two of them as I recall having one opened up to play with the nylon parachute inside. That one is lost but the unopened one has been in my collection for 50 or 55 years. When purchased, I had no idea it was even an ordnance item, just a cute little parachute.

A few years ago it was recognized as a munitions item while going through tech manuals and I dug through boxes of stuff to find it again. A couple days after the SLICS show last month, the mating M125A1 bomb body was acquired in a trade with a friend and today they were reunited again. This one has been repainted at least once, probably for use as a classroom or bomb disposal trainer, but the markings are about right. I gave it the sniff test to make sure it was empty (just kidding).:wink:

There wasn't a ruler handy for photos today but the parts are 3 1/2" (90mm) in diameter with an assembled overall length of 12 1/4" (310mm). The M125A1 was a 10lb. nonpersistent gas bomb filled with 2.6lbs of GB (Sarin) gas, the preferred U.S. chemical agent until VX came along. They were arranged in 4 bundles of 19 bombs to fill the 1000lb M34A1 cluster bomb. Never used, thankfully, and now all destroyed with most of the chemical stockpile.

Just a nice addition to the submunition collection now and one that's not often seen.


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Now I finally know what those little parachute cans go to! I see them quite often and they are normally pretty cheap but could never find what they went to. Great piece!
 
Rick, you need to tie that parachute pack behind your vehicle and drag it around for a week or two, so it matches the body of the munition.
 
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