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4000Lb Mk1 Demo Bomb (US - 1921)
- Thread starter MINENAZ16
- Start date
4000lb demolition bomb, developped in 1921, for being carried by the Handley Page bomber in use with the US air corps.
This bomb was 13 1/2 feet long with a diameter of 23 inches and carried a 2000lb high explosive charge.
A similar 2000lb bomb was also developped in 1921, intended to be carried by the new Martin NBS-1 (MB-2) bomber. This bomb was used to sink the Oestfriesland dreadnought in the Mitchell bombing experiments
Once again the end of ww1 saw a number of experiments in production of heavy bombs that prove to be dead-end due to the lack of aircraft or bomb racks with the ability to carry tehm. The most blatant example was the French 1000kg Girel bomb of 1918 - the heavier French bmb racks could load only a maximum weight of 700kg (BTW this remained the case till 1943 and the furniture of American and British material to the co-belligerant French Air Force in North Africa and Italy)
This is a pictures of bombs tested by the US Air corps in 1922
"Captain Stubbing, U.S. Army Air Corps, standing next to several bombs of varying sizes, circa 1926-1927"
I
And this is the original of the photograph you posted, a public domain photograph from teh US archives....
This bomb was 13 1/2 feet long with a diameter of 23 inches and carried a 2000lb high explosive charge.
A similar 2000lb bomb was also developped in 1921, intended to be carried by the new Martin NBS-1 (MB-2) bomber. This bomb was used to sink the Oestfriesland dreadnought in the Mitchell bombing experiments
Once again the end of ww1 saw a number of experiments in production of heavy bombs that prove to be dead-end due to the lack of aircraft or bomb racks with the ability to carry tehm. The most blatant example was the French 1000kg Girel bomb of 1918 - the heavier French bmb racks could load only a maximum weight of 700kg (BTW this remained the case till 1943 and the furniture of American and British material to the co-belligerant French Air Force in North Africa and Italy)
This is a pictures of bombs tested by the US Air corps in 1922
"Captain Stubbing, U.S. Army Air Corps, standing next to several bombs of varying sizes, circa 1926-1927"
IAnd this is the original of the photograph you posted, a public domain photograph from teh US archives....