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French early guided bomb or rocket bomb - late 1950s ear;y 1960s - needs ID
- Thread starter Dreamk
- Start date
Hello
Not found, but here some bombs used with the vautour (http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft21263.htm)
Not found, but here some bombs used with the vautour (http://aviadejavu.ru/Site/Crafts/Craft21263.htm)
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Nice pics but these are not guided bombs - They are the first French Air to Air (R.511) and Air to Ground (AS-20 & AS-30) missiles. Technology was still an inheritance of the German WW2 technology - mostly the Ruhrstahl X-4 air to air missile which was even produced in a limited series by the French from 1946 onwards under the designation Nord 5101 .
The AS-20 (initially designated Nord 5110 in 1952, but renamed AS-20 in 1958 - AS = "Air Sol" = Air to Ground) was in fact an air to ground adaptaion of the Nord 5103 , itself a version of the 5101 but radio controlled instead of being wire guided. The AS-30 was an AS-20 with an emlarged warhead. The control of these missiles was problematic - showing the ww2 ineheritance: the pilot had to control the path of the missile wth a joystick by looking at the the exhaust flames. Only with the much later AS-30L was introduced a laser guidance.
BTW the Air to Air R.511 in the first and third pics had a semi-active radar guidance.
The AS-20 (initially designated Nord 5110 in 1952, but renamed AS-20 in 1958 - AS = "Air Sol" = Air to Ground) was in fact an air to ground adaptaion of the Nord 5103 , itself a version of the 5101 but radio controlled instead of being wire guided. The AS-30 was an AS-20 with an emlarged warhead. The control of these missiles was problematic - showing the ww2 ineheritance: the pilot had to control the path of the missile wth a joystick by looking at the the exhaust flames. Only with the much later AS-30L was introduced a laser guidance.
BTW the Air to Air R.511 in the first and third pics had a semi-active radar guidance.
Weasel Pilot
Well-Known Member
Is there a book out there that covers these early French guided weapons?
Some info can be found here - mainly Chapter 3 and after - among a lot of text on organizational matters
Very short description with some data of BB.10 is in Polish book by T. Burakowski and A. Sala "Rakiety bojowe" (Combat Rockets, from 1972).
Guidance "semi-automatic TV" (?)
Dimensions: length 3.4 m; diameter 0.4 m; wingspan 0.81 m
Weight 410 kg
Warhead HE 180 kg or nuclear 10 kt
Speed 1200 km/h
Guidance "semi-automatic TV" (?)
Dimensions: length 3.4 m; diameter 0.4 m; wingspan 0.81 m
Weight 410 kg
Warhead HE 180 kg or nuclear 10 kt
Speed 1200 km/h
Many thanks, Speedy.
The guidance system indicated is obviously wrong - TV technology was in its infancy in France in the years 1954-58, when this rocket wss supposed to enter in service.
Radio control under direct visual guidance of the bomber through a steering joystick is much more probable. It is quite possible that the Polish author was confused by the French terms of "radio-telecommande visuelle" that often refer to this type of guidance.
The speed may seem unprobable but it may well be true, as from the few elements I could gather, the bomb was an evolution of german guided bombs , more specifically the Fritz X whose maximum speed was indeed 1235km/h.
Dimensions are consistent with was is seen on teh photograph.
Weight and warhead weight are indeed most plausible.
The guidance system indicated is obviously wrong - TV technology was in its infancy in France in the years 1954-58, when this rocket wss supposed to enter in service.
Radio control under direct visual guidance of the bomber through a steering joystick is much more probable. It is quite possible that the Polish author was confused by the French terms of "radio-telecommande visuelle" that often refer to this type of guidance.
The speed may seem unprobable but it may well be true, as from the few elements I could gather, the bomb was an evolution of german guided bombs , more specifically the Fritz X whose maximum speed was indeed 1235km/h.
Dimensions are consistent with was is seen on teh photograph.
Weight and warhead weight are indeed most plausible.
Weasel Pilot
Well-Known Member
Many thanks! Excellent stuff!
Weasel Pilot
Well-Known Member
Now did anybody ever ID the "B10"??? And how it worked...
Weasel Pilot
Well-Known Member
Sorry, missed a post. Seems like shrinking a 10KT warhead to fit in this size package would have been...challenging (?) for this era...