The Other WW2 Super Bomb You've Never Heard Of
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- On November 12, 1944, the cold Norwegian fjord reverberated with the approach of Lancaster bombers, each carrying a revolutionary payload: the colossal 12,000-pound Tallboy bombs. These behemoths were designed to pierce deep into their targets before detonating, a feat never before achieved in military history.
As the crews approached the Kriegsmarine battleship Tirpitz, tension gripped the men. The bombardier's voice cut through the silence: (QUOTE) “Steady.” He then aligned the Tallboy with its target. With a heavy release, the bomb plunged, driven by gravity at speeds close to the sound barrier.
Moments later, a colossal explosion rocked the fjord; the Tallboy had struck, burrowing through the Tirpitz's armor before unleashing its destructive power deep within.
The enormous battleship, once an emblem of naval strength, was left fatally wounded, flames and smoke marking the impact of a weapon that redefined aerial warfare.
As the aircraft turned away, more bombers approached, ready to unleash their Tallboys on the wounded giant and sink her for good.
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As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -
5:20 A bit of trivia. Torpex stands for torpedo explosive. Torpex is comprised of 42% RDX, 40% TNT and 18% powdered aluminium.
RDX stands for Royal Demolition Explosive and is the explosive used in C-4.
RDX is a six (6) sided ring (hexagon) made up of three (3) Carbon atoms (at positions 2,4,6) each bonded to two Hydrogen atoms, and three (3) Nitrogen atoms. The Nitrogen atoms at positions, 1, 3, 5 on the ring are each bonded to NO2 groups. The chemical formula of RDX is C3H6N3(NO2)3.
NO2 and NO3 groups are highly unstable and are the basis for most explosives, such as Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) used in gunpowder; Nitroglycerine [C3H5(NO3)3] used in dynamite; and trinitrotoluene, TNT [C6H2CH3(NO3)3].
Wayne Y. Adams
B..S. Chemistry
M.S. Physics
Thought it was research department explosive , otherwise known as hexogen or cyclonite !
Brilliant. 😁
I understand the function of the aluminum powder in airburst weapons (Daisy Cutter), but what is its purpose in a "contact" weapon like this? I'm very curious if anyone knows, I'd appreciate the info- thanks!
I've always wondered what kind of explosive, Torpex was.
@@matthewshannon6946 The Aluminum slows the reaction so the blast lasts longer making it more destructive.
Let me give you an example that is related. I spent a few years at a cement manufacturing plant west of Miami. We blasted limestone rock in our quarry a couple of times a year. I always went out and talked with the blasting crews and found out that the primer cord they us to set off the dynamite is timed. The idea is to have each successive row of dynamite explode just as the shockwave gets there thereby adding to the shockwave which builds as it moves through the rock. The time delay is so short that on small blasts it sounds like one explosion, but on large blast you can see and hear the delay as the blast moves through the rock.
One more bit of trivia, nitroglycerine the explosive in dynamite is a shock explosive (it needs a a blast or some sort of physical shock) which is why they had blasting caps in the old days and primer cord today. You can burn dynamite. I remember the blasting crew burning sticks of dynamite that were unusable for one reason or another. So, the next time you see dynamite exploding in a fire, or when someone throws a match inot it, yo will no it is bullshit.
The Tallboy was a 12,000lb bomb, the 22,000lb (tentonner) was called the Grand Slam.
In the RAF squadron numbers are said in full, 617 Squadron is said as 6-1-7 not 6 hundred & seventeen Squadron.
I still remember reading about them when I read The Dam Busters as a kid
When you have a robot reading the script......
As a Brit, things like that grate my nerves
There are other inaccuracies. Barnes Wallis first conceived the 10 ton version, then designed the Victory bomber to carry it. He later came up with Tallboy as a smaller version. Neither was ever designed to penetrate reinforced concrete, and Wallis was quite surprised that most of the Tallboys succeeded in doing this.
I thought the 'Grand Slam' was only at Dennys?
So I’m guessing the tall boy is more powerful than America’s MOAB
Thats a British bomb my good Sir ,ever herd of Barnes Wallis
Uh duh? He started with the bombing of the Terpitz. Every WWII layman knows Churchill had wet dreams about its destruction. Maybe when he said "British research" "Walles designed" "RAF" or perhaps "British military" would have clued you in.
Ya. I herd. Most farmers do!
Sir Barnes Wallis
Was he a nobel? I know his books
I certainly have. Back in the 60s. my maths teacher had worked with Barnes Wallace throughout the war. He was the man who finally managed to get me to appreciate and work harder at maths and set me on the engineering pathway.
Erm, _'US Super Bomb's??!??_
Tallboy and Grand Slam are _British_ bombs!
I thought he was going to talk about the T-12 Cloudmaker ngl
Seems to have had a title edit...
I'll notify the King.
Tallboy was American Grand Slam was British. this guy never seems to get anything right in most of his videos. Barracuda's as Langcasters? Sorry just found out the Tallboy was the 12000lb bomb
@@skyboom1961 no, Tallboy AND Grand Slam were British... Barnes-Wallace was the designer of both, and he was very British. Both bombs could also only be lofted by the Lancaster. The B-17 had the capability to carry the same load, but the bomb-bays could not be modified to carry the bombs themselves.
It was designed by Sir Barnes Waklis not the yanks.
Fair point.
As was the Grand Slam around 22,000 lb
So you just pass over the entire video and zero in on one obvious mistake meant to generate comments?
Does it matter
2:36 it's states that it's a British design and mentions Barnes as the designer. Go look again
That the Lancaster bomber was considered for carrying the atomic bomb instead of the Superfortress says a lot about the design of the aircraft and the bomb carrying capacity.
This is a false narrative pushed by some (probably most famously by Mark Felton). While the Lancaster could certainly lift the weight of the fat man, dimensions created problems. Also, with that weight, the fuel load necessary was unachievable for the mission. Also, the Lancaster was far too slow with little enough altitude to escape the blast. It would have blown itself out of the sky.
@@terrysoule8441 Mark Felton Im sure is not laying awake by your thoughts. God bless America for what they helped us with But the British held more their own in effect tactics in Bombing . The Uk had been in that war far longer with far fewer resources than America but the fact is they more than pulled their weight .
@ronmailloux8655 not certain what I wrote elicited your reply. I said nothing to take away from anyone's contributions to the war, nor did I disparage the Lanc (a very fine aircraft) I simply corrected the notion that the Lanc was considered for the atomic bomb. It was not at all considered because it couldn't do it. Yes, I am certain that Dr. Felton cares less about what I think, but in his video about the Lanc and the bomb, he put forward a number of fallacies and outright lies that are easily disproven. Things like the "black Lancaster squadron", "Tiger group", Lancaster in flight refueling and more.
Only if you are NOT a lover of WW2 History. I am 72. I knew this before i was 20.
I am 57 & knew it before I was 18 (actually before I finished high school) 😜
I read a paperback edition of The Dam Busters, which covered operation Chastise and the evolution of 617 squadron after that
I am 67, and read about these bombs and 617 Sqn when I was 10. Never heard of it? Really?
Ditto.
Well I’m 9 years old and I now know of these bombs so I beat you
I have to say something on this, if your going to make a video get it right. These weapons were known as "earth quake bombs," Barnes Wallis used some of the principles of his work with "Upkeep" (the bouncing bombs for dams) and "Highball" (the anti shipping version). And designed a weapon you did not have to accurately aim, Earth Quake sort of gives that away..... It was the pressure/concussion wave travelling through the ground that did the damage so precision was not a primary concern. You missed out the "ten ton Tess" the massive big sister "Grand Slam" bomb.
The Brit Wallace designed the Tallboy, the Grandslam and the Bouncing bomb but the Vickers Wellington was designed by Rex Pierson, Wallace was responsible for the construction principles that Pierson used but the actual design of the aircraft was Pierson, just to be as exact as possible.
Thought the tall boy was British? Actually I know it’s British not American. I think he always adds errors on purpose to generate more comments.
I think this channel is just a single individual doing everything so I cut him some slack. There are definitely others who are more analytic and less error prone but I think he’s a good storyteller and finds interesting topics I haven’t heard of or puts a new spin on stories I already know.
@@michaeldebellis4202 Five seconds using google would have fixed this error. He has been making these videos for many years, and should know how to do such basic research. While he is a good storyteller, this misinformation can make him a trusted source of poor education over a wide variety of topics. It is sad.
I believe that most of them were made in the US. the British had a special plane to use them.
@fearthehoneybadger The British built Earthquake bombs (the 6 tonne Tall Boy & the 10 tonne Grand Slam) in the UK. They were carried by specially adapted Avro Lancaster bombers.
It was designed by Barnes Wallis, who also designed the bouncing bomb
Barnes Wallace was a Kelly Johnson type of character for england...remarkable talent and invaluable!!
Barnes Wallis*
US? ... UK .. typo error? ... channel is loosing credit ...
5:00 those speeds are misleading. The first is the HORIZONTAL speed of the bomber while the second is the VERTICAL spped of the falling bomb. The two are independent of each other because gravity only affects vertical motion causing ONLY vertical acceleration.
So this is MOAB grandma? Lol
More like the ancestor of the MOP (Massive Ordinance Penetrator)
@@ronaldfinkelstein6335 ahhh
MOAB is a Fuel Air Bomb.
heard of it before the narrator was even born
I have a photo of the Tirpitz after the raid. My father flew a Lancaster and he also took out submarine pens elsewhere. The Lanc. was considered for the atomic bomb because the bomb bay was so much bigger.
The main point with the bomb bay was that it was uninterrupted. US bombers had their main spar and all sorts in the way, so they could not carry a single, large, heavy weight at the the COG/Centre of lift. Some B29's were specially modified for the atomic bomb.
Later they made an even bigger version. The 22.000lbs Grand Slam.
Talks about Lancasters and Barnes Wallis so why headline about us super bombs
The Tallboy and the Grand Slam were designed by the great Sir Barnes Wallis. Brooklands museum has a complete set of his bombs including the designed tested but never used Highball.
Grand slam was the earthquake bomb 22 000 pounds
Tirpitz sank no ships
The ultimate white elephant
Yeah, I was going to ask: Tirpitz' successful commerce raiding? I'd like to see a video on just that subject. i can wait.
Tirpitz's mere presence in the Norwegian fjord was a grave threat to the aid convoys to Russia. That presence tied up at least 2 or possibly 3 Allied battleships to deal with her, ships which were desperately needed elsewhere. Tirpitz's destruction was paramount in the strategic planning of the Allies, particularly Churchill.
I thought he was going to talk about the T-12 Cloudmaker ngl, It's a bomb I that I haven't heard anyone talk about.
The Americans licensed that Grand Slam design and improved it which became the T-12, this was intended for the Convair B36 peacemaker bomber, but then nuclear weapons were the primary weapon.
@@davidbuckingham4766they also made a guided version of the Tallboy, though that was after WW2 (but it did see action in Korea)
The US versions of Wallis' bombs used post war were M110 (T-14) 22,000-lb M-121 (T10) 12,000-lb
As an aside, the manufacture of Grand Slam bombs was a painstaking process. The bomb was filled with molten Torpex, which took the better part of a week to fully set.
Theres a story about the German who eas incharge of the radar let them thru, he showed someone his wallet and inside had the union jack flag, the fighters were never able to go after the planes, and this was their 2nd attempt
Tallboy had a big brother called Grand Slam. Lancasters were modified to carry the 22 000 payload. By way of contrast a B-17 on a typical long sortie to a long distance target, like Berlin, could only carry 4,000lbs, the same payload as a Mosquito, which could also fly to Berlin..
Anyone who has read the book The Dam Busters has heard of Tall Boy.
BTW, although you give it a mere footnote, Grand Slam entered service in February or March of 1945, so did see action in WWII. Grand Slam was the manifestation if Wallis's original conception of an earthquake bomb. Although the RAF had no aircraft that could take off with a ten-ton bomb in 1941, by 1945 the Lancaster had been sufficiently improved that it could indeed carry a Grand Slam, albeit only after having been stripped of armour and machine guns, and having had its bomb-bay doors removed.
The lack of Luftwafffe heavy bombers, prevented them for developing a similar bunker-busting bomb to use against the allies.
Sir Barnes Wallace. Local to me, I believe he came from Ilkeston, Derby. Also made the bouncing bomb. Ironically ( and I'm using rough numbers here ), but in WW2, if a bombing run meant that a bomb landed within about 5km, it was considered a near miss. If the bombs landed within 1km, it was considered a direct hit. Sometimes they'd send several bombers to hit a main viaduct/railway bridge with 500 and 1000LB bombs. Unless they hit within 20 feet, there would be little to no damage. With the Tallboy, they could drop one within a few hundred metres and the shockwave would destroy the footings and the bridge would come down. That is why they also called it the earthquake bomb.
It still never penetrated the roof of the submarine pens in France.
Thnx for the upload, quite good,bizarrely didn’t remember the German battleships,but seen photos of the bridges they destroyed
Some of us opened a book 30 years ago and knew or knows probably more than you :D
Still, it's generating a lot of discussion :) If only political comment gathered similar discussion so that various people who know more than others can have input.
There used to be a Tallboy casing aimed nose down at the front of the Army Museum in Arbeendeen Maryland before it closed. I've never been able to find out where the exhibits ended up.
Storage.
I've heard of the Grand Slam earthquake bombs. Use to destroy concrete structures like U-boat pens, bridges, viaducts, tunnels, bunkers and so on. These bombs were like the Tall Boy bomb (not the Little Boy nuclear fission bomb that destroyed Hiroshima) but larger.
IT is as British as the Spitfire - developed by that man who liked his bombs to bounce 👍 As for the ‘the bomb you’ve never heard of’, if you’ve heard of 617 Squadron (Dambusters) you’ve heard of this bomb. If it sounded unworkable or daft - they made it work!
Most were Misses, you can still see the craters on Goole Earth.The large size a close miss was nearly as good as a hit.
We used to drink Miller tall boys when we were young. Good days.
The US has a Tallboy grandchild in the MOAB Mother of all Bombs, carried by the C-130 transport with precision guidance. Tallboy also led to bomb built to penetrate with more precision and less simple blast effects. One was outside an RAF base by the gate. It was thought to be inert, but actual inspection found had an explosive filler. Woops!!
My son’s future best man’s grandfather was a spotter on an anti aircraft gun on the Tripitz
@DarkDocs
Never heard of?
Those two bombs are the most iconic and most spoken of at all of the British WW2 aerial bomb arsenal.
Maybe besides Barnes Wallis' - who also was the father of Tall Boy and Grand Slam - bouncing bomb.
I have known about them since I was 11 years old - the very first two that I knew the names of.
Don't you think that you overvalue yourself a little bit?
I heard many years ago that Barnes-Wallis got the vibration/shock-wave idea whilst observing piing activities on the River Thames
Nope it was examining damage caused to the supports of a London bridge by heavy lorries creating a percussion effect shattering the stones that gave him the earthquake idea. Read Dambusters book.
@@neilatkinson5142 well noted Sir!
Barnes Wallis did not design the Wellington Bomber. Barnes Wallis developed a geodetic structure technique that wasfirst used in Vickers-Armstrongs Chief Designer Rex Pierson's single engined Wellesley bomber design,
The Wellington was also designed by Rex Pierson, utilising the geodetic construction method previously devised by Barnes Wallace.
The widely held, but erroneous belief that Wallace designed the Wellington arising from a line from the 1950's film "the Dam Busters"
That line gave the film dramatic effect, but there is no basis in that assertioin.
My understanding is that Wallis was part of the design team at Vickers; he certainly had input into more of the Wellington's design than just the geodetic construction method.
@@BradleyHicks-q5t Wallis and Pierson were the centre of the Vickers-Armstrongs design team - Pierson working on the general layout of the aircraft and Wallis designing the internal structure. During this partnership the pair designed and developed two aircraft of note that played pivotal roles within the RAF; the Wellesley and Wellington Bombers.
Pierson was the head Engineer and as such deserves the credit as the designer of the Wellington.
The tall boy and grand slam were designed and used by the British during WW2 after the war the USAF experimented with them but budget cuts prevented any practical developments. One commentator said if the USAF had them during the Vietnam war their B52s could easily carry them to North Vietnam and destroy every important strategic target even its buried underground.
If we had been allowed to win 'Nam anyway.
A bit miss titled, the Tall Boy is well known in the UK, but one thing did stick me was seeing battlefield craters of WW2 and a very modern day war which is happening now!
i live in the east coast of uk, Lincolnshire ( Ie Bomber county ) and there is a House near Holten le clay near Grimsby and they have a Tallboy in there front Garden standing up. The name Tallboy is very Fitting.
Such bombs were used to destroy the Schnellboat bunkers in Ijmuiden, 🇳🇱. One of such a bombs was in my youth standing near/next to such an enormous bunker. I do not know where the bomb went.
Most of the pictures are from Grand Slam not a Tallboy
Imagine the kinetic energy of a Tallboy dropped from the height Barnes-Wallis intended with the Victory bomber, or a Grand Slam being toss-bombed from under a Vulcan,.. Now swap to small nuclear payload. Toss it and zoom away, before it rips deep in to the target and obliterates everything surrounding. Made on Earth by Humans,...
the mother of all bombs's father...
Why do they not just flatten when hitting concrete ?
A few did shatter on impact with concrete structures, but the quality of the steel used for the casings ensured that most were able to penetrate them, even though Barnes Wallis never intended them to be capable of this. From memory-perhaps I need to re read 'The Dam Busters'-only one, or perhaps 2 foundries in England were capable of producing such high strength steel.
@@BradleyHicks-q5t Interesting, thanks for the info, you have motivated me to look into this more.
I got bombed by having too many tallboy's.
French never had bombers to use these bombs at Dien Bien Phu but they would have needed very brave and good spotters to locate the caves where the Viet Minh kept their artillery pieces.
Why 18,000ft.? Once dropped & falling vertically, why not an automatic tail rocket to then attain the required speed? : )
Thank God I didn't come first for a change. Well done you 3, I'm sure your gf's are very proud of you 😂
That’s why all the women want them lmao.
Oh my god
Yes I knew about those tall boys and big boys- more barns Wallace inventions like the bouncing bomb 🎉
You spelled *British* wrong...
Errrm, Who HASNT heard of the Tall Boy?! Mate, this has been going on a while. Concentrate on the accuracy and quality of your content rather than quantity.....Please.🙏🙏
Known as the earthquake bomb
⬅ Does this look like the Stars and Stripes???? 🙄🙄🙄🙄
Barnes Wallis - A perfectly British hard working, mild mannered brilliant engineer working for Vickers. Not only did he design and engineer military marvels, he also originated them before official requests for proposals were even considered.
Using US in title pleases the algorhythm and thats what yer gonna get…history smishtory
When are they going to talk about the bomb I've never heard of? Still waiting....
Where did you get this phonetical alphabet from?
"Bomb You've Never Heard Of"???? Everyone of a certain age in England has heard of the Tallboy. The odd German or two would also have been aware of it's existence.
1.13M subscribers
USA MADE the MOAB i think it weighs 30.000 pounds
all British bombs, and nothing on an actual U.S. bomb, A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, the most powerful non nuclear bomb ever created. messed the bed on this video
Heard of ? I would see one on the way to work everyday at 5131 bd SQN.
MOAB’s Daddy!
Sorry to bother you old chap, but I most certainly have heard of tallboy and grand slam.
Maybe it's because I'm British...
Not as devastating as Taco Bell!!
Spoilers, they missed all their target, those were the DC swamp, Russian cities and the unholy city of Jerusalem,
Wrong. I have heard of them.
I've never heard of? Not everybody is that stupid.
Not much of a clue on the actual timeline of the development of the grand slam vs tallboy. Grandslam was first, but no aircraft could carry it. Tallboy was a half scale grandslam calculated to be able to penetrate targets such as the U-boat pens until the Lancaster was upgraded to carry grand slam.
What aload of crap.
🤦♂️
Get your facts right, and change the title. Thumbs down for mistakes.
The tone of the narrator is getting very wearing. Add fanciful comments about the lack of knowledge of the viewers and it's see you later..
What bullshit!
First ?
1
First
@Dark Docs - WW2 STARTED IN 1937 NOT 1939. 🤦🏻🤦🏻🤦🏻
They aren't even trying anymore.
WW2 started September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland. If you are going to correct others, at least be correct yourself.
@@ALOTOFBS420You beat me to it.
@@ALOTOFBS420
lettuce be clear! Germany invaded Poland September 1 1939, but WWII did *NOT* start until 3 September 1939 when war was officially declared by England & France!
but that's not the full story! much which happened before the *official* declaration of WWII was in fact a precursory part of WWII:
Rhineland, 1936 - this was technically German territory but it was a demilitarized zone under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler marched in anyway. The French, who had 2 million soldiers on the other side of the Rhineland along the Maginot Line, were supposed to enforce the demilitarization but were too cowardly to do so. Technically, Hitler did not “conquer” the Rhineland because it was German territory but it was the first act of the war
Austria, March 1938 - this was a bloodless military occupation. Hitler declared the Austrians to be Germans and the nation, in large part, agreed.
Sudetenland, October 1938 - another bloodless military occupation that came about due to Czech betrayal by the British and French at Munich. The Sudetenland was part of Czechoslovakia and did not constitute a significant amount of territory but it did weaken Czechoslovakia’s ability to defend itself, significantly.
Czechoslovakia, March 1939 - another bloodless victory for Hitler as he marched through the rest of the country and occupied it militarily.
Memel Territory, March 1939 - Germany had lost a small slice of land to Lithuania at the conclusion of WW1, and after a series of military threats to Lithuania, they gave it back. Another bloodless conquest.
Barns Wallace was never the same after the dams were bombed because of the loss of crews lost- he took it personally
I think that the truth of the horrors of war hit him hard with that one mission. War from the front line is much more brutal than war from an office - and office workers rarely appreciate the difference between ID Numbers or actual lives!
The "Tallboy that hit the Tirpitzwent clean through her hull, and detonated on the bottom of the Fiord.
22 000lb was called the Grand slam or Earthquake bomb.
Just a minor point, in British bombers the term is bomb aimer, not bombardier which is the artillery equivalent to corporal as a bombard was an early cannon.
The bomb aimer was more formally known as the Air Bomber after about 1942 (if memory serves).
9:30 If you are going to present yourself as an expert, get your facts straight. Disrupting V2 production did NOT save countless troops since they were used exclusivelly against CITIES, mostly London, thus the name, V2, German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, meaning 'Retaliation Weapon 2'. The only way troops were saved if is they happened to be in London.
So much bullshit in these videos these days. Totally inaccurate channel.
There's still controversy as to whether 9 or 617 squdron was responsible for sinking the Tirpitz. Against hardened structures the tallboy was better than a whole sqadrons eorth of 1000 pounders. The V1 and V2 were never targeted against allies troops they were aimed at British cities.
Just get your facts right Tallboy and GrandSlam were British bombs dropped by the RAF, The USAF used rocked assisted bombs on the heavy sites. Please update the video title
The bombs were designed in the UK but some of the bombs were manufactured in the United States.
The United States would actually build a smart version of the Tallboy and later on yse it in Korea
@@themanformerlyknownascomme777
The Americans licensed and built the grand slam bomb as the M110 (T-14) , this was significantly improved to become the T12 Cloudmaker (to be used with the B36 Peacemaker). remaining unused T12 or M110 bombs were kept in storage and with the tail fins removed were used to clear jungle helicopter landing sites in the Vietnam war
@davidbuckingham4766 I was refering to the VB-13 Tarzon bomb
@@themanformerlyknownascomme777 Thank you, I knew that under a different name, that was a licensed Tallboy bomb , with a radio control function added , possibly the Americans were learning from the earlier German Fritz X radio controlled glide bomb that was effective in anti ship operations.
So why weren't these bombs used in the Pacific? The Japanese used tunnels and caves in the islands. These bombs would have saved many lives.
Wehrmacht is pronounced Vehrmacht
What a nonsense. The w in Wehrmacht is pronounced like every w in English, German, Dutch. Weermacht (🇳🇱), Wehrmacht (🇩🇪), why (🇬🇧). I live in the German speaking part from Belgium so I know. I learned German from my German grandmother and in school and her brothers w(!)ere in the W(!)ehrmacht. The w is pronounced as a .... w.
We owe Barnes Wallis and our allies the British alot.
yes, you have many more whatnot that only few have heard about
🇺🇸
The technical name for a subterranean cavity, not breaching the surface, caused by an underground explosion is a "camouflet". These were first encountered during mining operations on the Western Front, and when digging down for UXB's during the Blitz. Full of carbon monoxide, they were lethal to tunnelling troops or sappers, if they dug into or down to, such a void. Barnes Wallace also designed the Warwick bomber, effectively a stretched Wellington with additional wingspan, it was not used for it's intended purpose as the 4 engined heavies were a better prospect. Warwicks were used, however, extensively for air-sea rescue, as their high aspect ratio wings, much like those of the Liberator, gave it a pretty formidable range.
Interesting. Thanks for the info
Professor Wallace had quite the mind for bomb making.
The "Gate Guardian" at Scampton (Just Jane, now being restored at East Kirkby) was accompanied by a "Grand Slam" bomb.
The story goes, the workmen found that the bomb was not de-activated
Just Jane is now fully restored and does regular taxi runs at East Kirkby. They also have a running Mosquito.
@@stevecutler3940 No she isn't. OK she does taxi runs in the summer but there is still work to be done to restore her to airworthy condition
@@g8ymw I know the dream is to get her flying again but the reality is that the cost of getting an air worthness certificate and being able to stock enough spares to keep her flying would be astronomical. Currently 1000's come to see her taxi and tail up which makes far more money to keep the museum operating than they would ever make from flights. Same with the Mossy - to get it flying they would have to replace the last of the original fuselage which would then mean it was just a replica with no original structure.
Barnes Wallis? Designed the Wellington bomber, Upkeep and Highball bouncing bombs, Tallboy amd Grand Slam, amongst numerous other developments. Clever bloke.
The Tall Boy should have been used during the battle in major pacific campaigns in 1945 which could have spared hundreds of thousands of Marines by crashing through all the network tunnels the Japanese had - which ship bombardments had very little effect.
These giant bombs saved aircrew lives and possibly civilians too as conventional bombs did less damage often requiring multiple raids which damage could be repaired quickly, also as they fell over a wide area lots of noninteded areas were hit. The earth quake bombs Wallis developed only needed a near miss and destroyed or took longer to fix ie rail lines or bridges.
Barnes Wallis was a Brunel of his time - at the start of the London Blitz his wife's sister & hubby were tragically killed and on hearing this Wallis and his wife drove down in their old car to pick up the orphaned two boys who they immediately adopted - I'm sure this is something that played out often through WW2 however that this was done immediately without debate or protracted deliberation was a credit to the integrity of the society and people of that time.