When Was Forest Again Bomb Dropped
| BLU-82B/C-130 | |
|---|---|
 A xv,000 lb BLU-82/B on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force | |
| Blazon | Air to surface conventional bomb[1] (Parachute Retarded) |
| Identify of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| Wars | Vietnam and in Afghanistan |
| Production history | |
| No. built | 225[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | xv,000 lb (6,800 kg)[1] |
| Length | 141.6 in (360 cm)[1] |
| Diameter | 56 in (140 cm)[1] |
| | |
| Filling | GSX Slurry |
| Filling weight | 12,600 lb (5,700 kg)[1] |
An MC-130E from the 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing, drops the last operational BLU-82 flop at the Utah Test and Training Range on July xv, 2008.
Detonation of the last BLU-82
The BLU-82B/C-130 weapon organisation, known under program "Commando Vault" and nicknamed "Daisy Cutter" in Vietnam for its ability to flatten a section of forest into a helicopter landing zone, is an American 15,000-pound (6,800 kg) conventional bomb, delivered from either a C-130 or MC-130 send shipping or a CH-54 heavy-lift "SkyCrane" helicopter from the 1st Air Cavalry. A total of 225 were synthetic.[2] It was successfully used during armed forces operations in Vietnam, the Gulf War and Afghanistan. The BLU-82 was retired in 2008 and replaced with the more powerful GBU-43/B MOAB.
Overview [edit]
The designation "BLU" stands for Flop Live Unit, as opposed to "BDU" (Bomb Dummy Units) used for practice. Originally designed to create an instant clearing in the jungles of Vietnam, the BLU-82B/C-130 was test-dropped in that location from a CH-54 Tarhe "Flying crane" helicopter. After it was used in Afghanistan as an anti-personnel weapon and equally an intimidation weapon because of its very large boom radius (variously reported as 300 to 900 feet/100 to 300 meters) combined with a visible wink and audible sound at long distances. It is one of the largest conventional weapons ever used, outweighed only past a few earthquake bombs, thermobaric bombs, and demolition (bunker buster) bombs. Some of these include the Grand Slam and T12 earthquake bombs of late World State of war II, and more currently, the Russian Air Strength FOAB and USAF GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Boom flop, and the Massive Ordnance Penetrator.
Specifications [edit]
The BLU-82 uses ammonium nitrate and aluminium (cf. ammonal).[3] The warhead contains 12,600 pounds (v,700 kg) of low-cost GSX slurry (ammonium nitrate, aluminium powder and polystyrene).
The Daisy Cutter has sometimes been incorrectly reported equally a fuel-air explosive device (FAE). FAE devices consist of a flammable liquid, gas, or pulverisation and a dispersing mechanism, and take their oxidizers from the oxygen in the air. FAEs by and large run between 500 and 2,000 pounds (225 and 900 kg). Making an FAE the size of a Daisy Cutter would exist hard because the correct uniform mixture of the flammable agent with the ambient air would be difficult to maintain if the agent were so widely dispersed. A conventional explosive is much more reliable in that regard, particularly if at that place is significant air current or thermal gradient.
The BLU-82 produces an overpressure of one,000 pounds per foursquare inch (six,900 kPa) nearly basis zero, tapering off as distance increases. It is detonated but above ground past a 38-inch (970 mm) fuze extender. This results in a maximum destruction at ground level without earthworks a crater.
Guidance [edit]
This system depends upon the accurate positioning of the aircraft by either a fixed ground radar or on-board navigation equipment. The basis radar controller, or aircrew navigator if applicable, is responsible for positioning the aircraft prior to last inaugural and release. Primary aircrew considerations include accurate ballistic and current of air computations provided by the navigator, and precision instrument flying with strict adherence to controller instructions. Due to its extremely powerful blast effects, the minimum rubber altitude for releasing this weapon is half-dozen,000 feet (ane,800 thousand) above ground level (AGL).
Operations [edit]
The BLU-82 was originally designed to clear helicopter landing zones and artillery emplacements in Vietnam.[iv] The offset use of a BLU-82 occurred on 22 March 1970, when ane was dropped north of Long Tieng, Lao people's democratic republic during Campaign 139.[5]
During Operation Lam Son 719 in 1971 25 BLU-82 bombs were dropped on NVA and Pathet Lao forces in Lao people's democratic republic. They were dropped by U.S. C-130 aircraft non only to clear landing zones, but likewise to strike against specific targets such as warehouses, vehicle parks, and enemy troop concentrations.[half dozen]
South Vietnamese VNAF aircraft dropped BLU-82 bombs on NVA positions in desperation to support ARVN troops in the Battle of Xuân Lộc in the last days of the Vietnam State of war. During the Mayaguez incident, a Lockheed MC-130 dropped i BLU-82 to assist U.S. Marine forces attempting to extract themselves from Koh Tang island.[7]
Eleven BLU-82Bs were palletized and dropped in five night missions during the 1991 Gulf War,[eight] all from Special Operations MC-130 Combat Talons.[9] The initial drop tested the ability of the bomb to clear or alienation mine fields;[10] however, no reliable assessments of mine clearing effectiveness are publicly available. Afterwards, bombs were dropped as much for their psychological issue as for their anti-personnel furnishings.[11] Due to the size of the conventional smash, a British SAS unit that witnessed the explosion mistakenly assumed the U.S. had used a nuclear weapon and radioed back to their headquarters exclaiming, "Sir, the blokes have only nuked Kuwait!".[12]
The U.S. Air Strength dropped several BLU-82s during the campaign to destroy Taliban and al-Qaeda bases in Afghanistan to assault and demoralize personnel and to destroy cave complexes.[9] American forces began using the flop in November 2001[13] and once again a calendar month later during the Battle of Tora Bora.[14] On 15 July 2008, airmen from the Duke Field 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special Operations Wing dropped the last operational BLU-82 at the Utah Test and Preparation Range.[15]
See besides [edit]
- Grand-121 (bomb)
- Thermobaric weapon
References [edit]
- ^ a b c d east f Evans, Nicholas D. (2004). Military Gadgets: How Advanced Engineering is Transforming Today'due south Battlefield-- and Tomorrow'southward. FT Printing. p. 90. ISBN978-0-xiii-144021-0 . Retrieved thirteen April 2017.
- ^ London, U.K.: Aeroplane, Fricker, John, Crosswind, October 2006, Volume 34, Number x, No. 402, page 120.
- ^ Contained Online, Taliban downs US chopper, killing four, Nov 6, 2001
- ^ "Flop Live Unit (BLU-82/B)".
- ^ Conboy, Kenneth and James Morrison (1995). Shadow State of war: The CIA's Secret State of war in Laos. Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-825-0, p. 256.
- ^ Hinh, Nguyen Duy. "Lam Son 719" (PDF). page 133. U.S. Army Centre of Military History. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ Grandolini, Albert. "Kingdom of cambodia, Part Two; 1954–1999". ACIG.org. Retrieved 6 Feb 2013.
- ^ "C-130s drib 15,000-pound bombs on Iraqis WAR IN THE GULF". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Feb 12, 1991. Retrieved 2017-09-08 .
- ^ a b State highway, John. "BLU-82B." Federation of American Scientists, 24 March 2004.
- ^ Craib, J. A. "Occasional Paper Series 1: Survey of Mine Clearance Technology." BARIC (Consultants) Ltd., September 1994.
- ^ Wolfowitz, Paul; Stufflebeem, John D. "September eleven, 2001: Attack on America Archived September 7, 2006, at the Wayback Auto." Department of Defense News Briefing, 10 December 2001.
- ^ "Secret Warriors". Newsweek. 1991-06-16. Retrieved 2017-09-08 .
- ^ U.S. using mammoth 'Daisy Cutter' flop
- ^ Daisy-cutter deployed afterward bin Laden sighting
- ^ Nichols, Patrick (Helm, 919th Operations Group). "Knuckles Field Airmen Drib Last 15,000-Pound Bomb." Air Forcefulness Link (U.S. Air Force), 21 July 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2016
External links [edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to BLU-82. |
- "Bomb Live Unit (BLU-82/B)." U.S. Air Force National Museum.
- Pike, John. "BLU-82B." Federation of American Scientists, 24 March 2004.
- "Daisy Cutter." 3D Blithe Brusk Film by Enrique Garcia & Ruben Salazar ( SILVERSPACE ).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BLU-82
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