AN-M47

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AN-M47


AN-M47 PWP

General Information
Designation: AN-M47
Type: Aerial bomb
Country of origin: United States
Manufacturer: Chemical Warfare Service, Ordnance Department
Development: Chemical Warfare Service
Commissioning: 1930s
Technical specifications
Combat weight: 31-45 kg
Length: 1.31 m
Diameter: 206 mm
Detonator: Impact fuse
Filling :

Incendiary agents or
mustard gas

Lists on the subject

The AN-M47 was an American aerial bomb that was produced and used during World War II .

development

The AN-M47 was developed by the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) in the 1930s as an aerial bomb for chemical warfare agents . Of these bombs filled with the warfare agent mustard gas (bis (2-chloroethyl) sulfide), 539,727 were produced during this period. After filling the first batches , it was discovered that some of the thin-walled bombs leaked and the warfare agent leaked. The empty bomb covers were then stored in the Pine Bluff Arsenal and the Edgewood Arsenal , where they should be filled with the warfare agent if necessary. In 1940 the United States Army Air Forces contacted the Chemical Warfare Service in search of an aerial bomb for liquid incendiary agents . This provided the USAAF with the empty AN-M47 bomb casings, which were available in large numbers. After the first positive tests with AN-M47 bombs filled with white phosphorus , another 3.5 million AN-M47 bombs were produced for the United States Air Force.

technology

The bomb had a cylindrical elongated hull shape with a circular cross-section. The thin-walled bomb shell consisted of folded and welded metal sheets and had a hemispherical nose. Four stabilizing surfaces were attached to the stern. The bomb had a blue-gray basic color. Two green stripes marked the bombs filled with mustard gas. The white phosphorus bombs were marked with a yellow stripe. A purple stripe marked the remaining bombs filled with incendiary material. The bomb was 1.31 m long, had a diameter of 206 mm and weighed 9.1–13.2 kg empty, depending on the version. In the middle of the circular bomb body was a central tube with the M4 tear-open and ignition charge. This consisted of 453 g tetryl with 50% magnesium admixture .

The M108 or M126 inertial impact detonators were used as head detonators for the bomb . These were screwed onto the M4 charge at the bomb nose. When it was released, the safety line on the detonator was pulled out and the detonator was sharpened by the wind turbine . On impact, the detonator detonated and ignited the ripping and igniting charge. When it exploded, the liquid bomb filling was ignited and sprayed in a radius of 15 to 20 m. Depending on the type, the incendiary charge burned for 5–10 minutes at a fire temperature of 800–1,600 ° C. If the AN-M47 bomb was filled with mustard gas, the detonation of the tear-open charge sprayed the liquid warfare agent onto an area of ​​600 to 700 m². When the AN-M47 was dropped from an altitude of 7,620 m (25,000  feet ), it had a velocity of around 251 m / s on impact. From this drop height, the AN-M47A1 was able to penetrate 12.7 cm of reinforced concrete . It often happened, however, that the heavy central tube with the detonator was torn out of the wall when it hit the ground. Since the M108 detonator did not react quickly enough, the central tube was sunk into the ground while the bomb body remained on the surface. This deficiency could be remedied with the introduction of better detonators.

The AN-M47 bombs could be tied together to form loose bomb packages with braids . Most often, a so-called M35 / T19 cluster adapter was created from 3–6 bombs . With the help of these adapters, a B-29 Superfortress bomber could be loaded with up to 184 AN-M47 bombs.

The thin-walled bombs were due to corrosion and manufacturing defects z. Sometimes leaking, so that the liquid bomb filling leaked into the depots. This was particularly problematic with the bombs filled with phosphorus, since the phosphorus could ignite on contact with air. Despite the impregnation of the inside of the bomb and the reinforcement of the bomb casing, this deficiency could only be remedied with the AN-M47A4 version.

variants

  • AN-M47 with a bomb cover with 0.8 mm wall thickness:
    • AN-M47 H
    • AN-M47 IM
    • AN-M47 NP
    • AN-M47 CR
    • AN-M47 SR
  • AN-M47A1 with a 1.6 mm thick bomb cover and M126 detonator:
    • AN-M47A1 H.
    • AN-M47A1 WP
    • AN-M47A1 IM
    • AN-M47A1 NP
  • AN-M47A2 with a bomb cover with 1.6 mm wall thickness and an oil paint on the inner wall of the bomb cover:
    • AN-M47A2 H.
    • AN-M47A2 WP
    • AN-M47A2 IM
    • AN-M47A2 NP
  • AN-M47A3 with an impregnation layer on the inside of the bomb, introduced in late 1944:
    • AN-M47A3 NP
    • AN-M47A3 IM
    • AN-M47A3 PWP
  • AN-M47A4 , with reinforced hangers and M159 detonator, manufactured after World War II:
    • AN-M47A4 WP
    • AN-M47A4 PWP
    • AN-M47A4 IM
    • AN-M47A4 NP
    • AN-M47A4 PT1

Fillings:

commitment

An AN-M47 phosphor bomb used in the
Vietnam War in 1966

In the early 1940s, the AN-M47 incendiary bomb was used on a trial basis in Europe and the Asian theaters of war. The primary operating platforms were the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers (max. 42 AN-M47 bombs), B-24 Liberator (max. 52 AN-M47 bombs), B-25 Mitchell (depending on the type 20-30 AN- M47 bombs) and later the B-29 Superfortress (max. 184, normally 80 AN-M47 bombs). The first large-scale attack with AN-M47 bombs took place on 9 October 1943 the assembly plant of Focke-Wulf in Marienburg . The factory was almost completely destroyed by the bombs filled with napalm and phosphorus. The next use of the AN-M47 took place on October 14, 1943 during the air raid on the ball bearing works in Schweinfurt . Then the AN-M47 was used in the bombing raids on German cities. The bomb type was often used for target marking. The first large-scale attack with AN-M47 bombs on the Asian theater of war took place on February 11, 1945 during the bombing of Rangoon . After that, the bomb type was used in the destruction attacks on the Japanese cities of Osaka , Kobe , Yokohama , Tokyo and Nagoya . Between January and June 1945, over 10,598 tons of AN-M47 were dropped on Japanese cities.

The next use of the AN-M47 took place during the Korean War. There, the bomb type was used by the B-29 Superfortress bombers in area bombing of North Korean cities.

The last military service of the AN-M47 took place during the Vietnam War . There this type of bomb was primarily used for close air support and for target marking. The A-26 Invader (max. 20 AN-M47 bombs in the bomb bay ) and A-1 Skyraider were mainly used as deployment platforms . It was also used with the A-37 Dragonfly .

literature

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b How to Set Fire to an Enemy City. Accessed February 25, 2015.
  2. ^ A b c d Leo P. Brophy, Wyndham D. Miles, Rexmond C. Cochrane: The Chemical Warfare Service: From Labratory to Field , Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington DC, 1988
  3. ^ A b c d Joint Target Group: Study of Incendiary Bombings for Employment by the United States Army Air Forces , NARA-M1655, Washington DC October 1944.
  4. a b c War Department: Technical Manual TM 9-1904 Ammunition Inspection Guide , March 1944.
  5. ^ A b Department of the Army Technical Manual: Technical Manual TO 11-1-28 / TM 9-1325-200 Bombs & Bomb Components , Departments of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, April 1966.
  6. ^ A b Department of the Army Technical Manual: Technical Manual TM 3-400 Chemical Bombs & Clusters , Departments of the Army and the Air Force, May 1957.
  7. ^ Bomb, Chemical, 100-Pound M47 Series , Accessed Jan. 9, 2015.
  8. Graham Smith: Forward Filling Depots ( Memento of the original from January 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed January 9, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rhydymwynvalleyhistory.co.uk
  9. ^ Robert M. Neer: Napalm. 2013, p. 141.
  10. Firebombing Japan, Flying Magazine Oct. 1945, pages 64,94,98 , accessed November 11, 2014
  11. ^ The Army Air Force in the World War II, The Pacific: Matterhorn to Nagasaki June 1944 to August 1945 , accessed November 11, 2014
  12. ^ National Defense Research Committee (NDRC): Summary Technical Report of Division 11, Volume 3: Fire Warfare, Incendiaries and Flame Throwers , Washington DC 1946.
  13. Crane Conrad: American Airpower Strategy in Korea 1950–1953 , University Press of Kansas 2000.
  14. ^ Robert F. Dorr: B-29 Superfortress Units of the Korean War , Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-84176-654-2 .
  15. ^ Robert F. Dorr and Chris Bishop: Vietnam Air War Debrief: The Story of the Aircraft, the Battles, and the Pilots who Fought . Airtime Pub 1996, ISBN 1-874023-78-6
  16. Flug Revue - Aviation Classic 06/2015: Vietnam Warrior Cessna A-37 Dragonfly . Motor Presse Stuttgart GmbH., 2015