Aerosol bomb

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An aerosol bomb ( English Fuel-Air Explosive (FAE) or Fuel-Air Bomb ), colloquially also vacuum bomb or compressed air bomb , is a weapon whose effect is based on the ignition of a substance distributed as an aerosol without an oxidizing agent contained . Such weapons were developed in the USA and simultaneously in the Soviet Union in the 1960s , but the first attempts were made by the German Air Force during the Second World War . Mario Zippermayr is considered to be its inventor .

According to Geneva Protocol III on incendiary weapons of 1980, the use of such a system in the vicinity of civil infrastructure or even civilians is prohibited.

construction

An aerosol bomb consists of a container with a flammable, mostly hazardous substance, e.g. B. ethylene oxide , propylene oxide or decane . Two explosive charges are used for ignition : The first detonation disperses the fuel finely in the air, creating the aerosol . Thereafter, typically about 0.15  seconds later, the aerosol cloud is ignited. Modern versions of the aerosol bombs, however, now manage with one explosive charge, which is responsible for both distribution and ignition.

Major problems with the design of these weapons are establishing the correct ratio of air and fuel for deflagration , and the like. a. a precise design of the fuel tank, which then ensures an even distribution of the fuel in the air and the exact timing of the ignitions.

effect

An A-1E of the USAF with a BLU-72 / B-aerosol bomb in the Vietnam war

The pressure wave that occurs after ignition by the subsequent deflagration is much weaker than that of a comparable explosive such as TNT , but the deflagration takes place almost simultaneously in a ball with a diameter of 10 to 40 m. The fuel can penetrate into cave systems , bunkers or the like, which makes these weapons effective against fortified targets, against which conventional explosive devices are only effective to a limited extent due to the lack of pressure. In addition, the pressure effect lasts much longer than with a conventional explosive. In addition, aerosol bombs have a much stronger heat effect than conventional explosive charges. That makes this bomb more effective for killing people or destroying unarmored vehicles.

As a result of the deflagration, the “ vacuum effect ” occurs after the pressure wave , which gave this weapon its colloquial name, as is also the case with conventional chemical and nuclear explosives. Due to the relatively large fireball, however, the suction effect is much stronger compared to an equally strong conventional explosive charge. This is not a vacuum in the strict sense of the word, but a phase of negative pressure. The explosion removes oxygen from the air because the explosive device does not contain its own oxidizing agent, but instead uses the oxygen present in the air. More than one mole of reaction gases are produced per mole of oxygen consumed.

Asphyxiation is a common consequence of an aerosol bomb. The reason is not a lack of oxygen, but an injury to the lungs, a so-called barotrauma . The phase of negative pressure causes the air in the lungs to expand, which can lead to corresponding damage. The peculiarities of an aerosol bomb - long, relatively flat pressure wave with a correspondingly pronounced pressure drop, as well as the consumption of atmospheric oxygen - favor this effect.

In addition, the strong suction effect following the deflagration significantly increases the harmful effect of the bomb on buildings and vehicles.

The pressure effect over a large area also led to the development of systems that are supposed to clear mines with such a deflagration.

Thermobar weapons

Although both terms are often used synonymously, thermobaric weapons are different from aerosol bombs. In the case of a thermobaric weapon, in contrast to the aerosol bomb, a single explosive charge or explosion is sufficient to carry out both steps, the distribution of the aerosol and its ignition, at the same time. For this purpose, in addition to a "normal" explosion, a flammable substance with little or no oxidizing agent (e.g. oxygen) is distributed in the air, which is ignited immediately by the explosion. This reinforces the effect of the original explosion to achieve greater heat and pressure.

The initial pressure wave and the associated overpressure is followed by a phase in which the underpressure created by the explosion causes the surrounding air to flow back into the center of the explosion. The displaced and unexploded part of the flammable substance is sucked back again by the negative pressure, whereby - similar to water in a previously compressed sponge - it penetrates into all objects that are not airtight and burns them. Suffocation and internal damage to humans and animals are - even if they were outside the radius of the immediate cremation during the actual explosion, e.g. B. in deeper tunnels - the consequences, on the one hand due to the pressure waves and the oxygen deprivation, but now also due to the fireball, so to speak, "inhaled" by the objects themselves.

In 2007, a 7 t thermobaric bomb called the Father of All Bombs was tested in Russia , the explosive power of which was given as 44 t TNT equivalent , making it the most powerful conventional bomb in the world. It would even exceed the explosive power of the smallest atomic bombs ( W54 : from approx. 20 t TNT equivalent). The US's most powerful conventional bomb to date, the MOAB (often interpreted as the “mother of all bombs”), has a nominal explosive force of 11 tons of TNT equivalent, but weighs 9.5 tons and is as long as a pickup truck .

Web links

Wiktionary: Aerosol bomb  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Protocol on the prohibition or restriction of the use of incendiary weapons. The Federal Council (Switzerland), May 31, 2013; "It is forbidden under all circumstances to make the civilian population as such, individual civilians or civilian objects the target of attacks with incendiary weapons."
  2. ^ Carpet Mine Breaching System ( Memento from March 12, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  3. TOS-1
  4. Russia tests superstrength bomb: military . reuters.com (English)
  5. Russia is testing the "father of all bombs" . Mirror online