VB-13 Tarzon

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VB-13 Tarzon


VB-13 Tarzon / ASM-A-1

General Information
Type: guided free fall bomb
Country of origin: United States
Manufacturer: Bell Aircraft Corporation
Development: 1945
Commissioning: 1948
Working time: 1950-1951
Technical specifications
Combat weight: 5889 kg
Length: 6400 mm
Diameter: 1370 mm
Furnishing
Warhead: 5400 kg (2400 kg RDX )
Steering: manually
Weapon platforms: Boeing B-29
Convair B-36
List of bombs by country of origin

The VB-13 Tarzon , built by Bell Aircraft Corporation , is the last and heaviest guided bomb from the Vertical Bomb series, which was developed during World War II . In 1948 it was named ASM-A-1 and is still one of the heaviest bombs ever used in a war.

History and technology

During the Second World War, the British armed forces had developed the Tallboy . This 5400 kg free fall bomb was mainly used against bunkers. In America people were interested in the Tallboy and obtained a license to build it. Since the VB-3 Razon and VB-4 Razon had proven themselves, the Tallboy should be converted in the same way. For this purpose, a circular tail unit was attached around the middle section of the Tallboy. In turn, an octagonal tail unit with electro-hydraulically operated control surfaces was attached to the tail section. A flare was placed above it so that the bombardier could follow the flight path over the northern aiming device . The flight path could be corrected using a joystick that was electronically connected to a radio antenna. The development of the VB-13 Tarzon ( Ta llboy R ange and az imuth on ly) proceeded only slowly, so that the Tarzon was only ready for use after the end of the Second World War.

The Tarzon was used for the first time in the Korean War with the 19th Bombardment Group , a squadron that was exclusively equipped with Boeing B-29 Superfortress. For this purpose, three B-29s were modified so that they could each accommodate a VB-13. These three bombers included the B-29 named Lucifer (ten drops), Raz'n Hell, and Southern Comfort . When the Korean War broke out, the US Air Force was still planning to put about 1000 VB-13 Tarzon into service. During the war, bridges, industrial complexes and power plants were bombed with the Tarzon. On March 29, 1951, the pilots of the 19th and 397th Bomber Group received orders to destroy several bridges in the city of Sinŭiju that spanned the Yalu River . With spring on the Korean Peninsula and the ice thawing on the rivers, the North Korean and allied Chinese forces could now only cross the rivers on bridges. Since the bridge in Sinŭiju was the only one that had not yet been destroyed, it was considered the primary target. All three B-29s took off from Okinawa, but shortly after take-off one of the bombers reported engine problems and turned back. The two remaining B-29s, including the Southern Comfort with the Commander of the 19th Bombardment Group, Col. Payne Jennings Jr., flew on. But the Southern Comfort also had engine problems and quickly lost altitude and speed. In her last radio message she announced the intention to drop the Tarzon over the China Sea in order to make the plane lighter and to be able to return to Okinawa. The Southern Comfort never arrived in Okinawa, despite a SAR mission only wreckage could be recovered. Col. Jennings and eleven other crew members were killed in the crash. The last of the three B-29s reached the target area, but the Tarzon missed the targeted bridge.

In the investigation report on the cause of the crash it was found that the Southern Comfort had tried to drop the Tazon at low altitude above the sea. This succeeded, but the Tazon was unintentionally armed due to a faulty cable on the ignition mechanism and exploded on impact with the water surface. The low-flying Southern Comfort was destroyed by the pressure of the explosion . To prevent this in the future, the ignition mechanism was revised and the bomber crews prohibited from dropping the Tarzon below an altitude of 5000 feet (1500 m). Another B-29 named Miss NC (North Carolina) was converted after the loss of the Southern Comfort . However, the Tarzon was not used again, which was also due to the resistance of the bomber units. In addition to technical problems, they justified the refusal with the fact that the Tarzon could only be used during the day and in good weather. The drop height was also within the range of the enemy flak. In addition, the increasing number of contacts with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 , a day-only fighter, played a role. Shortly thereafter, construction of the new Tarzon was stopped and it was retired.

After the Korean War, there was research into the reliability and accuracy of the VB-13. There it was found that in the 30 Tarzon missions - i.e. drops under combat conditions - 16 Tarzon were not controllable after the drop, the flare did not work in 13 others and five others did not have a stable trajectory. Only after six drops could the Tarzon destroy the target.

Web links

Commons : VB-13 Tarzon  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Steadfast and Courageous: FEAF Bomber Command and the Air War in Korea 1950-1953. Air Force Historical Studies, 2000, pp. 33-34.
  2. ^ Paul G. Gillespie: Weapons of Choise - The Development of Precision Guided Munitions. The University of Alabama Press, 2006, pp. 58-60.