GrandPoobah
Posts: 120
Joined: 11/20/2008
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ashjor911
why are they sitting on that "huge" bomb..?
I mean is it safe to sit on it..?
Short answer: Yes, it's safe.
Although the story doesn't say so, it's likely the bomb is simply an empty shell. However, that said, unless there is a fuse attached, which was one of the last things done before a plane left on a raid, a bomb is almost impossible to ignite. There are many cases of bombs "burning" when a plane caught fire...but never "exploding." Most bombs, although this was not a "typical bomb" contain a little explosive and a bunch of "iron" which will fragment upon detonation, causing a storm of jagged metal parts to fly everywhere. Without a proper fuse, the explosive will usually just "burn"....not unlike burning very dry wood. Seems odd, but it's true.
The bomb in question is actually a blast bomb, which means it was designed to cause damage not by spreading shrapnel, but by creating a concussive wave of air pressure that would simple "knock everything down." They were originally called "block busters" but as they increased in size, they were (jokingly) called "City Busters." Much like the nuclear weapons that followed them they did their greatest damage through the power of the blast...knocking everything but the most heavy structures to the ground. There is a non-nuclear weapon currently in many forces called a "Fuel Air explosive" bomb. It is actually very light weight, and consists mainly of a tank of "gas" usually something like propane or an alcohol mix. When they are dropped, the bomb distributes the fuel as a massive cloud of gas...and then a detonator sets it off...creating a hellish blast but no shrapnel at all. Of course, everything in the area is pulverized, so the buildings and vehicles and anything else in the blast zone becomes it's own shrapnel...and they're really nasty.
Too much info, I know...but the simple answer is, nope, those folks are perfectly safe, even if the casing is full of explosive.
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Modern crew in WWII kit... - 
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