A bomb is a container filled with an explosive, incendiary matter, or gas that can be dropped, hurled, or set in place to be detonated by an attached exploding device. It may range in design from a homemade device used by terrorists, assassins, or clandestine raiders to a sophisticated weapon of war. The original bomb, an ancestor of the hand-thrown GRENADE, was a simple container filled with black powder (see
GUNPOWDER), which was set off by a fuse lit by the thrower. In the 16th century, the Dutch invented a more sophisticated version, the
MORTAR bomb, a round iron container filled with black powder that was set off when a fuse was ignited by the detonation of a propelling charge in the base of the mortar tube. By varying the length of the fuse, the bomb's time of detonation could be adjusted; thus, a bomb could burst in air. These bombs were predecessors of the ARTILLERY shell fired from a field gun with rifled bore. In the 20th century the aerial bomb became the most important adaptation of the weapon. Its construction is similar to that of the artillery shell. The conventional aerial bomb consists of an explosive or chemical agent in a container, one or several fuse-and-igniter mechanisms, and external fins for directional stability. Bombs dropped from high-performance aircraft have an advanced aerodynamic shape.
The ultimate category of bomb is that utilizing nuclear material as the explosive ingredients--the
ATOMIC BOMB, HYDROGEN BOMB, and the NEUTRON BOMB. 20th-Century Military
Use The advent of the airplane in warfare led to the development of new types of bombs. The first massive aerial bombing took place in 1915 when
German zeppelins carrying more than two tons of bombs began dropping "terror from the skies" on the British Isles. In the early stages of World War
I, airplane pilots had their hands full just flying, and bombing was relegated to observers who merely tossed small bombs over the side. Aircraft engineering advanced, however, so that by 1918 multiengine bombers had become a reality and
450-kg (1,000-lb) bombs were in production.
The next major step in the development of aerial bombing took place on July 21, 1921. Gen. Billy
MITCHELL, a champion of military airpower, was finally allowed to test his theory that aircraft carrying bombs could sink major naval units, a theory that naval officials had considered ridiculous. On that date, in the first of three such demonstrations, the captured German dreadnought Ostfriesland was sunk in minutes by
U.S. Army Air Corps bombers dropping 900-kg
(2,000-lb) bombs. Warfare had been revolutionized; seapower was in jeopardy. During
World War II, aerial bombardment was perfected. Massive raids, first by Germany and then by the Allies, demonstrated the devastating power of the conventional aerial bomb.
Aerial bombardment was developed by the Germans as a method of spreading material desolation and fear, breaking down the morale of civilians and soldiers alike. Marc Bloch considered air attacks to be far more effective, and more
...et. If a bomb hit anywhere near a target, it was good luck over anything else. Towards the end of the war, aircraft that would be recognized as long-range bombers had been created. More larger than fighters, and way less maneuverable, their task was simple to carry toward a target as many bombs necessary and to drop them on the certain target with a degree of accuracy. The Germans had produced the Gotha bomber while the British had developed the Handley Page bomber. Even though the deliberate targeting of civilians wasn't a new military tactic, bombers made an aerial attack possible. Airplanes could also attack even a nation’s means of war production, mostly factories. Such an idea would have been impossible in 1914, but by 1918, it was a reality.
Bombers have been around since the start of the 20th century during World War I. However, strategic bombings became more popular and used form World War II on. The bomber plane had evolved since World War I. Many bomber planes that were bi-planes, meaning the plane had two main wings on both sides instead of one. They also used dual engines. The Germans, however, used the zeppelins which were big targets for fighter planes and the design was not continued after the war.
Strategic bombing is considered one necessity for a nation’s air force to visualize air supremacy during World War I and World War II. Strategic bombing is defined as “striking deep into enemy territory to destroy war-making capabilities.”
As World War 2, came to a close, The United States unleashed a secret atomic weapon upon the enemy nation of Japan that was quickly recognized as the most powerful wartime weapon in human history. They completely destroyed the entire Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and essentially vaporized countless innocent Japanese lives. Some historians believe that it was a foolish, brutal decision to use the atomic bomb on a weakened Japan, and that the civilians of the country did not deserve that kind of mass-annihilation. On the opposite side, other historians assert that dropping the bomb saved countless American and Japanese lives by ending the war faster than a regular invasion would have. What is undisputed is that this sad event dramatically changed the course of human history.
Atomic Bomb The use of the atomic bombs on Japan was necessary for the revenge of the Americans. These bombs took years to make due to a problematic equation. The impact of the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of people and the radiation is still killing people today. People today still wonder why the bombs were dropped. If these bombs weren’t dropped on the Japanese the history of the world would have been changed forever. The Atomic bomb took 6 years to develop (1939-1945) for scientists to work on a equation to make the U-235 into a bomb. The most complicated process in this was trying to produce enough uranium to sustain a chain reaction. The bombs used on the cities cost about $2 billion to develop, this also making the U.S. wanting to use them against Japan. “Hiroshima was a major military target and we have spent 2 billion dollars on the greatest scientific gamble in history- and won.” (3) The bomb dropped on Hiroshima weighted 4.5 tons and the bomb used on Nagasaki weighted 10 kilotons. On July 16, 1945, the first ever atomic bomb was tested in the Jamez Mountains in Northern New Mexico, code named “Gadget.” The single weapon ultimately dropped on Hiroshima, nicknamed “Little Boy,” produced the amount of approximately twenty- thousand tons of TNT, which is roughly seven times greater than all of the bombs dropped by all the allies on all of Germany in 1942. The first Japanese City bomb was Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. An American B-29 bomber, named Enola Gay, flown by the pilot Paul W. Tibbets, dropped the “Little Boy” uranium atomic bomb. Three days later a second bomb named ”Fat Boy,” made of plutonium was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. After being released, it took approximately one minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion, which was about 2,000 feet. The impact of the bombs on the cities and people was massive. Black rain containing large amounts of nuclear fallout fell as much as 30km from the original blast site. A mushroom cloud rose to twenty thousand feet in the air, and sixty percent of the city was destroyed. The shock wave and its reverse effect reached speeds close to those of the speed of sound. The wind generated by the bombs destroyed most of the houses and buildings within a 1.
Before the war, airplanes were flimsy, lightweight, and slow, most with a top speed of less than 100 miles per hour. After the war, the planes speed had doubled, and they were no longer the flimsy, wooden crafts they once were. Throughout the course of the war, the planes got steadily better. The largest of the war was created by Germany. It was called the “Giant”, and had a wingspan of 138 feet and was powered by four engines. It had a range of 500 miles, and a bomb-load capacity of 4400 pounds. Other than bombing, the main use for planes was in dogfights. Each plane had a mounted machine gun that fired in between the propeller blades, and the goal was to shoot down enemy planes with it. Much of the momentum of the war on the ground was decided by the battles in the
The bombers were also fitted with 2 dummy wooden machine gun barrels to save weight but in hope to discourage enemy fighter attacks from the direction of the point. On April 18, 1942 at 8:20 am Jimmy Doolittle was the first to take off with the timing of the waves just right so as the wave came and lifted the ship up it pushed the plane into the air. The bombing took no more than 30 seconds and the planes having almost no signs of damage. Everything was going smoothly until they were flying back to
They had guns attached and some of the bigger bombers( b-16’s, b-29’s) could also carry many troops. The most effective airplanes from the U.S. were the b-16 bombers that flew day and night raids over germany and took out many ships and manufacturing plants with ease. They could carry several hundred pounds of explosives along with ammunition and supplies. Near the end of the war, the b-29 bomber was developed to aid in the destruction of Japan. The most famous of these was the Enola Gay, which carried the first Atomic bomb that was dropped on Japan. Only of few of these were made as the war was nearly over and they planes were very expensive to
The Royal Air Force (RAF) provided the first successful display of air power in a defensive and offensive strategy. In the fall of 1940, the Battle of Britain was the first airpower only operation. The German objective was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) by attacking military and civilian targets in and around the United Kingdom. The RAF defense of the homeland by tactical aircraft and ground anti-air weapons slowed German aggression. The success of the offensive strategic bombing of Berlin caused Adolf Hitler and the Luftwaffe to shift air resources to protect Germany. The combination of tactical defense and strategic bombing enabled the RAF’s defense of Britain; this was one of the first successful air operations of WW2.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks on the Empire of Japan during WW2. At the start of the WW2 the atomic bomb was not yet invented. It all started much back in 1942 when more than 100,000 scientists of the Manhattan Project had been working on the atomic bomb’s development. The first bomb was named "Little Boy" and the
World War II, which took place from 1939 until 1945, is the most destructive war in terms of destruction and lives lost in all history. At the end of World War II, America made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan to end the war quickly, and this has been a very controversial issue ever since. After the fact, many questioned the decision made by American military leaders, wondering if they had well enough considered the Nuclear Era they would bring about by dropping the atomic bombs. In discussions of dropping the atomic bombs to end World War II, one controversial issue has been whether the United States was morally justified, and there are two basic schools of thoughts in this debate. On the one hand, some argue that dropping the bombs on cities, therefore targeting civilians, makes the bombs morally wrong. On the other hand, some contend that dropping the bombs to end the war quickly saved hundreds of thousands of American lives and therefore was morally justified. My own view is that dropping the bombs was the best decision for America to make with the information that they had at that time and the enormous number of lives that were saved.
The nuclear bomb was the most devastating weapon ever created by man. It was developed between 1942 and 1945 during the second World War. The project to build the worlds first atomic weapon was called The Manhattan Project. The nuclear bomb was based on the idea of splitting an atom to create energy, this is called fission. Three bombs were created, “Trinity”, “Little Boy”, and “Fat Man”. “Trinity” was dropped on a test site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, proving the theories, engineering and mathematics of the bomb to be correct. Shortly after that, not more than 2 months, the U.S. performed the first actual nuclear attack in the history of war. The bomb “Little Boy” was dropped on the town of Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands. “Fat Man” was dropped shortly after on the town of Nagasaki. After the bombing almost all scientist involved with the creation of the bomb regretted its construction and spoke out against the abolishment of nuclear weapons.
What is an atomic bomb and what does it do. The atomic bomb is a huge nuclear bomb that destroys everything in its path. The atomic bomb has another name which is Nuclear bomb or nuke. The first atomic bomb dropped in WW2 was by a B-29 bomber on August 6, 1945. This bomb was dropped on a city in Japan called Hiroshima. When this bomb was dropped, it killed around 80,000 people. About three days later, another B-29 bomber dropped a bomb in the town of Nagasaki and it killed close to 40,000 people. This is only the ending of one of the worst wars in American History.
An August 9th The second nuclear weapon of all time was released upon the Japanese city of Nagasaki. The plane that dropped the nuclear weapon was a B-29 bomber. The name of the plane was called Bockscar. “The plane was piloted by Major Charles Sweeny.”(Kelly, Cynthia page 1)”.”The engineer that made the bomb was Dr. Frederick Ashworth” (Kelly Cynthia page 1). The atomic bomb was called “Fat Man”. The bomb was 10 feet tall and weighed 10,800 lbs. The