Charlotte Brockmann
During World War II, Sir Barnes Wallis engineered a very special bomb that was able to bounce across water and destroy German dams along the Ruhr Valley. These bombs would cause massive flooding and damage to water and hydroelectricity supplies. During the war, Wallis was trying to find a bomb that would create the most damage to the dams. He realized that using a bunch of small bombs wouldn't work. The German dams were protected by torpedo nets in front of them. Wallis figured that to create the most damage possible, he would have to detonate a bomb right against the wall 30 feet below the surface of the water. Since dropping a bomb at a high altitude would not be effective to create the damage, the idea of the having it bounce across the water was thought of.
In Wallis' experiments, he concluded that the bomb would need to be spinning to bounce. The bomb would need a backspin. The bomb would need to hit the water at just the right amount of pressure so it wouldn't prematurely detonate. To create the spin, the bomb would need to be delivered from a manageable height. 60 feet above ground is low already but to create the backspin on the bomb, the plane would have to fly lower and faster. Since Wallis had experimented with golf balls and marbles, he knew the bomb had to be spherical. But he found out that the casing on the spherical bombs would break on impact, Wallis decided that a cylinder bomb would be just as effective. Wallis had also found, during his experiments, that the bomb would have to detonate just before the dam. The backspin of the bomb would aid with stopping right before the dam.
During his experiments, Wallis needed to measure the right amount of explosive to use in the bombs. He did small tests on models and eventually worked up the amount of explosive to be able to damage a 120 feet high dam. The bomb would ideally be loaded with 40 tonnes of explosive but one plane would only be able to carry four tonnes, so precision with the bomb was crucial.
During World War II, Sir Barnes Wallis engineered a very special bomb that was able to bounce across water and destroy German dams along the Ruhr Valley. These bombs would cause massive flooding and damage to water and hydroelectricity supplies. During the war, Wallis was trying to find a bomb that would create the most damage to the dams. He realized that using a bunch of small bombs wouldn't work. The German dams were protected by torpedo nets in front of them. Wallis figured that to create the most damage possible, he would have to detonate a bomb right against the wall 30 feet below the surface of the water. Since dropping a bomb at a high altitude would not be effective to create the damage, the idea of the having it bounce across the water was thought of.
In Wallis' experiments, he concluded that the bomb would need to be spinning to bounce. The bomb would need a backspin. The bomb would need to hit the water at just the right amount of pressure so it wouldn't prematurely detonate. To create the spin, the bomb would need to be delivered from a manageable height. 60 feet above ground is low already but to create the backspin on the bomb, the plane would have to fly lower and faster. Since Wallis had experimented with golf balls and marbles, he knew the bomb had to be spherical. But he found out that the casing on the spherical bombs would break on impact, Wallis decided that a cylinder bomb would be just as effective. Wallis had also found, during his experiments, that the bomb would have to detonate just before the dam. The backspin of the bomb would aid with stopping right before the dam.
During his experiments, Wallis needed to measure the right amount of explosive to use in the bombs. He did small tests on models and eventually worked up the amount of explosive to be able to damage a 120 feet high dam. The bomb would ideally be loaded with 40 tonnes of explosive but one plane would only be able to carry four tonnes, so precision with the bomb was crucial.
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