1.
Butterfly Bomb
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A Butterfly Bomb was a German 2 kilogram anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. It was so named because the thin cylindrical metal outer shell which hinged open when the bomblet deployed gave it the appearance of a large butterfly. The design was distinctive and easy to recognise. SD2 bomblets were not dropped individually, but were packed into containers holding between 6 and 108 submunitions e. g. the AB23 SD-2 and AB 250-3 submunition dispensers, the SD2 submunitions were released after the container was released from the aircraft and had burst open. Because SD2s were always dropped in groups the discovery of one unexploded SD2 was an indication that others had been dropped nearby. This bomb type was one of the first cluster bombs used in combat. The bomb containers that carried the SD2 bomblets and released them in the air were nicknamed the Devils Eggs by Luftwaffe air, the SD2 submunition was an 76-millimetre long cylinder of cast iron, which was slightly larger in diameter before its wings deployed. A steel cable 121 mm long was attached via a spindle to an aluminium fuze screwed into the pocket in the side of the bomblet. The outer shell was hinged and would open as two half-cylinders when it was dropped. Additionally, spring-loaded wings at the ends would flip out, the wings at the end were canted at an angle to the airflow, which turned the spindle anti-clockwise as the bomblet fell. After the spindle had revolved approximately 10 times it released a spring-loaded pin inside the fuze, the wings and arming spindle remained attached to the bomb after the fuze had armed itself, as the bomb descended towards the ground. Butterfly bombs contained the kleine Zündladung 34 booster and the explosive filling consisting of 225 grams of cast Füllpulver 60/40 explosive. The fragments were generally lethal to anyone within a radius of 10 metres, Butterfly bombs were usually painted either straw yellow, or, if fitted with the DoppZ or A fuze, dark green or grey. The Zeit setting will detonate the bomb in the air, approximately 5 seconds after being armed, the AZ setting triggers detonation when the bomb hits the ground. The fuze is armed if 4 screw threads at the base of the spindle are visible. This fuze is highly sensitive to disturbance if the switch is set to Zeit. The particular switch setting of any type 41 fuze is clearly visible on its exterior,67 fuze - clockwork time delay. Time of detonation can be set between 5 and 30 minutes after arming itself in the air and this fuze also has an external selector switch for impact detonation
2.
Fuze
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In military munitions, a fuze or fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder, the relative complexity of even the earliest fuze designs can be seen in cutaway diagrams. A fuze is a device that detonates an explosive material under specified conditions. In addition, a fuze will have safety and arming mechanisms that protect users from premature or accidental detonation, for example, an artillery fuzes battery is activated by the high acceleration of cannon launch, and the fuze must be spinning rapidly before it will function. Complete bore safety can be achieved with mechanical shutters that isolate the detonator from the charge until the shell is fired. A fuze may contain only the electronic or mechanical elements necessary to signal or actuate the detonator, Fuzes for large explosive charges may include an explosive booster. Professional publications about explosives and munitions distinguish the fuse and fuze spelling, the UK Ministry of Defence states, FUSE, Cord or tube for the transmission of flame or explosion usually consisting of cord or rope with gunpowder or high explosive spun into it. FUZE, A device with explosive components designed to initiate a main charge, oliver Hogg states the following about fuze, The word fuze is often spelt fuse by those unaquainted with artillery usage. Fuse, derived from fusus, the past participle of fundo, means to melt, fuze, on the other hand, is the shortened or modern method of spelling fuzee, meaning a tube filled with combustible material. It is a derivation of fusus, a spindle and from the French fusee and it is well to make this point at the outset. Historically, it was spelled with s or z. In the United States and some forces, fuze is used to denote a sophisticated ignition device incorporating mechanical and/or electronic components as opposed to a simple burning fuse. The situation of usage and the characteristics of the munition it is intended to affect the fuze design e. g. its safety. Artillery fuzes may be initiated by a mechanism, impact or detection of proximity to the target. Requirements for a hand grenade fuze are defined by the small size. This necessitates manual arming before throwing as the grenade has insufficient initial acceleration for arming to be driven by setback and these are also referred to as pistols. The main design consideration is that the projectile is large and accelerating vertically downwards, the main design consideration is that the bomb the fuze is intended to actuate is stationary, and the target itself is moving in making contact. Time fuzes detonate after a set period of time by using one or more combinations of mechanical, depending on the technology used, the device may self-destruct some seconds, minutes, hours, days, or even months after being deployed
3.
Plain of Jars
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The Plain of Jars is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys, the jars are mostly arranged in clusters ranging in number from one to several hundred. The Xieng Khouang Plateau is located at the end of the Annamese Cordillera. French researcher Madeleine Colani concluded in 1930 that the jars were associated with prehistoric burial practices, excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the jars. The Plain of Jars is dated to the Iron Age and is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Southeast Asia, more than 90 jar sites have been identified within Xiangkhouang Province. Each site has one to 400 stone jars. The jars vary in height and diameter between 1m and 3m and are all hewn from rock and their shape is cylindrical with the bottom always wider than the top. The stone jars are undecorated, with the exception of a jar at Site 1. This jar has a human frogman bas-relief carved on the exterior, parallels between the frogman and the rock painting at Huashan in Guangxi, China have been drawn. The bas-relief carvings are thought to depict monkeys, tigers and frogs, no in situ lid has ever been found. Stone discs have also been found, the discs, which differ from the lids, have at least one flat side and are grave markers which were placed on the surface to cover or mark a burial pit. These grave markers appear more infrequently than jars, but are found in close proximity, similar are stone grave markers, these stones are unworked, but have been placed intentionally to mark a grave. To the north of Xieng Khouang an extensive network of intentionally placed largely unworked stones marking elaborate burial pits and these have been dated to the Bronze Age. The jars lie in clusters on the lower footslopes and mountain ridges of the surrounding the central plateau. Several quarry sites have been recorded, usually close to the jar sites, five rock types have been identified, sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia. The majority of the jars are sandstone and it is assumed that Plain of Jars people used iron chisels to manufacture the jars, although no conclusive evidence for this exists. Regional differences in jar shape have been noted, while the differences in most cases can be attributed to choice and manipulation of rock source, some differences in form appear to be unique to specific sites. A cave located at Site 1 is a limestone formation with an opening to the northwest
4.
Runway
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According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a runway is a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Runways may be a surface or a natural surface. Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the heading in decadegrees. This heading differs from true north by the magnetic declination. A runway numbered 09 points east, runway 18 is south, runway 27 points west, when taking off from or landing on runway 09, a plane would be heading 90°. A runway can normally be used in both directions, and is named for each separately, e. g. runway 33 in one direction is runway 15 when used in the other. The two numbers usually differ by 18, Runway Zero Three Left becomes Runway Two One Right when used in the opposite direction. In some countries, if parallel runways are too close to each other, at large airports with four or more parallel runways some runway identifiers are shifted by 10 degrees to avoid the ambiguity that would result with more than three parallel runways. For example, in Los Angeles, this results in runways 6L, 6R, 7L. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there are five parallel runways, named 17L, 17C, 17R, 18L, for clarity in radio communications, each digit in the runway name is pronounced individually, runway three six, runway one four, etc. A leading zero, for example in runway zero six or runway zero one left, is included for all ICAO, however, most U. S. civil aviation airports drop the leading zero as required by FAA regulation. This also includes some military airfields such as Cairns Army Airfield and this American anomaly may lead to inconsistencies in conversations between American pilots and controllers in other countries. It is very common in a such as Canada for a controller to clear an incoming American aircraft to, for example, runway 04. In flight simulation programs those of American origin might apply U. S. usage to airports around the world, for example, runway 05 at Halifax will appear on the program as the single digit 5 rather than 05. Runway designations change over time because the magnetic poles slowly drift on the Earths surface, depending on the airport location and how much drift takes place, it may be necessary over time to change the runway designation. As runways are designated with headings rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, for example, if the magnetic heading of a runway is 233 degrees, it would be designated Runway 23. If the magnetic heading changed downwards by 5 degrees to 228, if on the other hand the original magnetic heading was 226, and the heading decreased by only 2 degrees to 224, the runway should become Runway 22. Because the drift itself is slow, runway designation changes are uncommon
5.
Electric power transmission
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Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines which facilitate this movement are known as a transmission network and this is distinct from the local wiring between high-voltage substations and customers, which is typically referred to as electric power distribution. The combined transmission and distribution network is known as the grid in North America. In the United Kingdom, the network is known as the National Grid, for example, there are four major interconnections in North America, and one large grid for most of continental Europe. Most transmission lines are high-voltage three-phase alternating current, although single phase AC is sometimes used in railway electrification systems, high-voltage direct-current technology is used for greater efficiency over very long distances. HVDC technology is used in submarine power cables, and in the interchange of power between grids that are not mutually synchronized. HVDC links are used to large power distribution networks where sudden new loads, or blackouts, in one part of a network can result in synchronization problems. Electricity is transmitted at high voltages to reduce the loss which occurs in long-distance transmission. Power is usually transmitted through overhead power lines, underground power transmission has a significantly higher installation cost and greater operational limitations, but reduced maintenance costs. Underground transmission is used in urban areas or environmentally sensitive locations. A lack of energy storage facilities in transmission systems leads to a key limitation. Electrical energy must be generated at the rate at which it is consumed. A sophisticated control system is required to ensure that the power generation very closely matches the demand, if the demand for power exceeds supply, the imbalance can cause generation plant and transmission equipment to automatically disconnect and/or shut down to prevent damage. In the worst case, this may lead to a series of shut downs. Examples include the US Northeast blackouts of 1965,1977,2003, Transmission companies determine the maximum reliable capacity of each line to ensure that spare capacity is available in the event of a failure in another part of the network. High-voltage overhead conductors are not covered by insulation, the conductor material is nearly always an aluminum alloy, made into several strands and possibly reinforced with steel strands. Copper was sometimes used for transmission, but aluminum is lighter, yields only marginally reduced performance. Overhead conductors are a commodity supplied by companies worldwide
6.
Chemical weapon
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A chemical weapon is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. Munitions or other devices designed to deliver chemical weapons, whether filled or unfilled, are also considered weapons themselves. Chemical weapons are classified as weapons of destruction, though they are distinct from nuclear weapons, biological weapons. All may be used in warfare and are known by the military acronym NBC, Weapons of mass destruction are distinct from conventional weapons, which are primarily effective due to their explosive, kinetic, or incendiary potential. Chemical weapons can be dispersed in gas, liquid and solid forms. Nerve gas, tear gas and pepper spray are three examples of CW. Lethal, unitary, chemical agents and munitions are extremely volatile, unitary agents are effective on their own and do not require mixing with other agents. The most dangerous of these are agents, GA, GB, GD, and VX as well as vesicant agents, which are formulations of sulfur mustard such as H, HT. They all are liquids at room temperature, but become gaseous when released. Widely used during the First World War, the effects of so-called mustard gas, phosgene gas and others caused lung searing, blindness, death and maiming. As of 2016, CS gas and pepper spray remain in use for policing and riot control, while CS is considered a non-lethal weapon. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, there is a binding, worldwide ban on the production, stockpiling. Notwithstanding, large stockpiles of CW continue to exist, usually justified as a precaution against putative use by an aggressor. A separate declaration stated that in any war between signatory powers, the parties would abstain from using projectiles the object of which is the diffusion of asphyxiating or deleterious gases. The Washington Naval Treaty, signed February 6,1922, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, aimed at banning CW, the subsequent failure to include CW has contributed to the resultant increase in stockpiles. It was signed at Geneva June 17,1925, and entered force on February 8,1928. 133 nations are listed as state parties to the treaty, ukraine is the newest signatory, acceding August 7,2003. This treaty states that chemical and biological weapons are justly condemned by the opinion of the civilised world
7.
Biological agent
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In addition to these living and/or replicating pathogens, biological toxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kinds of potentially weaponizable bio-agents have been described and studied to date, Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, including death. Many of these organisms are ubiquitous in the environment where they are found in water, soil, plants. Bio-agents may be amenable to weaponization to render them easier to deploy or disseminate, genetic modification may enhance their incapacitating or lethal properties, or render them imprevious to conventional treatments or preventives. Since many bio-agents reproduce rapidly and require minimal resources for propagation, the Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty banning the use or stockpiling of bio-agents, as of February 2015 there were 171 state signatories. Bio-agents are, however, widely studied for defensive purposes under various biosafety levels, in 2008, according to a U. S. The former US biological warfare program categorized its weaponized anti-personnel bio-agents as either Lethal Agents or Incapacitating Agents, since 1997, United States law has declared a list of bio-agents designated by the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services or the U. S. Select agents are divided into HHS select agents and toxins, USDA select agents and toxins and Overlap select agents, centers for Disease Control and Prevention breaks biological agents into three categories, Category A, Category B, and Category C. Category A agents pose the greatest threat to the U. S, Category A agents include anthrax, botulism, plague, smallpox, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers. The following pathogens and toxins were weaponized by one nation or another at some time, NATO abbreviations are included where applicable. Additionally, the Soviet Union is known to have weaponized Marburg virus in the 1970s and 80s, simulants are organisms or substances which mimic physical or biological properties of real biological agents, without being pathogenic. They are used to study the efficiency of various dissemination techniques or the risks caused by the use of agents in bioterrorism. The typical size of simulants enables it to buildings with closed windows and doors. This bears a sigificant health risk, even if the agent is normally not pathogenic
8.
Land mine
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A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automatically by way of pressure when a target steps on it or drives over it, a land mine may cause damage by direct blast effect, by fragments that are thrown by the blast, or by both. The name originates from the ancient practice of mining, where tunnels were dug under enemy fortifications or troop formations. These killing tunnels were at first collapsed to destroy targets located above, nowadays, in common parlance, land mine generally refers to devices specifically manufactured as anti-personnel or anti-vehicle weapons. The use of mines is controversial because of their potential as indiscriminate weapons. They can remain dangerous many years after a conflict has ended, harming the economy, to date,162 nations have signed the treaty. To act as passive area-denial weapons, land mines are currently used in large quantities mostly for this first purpose, thus their widespread use in the demilitarized zones of likely flashpoints such as Cyprus, Afghanistan and Korea. As of 2013, the governments that still laid land mines were Myanmar in its internal conflict. Land mines continue to kill or injure at least 4,300 people every year, even decades after the ends of the conflicts for which they were placed. This claim is dubious, as gunpowder warfare did not develop in China until the advent of the flamethrower in the 10th century, while the land mine was not seen in China until the late 13th century. Explosive land mines were being used in 1277 by the Chinese during the Song dynasty against an assault of the Mongols, the invention of this detonated enormous bomb was credited to one Lou Qianxia of the 13th century. The wad of the mine was made of wood, carrying three different fuses in case of defective connection to the touch hole. Pieces of bamboo are sawn into sections nine feet in length, all septa in the bamboo being removed, save only the last, boiling oil is next poured into and left there for some time before being removed. The fuse starts from the bottom, and is compressed into it to form an explosive mine, the gunpowder fills up eight-tenths of the tube, while lead or iron pellets take up the rest of the space, then the open end is sealed with wax. A trench five feet in depth is dug, the fuse is connected to a firing device which ignites them when disturbed. Further description of how this flint device operated was not made until a Chinese text of 1606 AD revealed that a drive had been used to work the steel wheel. Besides the use of steel wheels providing sparks for the fuses, there were other methods used as well, when the weapons were removed from the mound, this movement disturbed the bowl beneath them where the butt ends of the staffs were, which in turn ignited the fuses. According to the Wubei Huolongjing volume of the 17th century, the formula for this slow-burning incandescent material allowed it to burn continuously for 20 to 30 days without going out
9.
Airborne leaflet propaganda
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Airborne leaflet propaganda is a form of psychological warfare in which leaflets are scattered in the air. Military forces have used aircraft to drop leaflets to attempt to alter the behavior of combatants and non-combatants in enemy-controlled territory, humanitarian air missions, in cooperation with leaflet propaganda, can turn the populace against their leadership while preparing them for the arrival of enemy combatants. This has the purpose of reducing collateral damage and encouraging enemy combatants and non-combatants to abandon their duties. Prompt the enemy to surrender Explain to prospective deserters how to surrender, offer rewards Rewards could be offered to encourage individuals to provide assistance, or to encourage defection. Disseminate or counter disinformation Reduce enemy morale through propaganda, advise radio listeners about frequencies/times of propaganda broadcasts and methods for circumventing radio jamming. Facilitate communication Create a friendly atmosphere for the enemy by promoting ideologies such as freedom, capitalism, provide humanitarian assistance Inform people where to find airdropped food, how to open and consume it, and when it comes. Airborne leaflets have been used for propaganda purposes at least since the 19th century. Foolish people, shall we always throttle one another for the pleasure, glory and conquest are crimes, defeat brings hate and desire for vengeance. Only one war is just and holy, that of independence, Leaflet propaganda has been delivered by airplanes since the Italo-Turkish War of 1911–12. Aerial leaflets were first used on a large scale during World War I by all parties, by the end of the war MI7b had distributed almost 26 million leaflets. The Germans began shooting the pilots, prompting the British to develop an alternative method of delivery. Mr. A. Fleming invented the unmanned leaflet balloon in 1917, the hydrogen balloon would drift over no-mans land to land in the enemy trenches. At least one in seven of these leaflets were not handed in by the soldiers to their superiors, in 1915, the British began airdropping a regular leaflet newspaper Le Courrier de lAir for civilians in German-occupied France and Belgium. Distribution of airborne leaflet propaganda was used by both Allied and Axis forces in the Second World War, starting with a Royal Air Force leaflet drop over the port of Kiel in September 1939. The first proposal to construct a bomb with which to disperse airborne leaflets was put forward by British air force officers during World War II. The most successful leaflet bomb model of the War was the Monroe bomb and it was developed from laminated paper containers that had been used to transport M-17 incendiary bombs. The British improved the use of balloons to carry leaflets over German lines. Some of the V-1 flying bombs launched by the Germans against southern England carried leaflets – they were contained in a tube at the tail of a missile
10.
Civilian
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In general, a civilian is a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force, as defined by Merriam Websters Dictionary. From the perspective of the U. S, in military and law enforcement slang, the term Civies or Civvies are often used to refer civilian population or civilian clothing. Under the laws of war, a civilian is one not being a member of the services and does not take a direct part of hostilities in times of armed conflict. The term civilian is slightly different from a non-combatant under the laws of war, the privileges that they enjoy under international law depends on whether the conflict is an internal one or an international one. The word civilian goes back to the late 14th century and is from Old French civilien, Civilian is believed to have been used to refer to non-combatants as early as 1829. The term non-combatant now refers to people in general who are not taking part of hostilities, there is no intermediate status, nobody in enemy hands can be outside the law. We feel that this is a satisfactory solution – not only satisfying to the mind, but also, the ICRC has expressed the opinion that If civilians directly engage in hostilities, they are considered unlawful or unprivileged combatants or belligerents. They may be prosecuted under the law of the detaining state for such action. According to Article 50 of the 1977 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions,1, a civilian is any person who does not belong to one of the categories of persons referred to in Article 4A, and of the Third Convention and in Article 43 of this Protocol. In case of whether a person is a civilian, that person shall be considered to be a civilian. The civilian population comprises all persons who are civilians, the presence within the civilian population of individuals who do not come within the definition of civilians does not deprive the population of its civilian character. The definition is negative and defines civilians as persons who do not belong to definite categories, the categories of persons mentioned in Article 4A, and of the Third Convention and in Article 43 of the Protocol I are combatants. Therefore, the Commentary to the Protocol pointed that, any one who is not a member of the forces is a civilian. Civilians cannot take part in armed conflict, civilians are given protection under the Geneva Conventions and Protocols thereto. Article 51 describes the protection that must be given to the civilian population, chapter III of Protocol I regulates the targeting of civilian objects. The actual position of the civilian in modern war remains problematical, starting in the 1980s, it was often claimed that 90 percent of the victims of modern wars were civilians. The claim was repeated on Wikipedias Did You Know on 14 December 2010 and these claims, though widely believed, are not supported by detailed examination of the evidence, particularly that relating to wars that are central to the claims. It has lost none of its political, legal and moral salience, although it is often assumed that civilians are essentially passive onlookers of war, sometimes they have active roles in conflicts
11.
Unexploded ordnance
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Unexploded ordnance from at least as far back as the American Civil War still poses a hazard worldwide, both in current and former combat areas and on military firing ranges. There are countless examples of people tampering with unexploded ordnance that is many years old – often with fatal results, believing it to be harmless they handle the device and it explodes, killing or severely injuring them. For this reason it is recommended that unexploded ordnance should not be touched or handled by unqualified persons. Instead, the location should be reported to the police so that bomb disposal or Explosive Ordnance Disposal professionals can render it safe. German EOD experts were notified and attended the scene, whilst residents living nearby were being evacuated and the EOD personnel were preparing to disarm the bomb, it detonated, killing three of them and severely injuring 6 others. The dead and injured each had over 20 years of hands-on experience, in November 2013, four US Marines were killed by an explosion whilst clearing unexploded ordnance from a firing range at Camp Pendleton. A dramatic example of MEC threat is the wreck of the SS Richard Montgomery off the coast of Kent, when a similar World War II wreck, the Polish Kielce exploded in 1967, it produced an earth tremor measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale. In the Ardennes region of France, large-scale citizen evacuations were necessary during MEC removal operations in 2001, in the forests of Verdun French government démineurs working for the Département du Déminage still hunt for poisonous, volatile, and/or explosive munitions and recover about 900 tons every year. The most feared are corroded artillery shells containing chemical agents such as mustard gas. French and Flemish farmers still find many UXOs when ploughing their fields, in Belgium, Dovo, the countrys bomb disposal unit recovers between 150 and 200 tons of unexploded bombs each year. Over 20 members of the unit have been killed since it was formed in 1919, thousands of UXOs from the Second World War are still uncovered each year in Germany. The daily average is 15, most of aerial bombs. Concentration is especially high in Berlin, where many artillery shells, while most cases only make local news, one of the more spectacular finds in recent history was an American 500-pound aerial bomb discovered in Munich on 28 August 2012. In 2011, a 1. 8-tonne RAF bomb from the Second World War was uncovered in Koblenz on the bottom of the Rhine River after a prolonged drought. It caused the evacuation of 45,000 people from the city and was called the biggest bomb-related evacuation in Germanys post-war history. On December 20,2016 another 1. 8-tonne RAF bomb was found in the city centre of Augsburg, one of the largest individual pieces ever found was an unexploded Tallboy bomb uncovered in the Sorpe Dam in 1958. Thousands of tons of UXOs remain buried across Japan, particularly in Okinawa, from 1945 until the end of the U. S. occupation of the island in 1972, the JSDF and US military disposed of 5,500 tons of UXO. Over 30,000 UXO disposal operations have been conducted on Okinawa by the JSDF since 1972, no injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of UXO disposal, however
12.
Convention on Cluster Munitions
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The Convention on Cluster Munitions is an international treaty that prohibits the use, transfer and stockpile of cluster bombs, a type of explosive weapon which scatters submunitions over an area. The convention was adopted on 30 May 2008 in Dublin, and was opened for signature on 3 December 2008 in Oslo and it entered into force on 1 August 2010, six months after it was ratified by 30 states. As of April 2016,108 states have signed the treaty and 100 have ratified it or acceded to it, weapons containing submunitions which all individually weigh at least 20 kg are also excluded. A limited number of prohibited weapons and submunitions can be acquired and kept for training in, a varying proportion of submunitions dispersed by cluster bombs fail to explode on impact and can lie unexploded for years until disturbed. The sometimes brightly colored munitions are not camouflaged, but have compared to toys or Easter eggs. The 2006 Lebanon War provided momentum for the campaign to ban cluster bombs, the United Nations estimated that up to 40% of Israeli cluster bomblets failed to explode on impact. Norway organized the independent Oslo process after discussions at the traditional disarmament forum in Geneva fell through in November 2006, the cluster munitions ban process, also known as the Oslo Process, began in February 2007 in Oslo. The Oslo Process held meetings in Lima in May 2007 and Vienna in December 2007, in February 2008,79 countries adopted the Wellington Declaration, setting forth the principles to be included in the convention. Delegates from 107 nations agreed to the draft of the treaty at the end of a ten-day meeting held in May 2008 in Dublin. Its text was adopted on 30 May 2008 by 107 nations. The treaty was opposed by a number of countries that produce or stockpile significant quantities of munitions, including China, Russia. In 2006, Barack Obama voted to support a measure to limit use of the bombs, while his general election opponent John McCain. According to the Pentagons 2008 policy, cluster munitions are actually humane weapons, blanket elimination of cluster munitions is therefore unacceptable due not only to negative military consequences but also due to potential negative consequences for civilians. The treaty allows certain types of weapons with submunitions that do not have the indiscriminate area effects or pose the same unexploded ordnance risks as the prohibited weapons and these must contain no more than nine submunitions, and no submunition may weigh less than 4 kilograms. Each submunition must have the capability to detect and engage a target object and contain electronic self-destruct. Weapons containing submunitions which each weigh at least 20 kg are also excluded, australia, which supports the treaty, stated that the convention does not prohibit the SMArt 155 artillery shell that it has bought, which releases two self-guided self-destructing submunitions. David Miliband, who was Britains foreign secretary under Labour, approved the use of a loophole to manoeuvre around the ban and allow the US to keep the munitions on British territory. Prior to the Dublin meeting, the United Kingdom was thought to be one of a group of nations in a pivotal role whereby their cooperation could make or break the treaty
13.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
14.
International law
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Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, the field of study combines two main branches, the law of nations and international agreements and conventions. The Italian jurist Sir Alberico Gentili was the first to write on public international law and it is usually distinguished from private international law, which concerns the resolution of conflict of laws. The concept of nationalism became increasingly important as people began to see themselves as citizens of a nation with a distinct national identity. Men who take up arms against one another in public war do not cease on this account to be moral beings, responsible to one another and it does not admit of the use of poison in any way, nor of the wanton devastation of a district. It admits of deception, but disclaims acts of perfidy, and, in general, because international law is a relatively new area of law its development and propriety in applicable areas are often subject to dispute. Under article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in addition, judicial decisions and teachings may be applied as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law. International treaty law comprises obligations states expressly and voluntarily accept between themselves in treaties, customary international law is derived from the consistent practice of States accompanied by opinio juris, i. e. the conviction of States that the consistent practice is required by a legal obligation. Judgments of international tribunals as well as scholarly works have traditionally looked to as persuasive sources for custom in addition to direct evidence of state behavior. Attempts to codify customary international law picked up momentum after the Second World War with the formation of the International Law Commission, codified customary law is made the binding interpretation of the underlying custom by agreement through treaty. For states not party to treaties, the work of the ILC may still be accepted as custom applying to those states. General principles of law are commonly recognized by the major legal systems of the world. Certain norms of international law achieve the binding force of peremptory norms as to all states with no permissible derogations. Colombia v Perú ICJ6, recognising custom as a source of international law, belgium v Spain ICJ1, only the state where a corporation is incorporated has standing to bring an action for damages for economic loss. Where there are disputes about the meaning and application of national laws. The subjective approach, which takes into consideration i. the idea behind the treaty, ii. treaties in their context, what the writers intended when they wrote the text. A third approach, which bases itself on interpretation in the light of its object and purpose, i. e. the interpretation that best suits the goal of the treaty and these are general rules of interpretation, specific rules might exist in specific areas of international law. Greece v United Kingdom ICJ1, ICJ had no jurisdiction to hear a dispute between the UK government and a private Greek businessman under the terms of a treaty
15.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
16.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
17.
Thermos bomb
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Thermos bomb was the informal name for the AR-4, an air dropped anti-personnel mine used by the Italian Air Force during World War II. Large numbers were used against Malta and in the Middle East and it was named for its superficial appearance to a Thermos bottle, a popular brand of vacuum flask. The bomb was a cylinder 31 centimetres long and weighing 3.68 kilograms and it could be fitted with a very sensitive motion-sensitive fuze that would detonate if any attempt was made to move it, and could be lethal in the open up to around 35 metres away. A later variant of the fuze introduced a time delayed detonation
18.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
19.
Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munition
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The sub-munitions are designed for both anti-armor and antipersonnel attack. Some sub-munitions may be designed for delayed reaction or mobility denial, the air-to-surface variety of this kind of munition is better known as a cluster bomb. They are banned by some countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, development work for DPICM projectiles began in the late 1950s, with the first projectile, the 105 mm M444 entering service in 1961. Its submunitions were simple bounding anti-personnel grenades, production of the M444 ended in the early 1990s. The first true DPICM was the 155 mm M483, produced in the 1970s, by 1975, an improved version, the M483A1, was being used. The projectile carried 88 M42/M46 grenade-like dual purpose submunitions, the 155 mm M864 projectile entered production in 1987, and featured a base bleed that enhances the range of the projectile, although it still carries the same M42/M46 grenades. The base bleed mechanism reduces the count to 72. Work was budgeted in 2003 to retrofit the M42/M46 grenades with self-destruct fuses to reduce the problem of dud submunitions that do not initially explode, in Vietnam they were known as firecracker rounds owing to the rippling detonation of sub-munitions over a couple of seconds. Work on 105 mm projectiles started in the late 1990s based around the M80 submunition, the eventual results were two shells, the M915 intended for use with the M119A1 light towed howitzer and the M916 developed for the M101/M102 howitzers. Due to the failure rate of DPICM munitions and accuracy of GPS guided weapons, DPICM artillery shells. As a result, the quantities of munitions bought during the Cold War were put into war reserve stockpiles. However, as of 2014 most were reaching the end of their useful life, the warheads, which are now old and less stable, must be extracted. The shells are being refilled with explosives, recycling them for use as inexpensive training ammunition, one such round is the M1122, built from recycled shell casings from DPICM rounds that have some explosive filling replaced with concrete. As a training round, the M1122 has one-seventh the explosive impact at one-third the cost of a standard M795 high explosive shell, the U. S. Army is seeking a replacement of DPICM munitions from the Alternative Warhead Program. The AWP warhead will have equal or greater effect against materiel and personnel targets, the program is being developed by Lockheed Martin and Alliant Techsystems and the first AW rockets were ordered in September 2015
20.
Parachute
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A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are usually out of light, strong cloth, originally silk. Parachutes often take the shape of a dome, but shapes may vary including some taking the shape of an inverted dome, depending on the situation, parachutes are used with a variety of loads, including people, food, equipment, space capsules, and bombs. Drogue chutes are used to aid horizontal deceleration of a vehicle, the earliest evidence for the parachute dates back to the Renaissance period. The oldest parachute design appears in a manuscript from 1470s Renaissance Italy. As a safety measure, four straps run from the ends of the rods to a waist belt, shortly after, a more sophisticated parachute was sketched by the polymath Leonardo da Vinci in his Codex Atlanticus dated to ca. Here, the scale of the parachute is in a more favorable proportion to the weight of the jumper, Leonardos canopy was held open by a square wooden frame, which alters the shape of the parachute from conical to pyramidal. It is not known whether the Italian inventor was influenced by the earlier design, the feasibility of Leonardos pyramidal design was successfully tested in 2000 by Briton Adrian Nicholas and again in 2008 by the Swiss skydiver Olivier Vietti-Teppa. The Croatian polymath and inventor Faust Vrančić examined da Vincis parachute sketch and he kept the square frame, but replaced the canopy with a bulging sail-like piece of cloth that he came to realize decelerates the fall more effectively. However, in book, John Wilkins wrote about flying. The modern parachute was invented in the late 18th century by Louis-Sébastien Lenormand in France, Lenormand also sketched his device beforehand. Two years later, in 1785, Lenormand coined the word parachute by hybridizing a Latin prefix para, and chute, also in 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated it as a means of safely disembarking from a hot-air balloon. Subsequent development of the focused on it becoming more compact. In 1797, André Garnerin made the first descent using such a parachute, Garnerin also invented the vented parachute, which improved the stability of the fall. In 1907 Charles Broadwick demonstrated two key advances in the parachute he used to jump from hot air balloons at fairs and he folded his parachute into a pack he wore on his back. And the parachute was pulled from the pack by a line attached to the balloon. When Broadwick jumped from the balloon, the line became taut, pulled the parachute from the pack. In 1911 a successful test took place with a dummy at the Eiffel tower in Paris, the puppets weight was 75 kg, the parachutes weight was 21 kg
21.
Model rocket
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A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes and recovered by a variety of means. According to the United States National Association of Rocketry Safety Code, model rockets are constructed of paper, wood, plastic, the code also provides guidelines for motor use, launch site selection, launch methods, launcher placement, recovery system design and deployment and more. Since the early 1960s, a copy of the Model Rocket Safety Code has been provided with most model rocket kits, in the early thirteenth century the Chinese turned black-powder–propelled objects, formerly only used for entertainment, into weapons of war. The Chinese ‘arrows of fire’ were fired from a sort of catapult launcher, the black powder was packed in a closed tube that had a hole in one end for escaping hot gases, and a long stick as an elementary stability and guidance system. Refinements in rocket design were made over the few hundred years. In 1591 a Belgian, Jean Beavie, described and sketched the important idea of multistage rockets, multistaging, placing two or more pockets of fuel in line and firing them in step fashion, is the practical answer to the problem of escaping earths gravitational attraction. They originally designed the motor and rocket for Robert to use in lectures on the principles of rocket-powered flight, but then Orville read articles written in Popular Mechanics by G. Harry Stine about the safety problems associated with young people trying to make their own rocket engines. With the launch of Sputnik, many people were trying to build their own rocket motors. Some of these attempts were dramatized in the fact-based movie October Sky, the Carlisles realized their motor design could be marketed and provide a safe outlet for a new hobby. They sent samples to Mr. Stine in January 1957, Stine, a range safety officer at White Sands Missile Range, built and flew the models, and then devised a safety handbook for the activity based on his experience at the range. The first American model rocket company was Model Missiles Incorporated, in Denver, Colorado, opened by Stine, Stine had model rocket engines made by a local fireworks company recommended by Carlisle, but reliability and delivery problems forced Stine to approach others. Stine eventually approached Vernon Estes, the son of a fireworks maker. Estes founded Estes Industries in 1958 in Denver, Colorado and developed an automated machine for manufacturing solid model rocket motors for MMI. The machine, nicknamed Mabel, made low-cost motors with great reliability, stines business faltered and this enabled Estes to market the motors separately. Subsequently, he began marketing model rocket kits in 1960, and eventually, Estes moved his company to Penrose, Colorado in 1961. Estes Industries was acquired by Damon Industries in 1970 and it continues to operate in Penrose today. Estes produces and sells Black Powder Rocket Motors, companies like Aerotech, Vulcan, and Kosdon were widely popular at launches during this time as high-power rockets routinely broke Mach 1 and reached heights over 3,000 m. High-power motor reliability was a significant issue in the late 1980s and early 1990s, at costs exceeding $300 per motor, the need to find a cheaper and more reliable alternative was apparent
22.
Shaped charge
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A shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosives energy. Various types are used to cut and form metal, initiate nuclear weapons, penetrate armor, the Munroe or Neumann effect is the focusing of blast energy by a hollow or void cut on a surface of an explosive. The earliest mention of hollow charges occurred in 1792, the first true hollow charge effect was achieved in 1883, by Max von Foerster, chief of the nitrocellulose factory of Wolff & Co. in Walsrode, Germany. By 1886, Gustav Bloem of Düsseldorf, Germany had obtained U. S, patent 342,423 for hemispherical cavity metal detonators to concentrate the effect of the explosion in an axial direction. The Munroe effect is named after Charles E. Munroe, who discovered it in 1888. As a civilian chemist working at the U. S. Conversely, if letters were raised in relief above the surface of the explosive, in 1894, Munroe constructed the first crude shaped charge, Among the experiments made. Was one upon a safe twenty-nine inches cube, with four inches. Hen a hollow charge of nine pounds and a half in weight and untamped was detonated on it. The hollow cartridge was made by tying the sticks of dynamite around a tin can, part of that 1900 article was reprinted in the February 1945 issue of Popular Science, describing how shaped-charge warheads worked. It was this article that at last revealed to the public how the fabled Bazooka actually worked against armored vehicles during WWII. In 1910, Egon Neumann of Germany discovered that a block of TNT, the military usefulness of Munroes and Neumanns work was unappreciated for a long time. Between the world wars, academics in several countries – Myron Yakovlevich Sukharevskii in the Soviet Union, payment and Donald Whitley Woodhead in Britain, and Robert Williams Wood in the U. S. – recognized that projectiles could form during explosions. However, it was not until 1932 that Franz Rudolf Thomanek, when the Austrian government showed no interest in pursuing the idea, Thomanek moved to Berlins Technische Hochschule, where he continued his studies under the ballistics expert Carl Julius Cranz. There in 1935, he and Hellmuth von Huttern developed a prototype anti-tank round, although the weapons performance proved disappointing, Thomanek continued his developmental work, collaborating with Hubert Schardin at the Waffeninstitut der Luftwaffe in Braunschweig. By 1937, Shardin believed that hollow-charge effects were due to the interactions of shock waves and it was during the testing of this idea that, on February 4,1938, Thomanek conceived the shaped-charge explosive. During World War II, shaped-charge munitions were developed by Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union, the development of shaped charges revolutionized anti-tank warfare. Tanks faced a serious vulnerability from a weapon that could be carried by an infantryman or aircraft, one of the earliest uses of shaped charges was by German glider-borne troops against the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael. These demolition charges – developed by Dr. Wuelfken of the German Ordnance Office – were unlined explosive charges and didnt produce a metal jet like the modern HEAT warheads
23.
Precision-guided munition
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For the weapon systems customized to a single person, see personalized gun. A precision-guided munition is a guided munition intended to hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage. Because the damage effects of explosive weapons decrease with distance due to an inverse cube law, thus, even if some guided bombs miss, fewer air crews are put at risk and the harm to civilians and the amount of collateral damage may be reduced. The advent of precision-guided munitions resulted in the renaming of older bombs unguided bombs, dumb bombs, recognizing the difficulty of hitting moving ships during the Spanish Civil War, the Germans were first to develop steerable munitions, using radio control or wire guidance. The U. S. tested TV-guided, semi-active radar-guided, in addition, the U. S. tested the rocket-propelled Gargoyle, which never entered service. Japanese PGMs—with the exception of the anti-ship air-launched, rocket-powered, human-piloted Ohka suicide flying bomb—did not see combat in World War II, prior to the war, the British experimented with radio-controlled remotely guided planes laden with explosive, such as Larynx. The U. S. programs restarted in the Korean War, in the 1960s, the electro-optical bomb was reintroduced. They were equipped with cameras and flare sights, by which the bomb would be steered until the flare superimposed the target. The camera bombs transmitted a bombs eye view of the back to a controlling aircraft. An operator in this aircraft then transmitted control signals to steerable fins fitted to the bomb, in World War II, the U. S. National Defense Research Committee developed the VB-6 Felix, which used infrared to home on ships. While it entered production in 1945, it was never employed operationally, Precision guidance has been applied to weapons other than conventional bomb warheads. The Raytheon Maverick heavy anti-tank missile has among its various marks guidance systems such as electro-optical, imaging infra-red, the Pakistani NESCOM H-2 MUPSOW and H-4 MUPSOW is an electro-optical is a drop and forget precision-guided glide bomb. The Israeli Elbit Opher is also an I, during NATOs air campaign in 1999 in Kosovo the new Italian AF AMX employed the Opher. All such bombs work in much the way, relying on the target being illuminated, or painted. They have the significant disadvantage of not being usable in poor weather where the target illumination cannot be seen, or where a target designator cannot get near the target. The laser designator sends its beam in a series of pulses so the bomb cannot be confused by an ordinary laser. Laser-guided weapons did not become commonplace until the advent of the microchip and they made their practical debut in Vietnam, where on 13 May 1972 they were used in the second successful attack on the Thanh Hóa Bridge. This structure had previously been the target of 800 American sorties and was destroyed in each of two successful attacks, the other being on 27 April 1972 using Walleyes
24.
CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
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The CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon is a United States Air Force 1, 000-pound -class non-guided Cluster Bomb Unit. It was developed and produced by Textron Defense Systems, the CBU-97 in conjunction with the Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser guidance tail kit, which converts it to a precision-guided weapon, is designated CBU-105. The CBU-97 consists of an SUU-66/B tactical munition dispenser that contains 10 BLU-108 submunitions, each submunition contains four hockey-puck-shaped sensor-fused projectiles called Skeets. These detect target vehicles, such as tanks, armored carriers, trucks and other support vehicles. The 40 Skeets scan an area of 1,500 by 500 feet using infrared and laser sensors, when a Skeet finds a target it fires an explosively-formed penetrator to destroy it. If a Skeet fails to find a target, it self-destructs 50 feet above the ground, if this fails and these features are intended to avoid later civilian casualties from unexploded munitions, and result in an unexploded-ordnance rate of less than 1%. As the CBU-97 approaches its designated aim-point, the skin is severed into three panels by an explosive cutting charge. The slipstream peels away these panels, exposing the 10 BLU-108 submunitions, an airbag ejects the forward five submunitions, then five in the aft bay. Following a preset timeline, the submunitions deploy parachutes so that they are spaced about 100 feet apart, then each submunition releases its chute, fires a rocket motor that stops its descent and spins it on its longitudinal axis, and releases Skeets 90 degrees apart, in pairs. Each spinning Skeet makes a motion that allows it to scan a circular area on the ground. The laser sensor detects changes in apparent terrain height such as the contour of a vehicle, at the same time, infrared sensors detect heat signatures, such as those emitted by the engine of a vehicle. Even well-armored vehicles such as main battle tanks, while having massive armor protection on the front and sides, are lightly armored above. Each bomb can spread penetrators over an area of 15 acres or more, according to an ABC News consultant, an attack by this bomb would basically stop an armored convoy moving down a road. The CBU-97, or CBU-105 version, is deployed by aircraft from altitudes of 200 to 20,000 feet Above Ground Level at speeds of 250 to 650 knots. The weapon was first deployed, but not used, during Operation Allied Force when NATO entered the Kosovo War, sensor-fused weapons were first fired in combat during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2010 the US government announced the sale to India of 512 CBU-105 Sensor Fuzed Weapons, the expected platform is the SEPECAT Jaguar. Saudi Arabia has also requested the CBU-105, in May 2015, Human Rights Watch reported on, and criticized, the Saudi use of the CBU-105 SFW during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen. In addition to the United States, the CBU-105 has been ordered by India, Oman, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Philippines, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates
25.
Iraq War
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The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict continued for much of the decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict and it became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition, the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U. S. joined by the United Kingdom and several allies, launching a shock. Iraqi forces were overwhelmed as U. S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Baathist government, President Hussein was captured during Operation Red Dawn in December of that same year, the United States responded with a troop surge in 2007. The winding down of U. S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama, the U. S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011. Select U. S. officials accused Saddam of harboring and supporting al-Qaeda, while others cited the desire to end a repressive dictatorship, after the invasion, no substantial evidence was found to verify the initial claims about WMDs. The rationale and misrepresentation of pre-war intelligence faced heavy criticism within the U. S. in the aftermath of the invasion, Iraq held multi-party elections in 2005. Nouri al-Maliki became Prime Minister in 2006 and remained in office until 2014, the al-Maliki government enacted policies that were widely seen as having the effect of alienating the countrys Sunni minority and worsening sectarian tensions. The Iraq War caused hundreds of thousands of civilian, and thousands of military casualties, the majority of casualties occurred as a result of the insurgency and civil conflicts between 2004 and 2007. A1990 Frontline report on The arming of Iraq said, Officially, most Western nations participated in an arms embargo against Iraq during the 1980s. Western companies, primarily in Germany and Great Britain, but also in the United States, sold Iraq the key technology for its chemical, missile, any Western governments seemed remarkably indifferent, if not enthusiastic, about those deals. N Washington, the government consistently followed a policy which allowed and perhaps encouraged the growth of Saddam Husseins arsenal. The Western arming of Iraq took place in the context of the Iran-Iraq War, prior to September 2002, the CIA was the George W. Bush administrations main provider of intelligence on Iraq. The agency was out to disprove linkage between Iraq and terrorism the Pentagon adviser told me, the U. N. had prohibited Iraq from developing or possessing such weapons after the Gulf War and required Iraq to permit inspections confirming compliance. This was confirmed by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, during 2002, Bush repeatedly warned of military action against Iraq unless inspections were allowed to progress unfettered. In accordance with U. N. Security Council Resolution 1441, Iraq agreed to new inspections under United Nations Monitoring, as part of its weapons inspection obligations, Iraq was required to supply a full declaration of its current weapons capabilities and manufacturing
26.
Incendiary device
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Napalm for example, is petroleum especially thickened with certain chemicals into a gel to slow, but not stop, combustion, releasing energy over a longer time frame than an explosive device. In the case of napalm, the gel adheres to surfaces, the first incendiary devices to be dropped during World War I fell on coastal towns in the south west of England on the night of 18–19 January 1915. The small number of German bombs, also known as firebombs, were finned containers filled with kerosene and oil and they were dropped from Zeppelin airships. On 8 September 1915, Zeppelin L-13 dropped a number of firebombs. They did, however, have an effect on the morale of the civilian population of the United Kingdom. After further experiments with 5-litre barrels of benzol, in 1918, a further advantage of the alloy casing was its lightness, being a quarter of the density of steel, which meant that each bomber could carry a considerable number. The hope was that the two capitals would be engulfed in a blaze, causing the Allies to sue for peace. The Royal Air Force had already used their own Baby Incendiary Bomb which also contained a thermite charge, Incendiary bombs were used extensively in World War II as an effective bombing weapon, often in a conjunction with high-explosive bombs. Probably the most famous incendiary attacks are the bombing of Dresden, different methods of delivery, e. g. small bombs, bomblet clusters and large bombs, were tested and implemented. For example, a bomb casing was filled with small sticks of incendiary. An explosive charge would then ignite the material, often starting a raging fire. The fire would burn at temperatures that could destroy most buildings made of wood or other combustible materials. Less successful was the Flammenbombe, a 250 kg or 500 kg high explosive bomb case filled with an inflammable oil mixture, nevertheless, the civilian destruction caused by such weapons quickly earned them a reputation as terror weapons with the targeted populations. The Nazi regime began the campaign of incendiary bombings at the start of World War II with the bombing of Warsaw, and continued with the London Blitz and the bombing of Moscow, among other cities. Later, an extensive reprisal was exacted by the Allies in the bombing campaign that lead to the annihilation of many German cities. Sixty-seven Japanese cities lost significant areas to incendiary attacks, the most deadly single bombing raid in all history was Operation Meetinghouse, an incendiary attack that killed some 100,000 Tokyo residents in one night. The 4 lb incendiary bomb, developed by ICI, was the standard light incendiary bomb used by RAF Bomber Command in very large numbers and it was the weapon of choice for the British dehousing plan. The bomb consisted of a body made from aluminium-magnesium alloy with a cast iron/steel nose
27.
Allotropes of phosphorus
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Elemental phosphorus can exist in several allotropes, the most common of which are white and red solids. Solid violet and black allotropes are also known, gaseous phosphorus exists as diphosphorus and atomic phosphorus. White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus or simply tetraphosphorus exists as molecules made up of four atoms in a tetrahedral structure, the tetrahedral arrangement results in ring strain and instability. The molecule is described as consisting of six single P–P bonds, two different crystalline forms are known. The α form, which is stable under standard conditions, has a cubic crystal structure. It transforms reversibly into the β form at 195.2 K, the β form is believed to have a hexagonal crystal structure. White phosphorus is a translucent waxy solid that quickly becomes yellow when exposed to light, for this reason it is also called yellow phosphorus. It glows greenish in the dark, is flammable and pyrophoric upon contact with air as well as toxic. White phosphorus is slightly soluble in water and it can be stored under water. Indeed, white phosphorus is only safe from self-igniting when it is submerged in water and it is soluble in benzene, oils, carbon disulfide, and disulfur dichloride. The white allotrope can be produced using different methods. In the industrial process, phosphate rock is heated in an electric or fuel-fired furnace in the presence of carbon, elemental phosphorus is then liberated as a vapour and can be collected under phosphoric acid. An idealized equation for this reaction is shown for calcium phosphate,2 Ca32 +8 C → P4 +8 CO2 +6 Ca White phosphorus has an appreciable vapour pressure at ordinary temperatures. The vapour density indicates that the vapour is composed of P4 molecules up to about 800 °C, above that temperature, dissociation into P2 molecules occurs. It ignites spontaneously in air at about 50 °C, and at lower temperatures if finely divided. This combustion gives phosphorus oxide, P4 +5 O2 → P 4O10 Because of this property, although white phosphorus converts to the thermodynamically more stable red allotrope, the formation of the cubic P8 molecule is not observed in the condensed phase. Analogs of this molecule have been prepared from phosphaalkynes. Red phosphorus may be formed by heating white phosphorus to 300 °C in the absence of air or by exposing white phosphorus to sunlight, red phosphorus exists as an amorphous network
28.
Napalm
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Napalm is a flammable liquid used in warfare. It is a mixture of an agent and either gasoline or a similar fuel. It was initially used as an incendiary device against buildings and later primarily as a weapon, as it sticks to skin. Napalm was developed in 1942 in a laboratory at Harvard University. Its first recorded use was in the European theatre of war during World War II and it was used extensively by the US in incendiary attacks on Japanese cities in World War II as well as during the Korean War and Vietnam War. Napalm is a portmanteau of the names of two of the constituents of the agent, co-precipitated aluminium salts of naphthenic and palmitic acids. Napalm B is the modern version of napalm and, although distinctly different in its chemical composition, is often referred to simply as napalm. Napalm was used in flamethrowers, bombs and tanks in World War II and it is believed to have been formulated to burn at a specific rate and to adhere to surfaces to increase its stopping power. During combustion, napalm rapidly deoxygenates the available air and generates large amounts of carbon monoxide, alternative compositions exist for different uses, e. g. triethylaluminium, a pyrophoric compound that aids ignition. Use of fire in warfare has a long history, Greek fire, also described as sticky fire, is believed to have had a petroleum base. The development of napalm was precipitated by the use of jellied gasoline mixtures by the Allied forces during World War II, a team of chemists led by Louis Fieser at Harvard University was the first to develop synthetic napalm, during 1942. One of Fiesers colleagues suggested adding phosphorus to the mix which increased the ability to penetrate deeply. into the musculature, on 4 July 1942, the first test occurred on the football field near the Harvard Business School. This new mixture of chemicals was used in the Second World War in incendiary bombs. From 1965 to 1969, the Dow Chemical Company manufactured napalm B for the American armed forces, the management of the company decided that its first obligation was the government. Meanwhile, napalm B became a symbol for the Vietnam War, Napalm was first employed in incendiary bombs and went on to be used as fuel for flamethrowers. The first recorded use of napalm incendiary bombs occurred in an attack by the US Army Air Force on Berlin on 6 March 1944. The first known tactical operation was by De Havilland D. H.98 Mosquito FB Mk. VIs of No. Soldiers of this Waffen SS unit had captured and then killed a British SAS prisoner-of-war, Lt. Tomos Stephens, taking part in Operation Bulbasket, and seven local Resistance fighters
29.
Molotov bread basket
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The RRAB-3, nicknamed the Molotov bread basket, was a Soviet-made droppable bomb dispenser that combined a large high-explosive charge with a cluster of incendiary bombs. It was used against the cities of Finland during the Winter War of 1939–1940, the bomb consisted of a cylinder 2.25 metres long and 0.9 metres in diameter. Other descriptions make no mention of a charge and instead describe a large cylinder with vanes at the back that open out when the weapon is dropped. The vanes cause the bomb to spin and this has the effect of opening the sides, in 1939 the Soviet Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, claimed the Soviet Union was not dropping bombs on Finland, but merely airlifting food to starving Finns. The Finns were not starving, and they dubbed the RRAB-3 cluster bomb Molotovs bread basket. They also named the improvised device that they used to counter Soviet tanks, commonly known as the Molotov cocktail. This description seems to have common currency among the British public in 1940. During the Bristol Blitz, the locals dubbed a similar German device Goerings bread basket, cluster bomb Bombing of Helsinki in World War II
30.
Winter War
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The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940. It began with the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, the League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939. Finland refused and the USSR invaded the country, the Soviets possessed more than three times as many soldiers as the Finns, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. The Red Army, however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalins Great Purge of 1937. With more than 30,000 of its officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, because of these factors, and high morale in the Finnish forces, Finland repelled Soviet attacks for several months, much longer than the Soviets expected. However, after reorganization and adoption of different tactics, the renewed Soviet offensive overcame Finnish defenses at the borders, hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded territory representing 11% of its area and 13% of its economy to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses were heavy, and the international reputation suffered. While the Soviet Union did not conquer all Finland, Soviet gains exceeded their pre-war demands and they gained substantial territory along Lake Ladoga, providing a buffer for Leningrad, and territory in northern Finland. Finland retained its sovereignty and enhanced its international reputation, the end of the war cancelled the Franco-British plan to send troops to Finland through northern Scandinavia. One of the goals of the projected Franco-British operation had been to take control of northern Swedens iron ore. For this reason it was also a factor in the launching of Operation Weserübung, Nazi Germanys invasion of Denmark. The poor performance of the Red Army encouraged Hitler to think that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful, until the beginning of the 19th century, Finland constituted the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden. In 1809, to protect their capital, Saint Petersburg. While abortive because of Russias internal strife, these attempts ruined Russias relations with the Finns, the new Bolshevik Russian government was weak, and with the threat of civil war looming Soviet Russia recognized the new Finnish government just three weeks after the declaration of independence. Sovereignty was fully achieved in May 1918 after a civil war. Finland joined the League of Nations in 1920, from which it sought security guarantees, nevertheless, the government of Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy. Another Finnish military policy was the top secret military cooperation between Finland and Estonia, the 1920s and early 1930s were a politically unstable time in Finland
31.
Strategic bombing during World War II
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Strategic bombing during World War II was the sustained aerial attack on railways, harbours, cities, workers housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory during World War II. Strategic bombing is a strategy which is distinct from both close air support of ground forces and tactical air power. As the war continued to expand, bombing by both the Axis and the Allies increased significantly, in September 1940, the Luftwaffe began targeting British cities in The Blitz. From 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites and eventually, when the United States began flying bombing missions against Germany, it reinforced these efforts and controversial firebombings were carried out against Hamburg, Dresden, and other German cities. In the Pacific War, the Japanese bombed civilian populations throughout the war, the effect of strategic bombing was highly debated during and after the war. Both the Luftwaffe and RAF failed to deliver a blow by destroying enemy morale. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which address the codes of conduct on land. Despite repeated diplomatic attempts to update international humanitarian law to include aerial warfare, many reasons exist for the absence of international law regarding aerial bombing in World War II. Most nations had refused to ratify laws or agreements because of the vague or impractical wording in treaties such as the 1923 Hague Rules of Air Warfare. Also, the major powers possession of newly developed advanced bombers was a military advantage. Article 25 of the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions on Land Warfare also did not provide a guideline on the extent to which civilians may be spared. Consequently, cyclical arguments, such as advanced by Italian general and air power theorist Giulio Douhet. Before World War II began, the pace of aviation technology created a belief that groups of bombers would be capable of devastating cities. For example, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin warned in 1932, when the war began on 1 September 1939, Franklin D. If the Luftwaffe confined attacks to purely military targets, the RAF should launch an attack on the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven, the first RAF raid on the interior of Germany took place on the night of 15/16 May 1940 while the Battle of France was still continuing. During the German invasion of Poland, the Luftwaffe engaged in air raids against Polish cities, bombing civilian infrastructure such as hospitals. Notably, the Luftwaffe bombed Warsaw, Wieluń, and Frampol, in his book, Eyes on the Sky, Wolfgang Schreyer wrote, Frampol was chosen as an experimental object, because test bombers, flying at low speed, werent endangered by AA fire. Also, the centrally placed town hall was an orientation point for the crews
32.
Firestorm
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A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires, although the word has been used to describe certain large fires, the phenomenons determining characteristic is a fire with its own storm-force winds from every point of the compass. The Black Saturday bushfires and the Great Peshtigo Fire are possible examples of forest fires with some portion of combustion due to a firestorm. A firestorm is created as a result of the effect as the heat of the original fire draws in more and more of the surrounding air. This draft can be increased if a low-level jet stream exists over or near the fire. As the updraft mushrooms, strong inwardly-directed gusty winds develop around the fire and this would seem to prevent the firestorm from spreading on the wind, but the tremendous turbulence created may also cause the strong surface inflow winds to change direction erratically. A firestorm may also develop into a mesocyclone and induce true tornadoes/fire whirls and this occurred with the 2002 Durango fire, and probably with the much greater Peshtigo Fire. The greater draft of a firestorm draws in greater quantities of oxygen, the intense heat of a firestorm manifests largely as radiated heat, which may ignite flammable material at a distance ahead of the fire itself. This also serves to expand the area and the intensity of the firestorm, the very high temperatures ignite anything that might possibly burn, until the firestorm runs low on fuel. Thus the fire front is essentially stationary and the spread of fire is prevented by the in-rushing wind. At Hiroshima, this inrushing to feed the fire is said to have prevented the firestorm perimeter from expanding, large wildfire conflagrations are distinct from firestorms if they have moving fire fronts which are driven by the ambient wind and do not develop their own wind system like true firestorms. In Australia, the prevalence of eucalyptus trees that have oil in their leaves results in forest fires that are noted for their extremely tall, hence the bush fires appear more as a firestorm than a simple forest fire. Sometimes, emission of gases from swamps has a similar effect. For instance, methane explosions enforced the Peshtigo Fire, for example, the black rain that began to fall at ~20 minutes after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima produced in total 5–10 cm of black soot-filled rain in a 1–3 hour period. Moreover, if the conditions are right, a large pyrocumulus can grow into a pyrocumulonimbus and produce lightning, apart from city and forest fires, pyrocumulus clouds can also be produced by volcanic eruptions due to the comparable amounts of hot buoyant material formed. The same underlying combustion physics can also apply to structures such as cities during war or natural disaster. Firestorms are thought to have part of the mechanism of large urban fires, such as accompanied the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Firestorms were also created by the raids of World War II in cities like Hamburg
33.
Conflagration
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A conflagration is a large and destructive fire that threatens human life, animal life, health, and/or property. It may also be described as a blaze or simply a fire, a conflagration can begin accidentally, be naturally caused, or intentionally created. Arson can be for fraud, murder, sabotage or diversion, a firestorm can form as a consequence of a very large fire, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire. Conflagrations can cause casualties including deaths or injuries from burns, trauma due to collapse of structures and attempts to escape, firefighting is the practice of attempting to extinguish a conflagration, protect life and property, and minimize damage and injury. One of the goals of fire prevention is to avoid conflagrations, when a conflagration is extinguished, there is often a fire investigation to determine the cause of the fire. A destructive fire, usually an extensive one a very intense and uncontrolled fire a large disastrous fire During a conflagration a significant movement of air, hot gaseous products of combustion move upward, causing the influx of more dense cold air to the combustion zone. Sometimes, the influx is so intense that the fire grows into a firestorm, inside a building, the intensity of gas exchange depends on the size and location of openings in walls and floors, the ceiling height, and the amount and characteristics of the combustible materials. Industrial conflagrations include fires at oil refineries, such as the 2009 Cataño oil refinery fire. One or several fire in forests or other areas, i. e. wildfire, may grow up into or unite to a conflagration. An urban conflagration moves beyond a block. In some ships, a large uncontained fire may lead to a ship conflagration. The conflagration of a building is known as a structure fire, an asteroid more than 4.3 miles in diameter colliding with the Earth, spewing out enough ejecta to cause a global conflagration
34.
Bombing of Dresden in World War II
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The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed over 1,600 acres of the city centre. An estimated 22,700 to 25,000 people were killed, three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March aimed at the citys railroad marshaling yard and one small raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas. Immediate German propaganda claims following the attacks and post-war discussions on whether the attacks were justified has led to the bombing becoming one of the moral causes célèbres of the war. Several researchers have asserted that not all of the infrastructure, such as the bridges, was targeted. Large variations in the death toll have fueled the controversy. In March 1945, the German government ordered its press to publish a falsified casualty figure of 200,000 for the Dresden raids, and death toll estimates as high as 500,000 have been given. The city authorities at the time estimated no more than 25,000 victims, the Red Army had launched their Silesian Offensives into pre-war German territory. The German army was retreating on all fronts, but still resisting strongly, on 8 February 1945, the Red Army crossed the Oder River, with positions just 70 km from Berlin. Alternatively, the report warned that the Germans might hold out until November if they could prevent the Soviets from taking Silesia, hence, any assistance provided to the Soviets on the Eastern Front could shorten the war. At the time of bombing, the Soviets were conducting their Lower Silesian Offensive, plans for a large and intense aerial bombing of Berlin and the other eastern cities had been discussed under the code name Operation Thunderclap in mid-1944, but had been shelved on 16 August. These were now re-examined, and the decision was made to draw up a limited operation. That evening Churchill asked the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair and he mentioned that aircraft diverted to such raids should not be taken away from the current primary tasks of destroying oil production facilities, jet aircraft factories, and submarine yards. Pray report to me tomorrow what is going to be done, attacks there, where main railway junctions, telephone systems, city administration and utilities were located, would result in chaos. Ostensibly, Britain had learned this after the Coventry Blitz, when loss of this crucial infrastructure had supposedly longer-lasting effects than attacks on war plants. In response, Chief of the British Air Staff Portal, who was in Yalta, bottomleys list included oil plants, tank and aircraft factories and the cities of Berlin and Dresden. Dresden was Germanys seventh-largest city and, according to the RAF at the time, nonetheless, according to some historians, the contribution of Dresden to the German war effort may not have been as significant as the planners thought. The US Air Force Historical Division wrote a report in response to the concern about the bombing - the report remained classified until December 1978. This said that there were 110 factories and 50,000 workers in the city supporting the German war effort at the time of the raid and it also said there were barracks, hutted camps, and a munitions storage depot
35.
Bombing of Tokyo
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The US first mounted a small-scale raid on Tokyo in April 1942. Strategic bombing and urban area bombing began in 1944 after the long-range B-29 Superfortress bomber entered service, first deployed from China, B-29 raids from those islands began on 17 November 1944, and lasted until 15 August 1945, the day Japan capitulated. Japanese later called this event Night of the Black Snow, the raid was retaliation against the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The raid did little damage to Japans war capability but was a significant propaganda victory for the United States. Launched at longer range than planned when the force encountered a Japanese picket boat. One aircraft landed in the neutral Soviet Union where the crew was interned, two crews were captured by the Japanese in occupied China. Three crewmen from these groups were later executed, almost 90% of the bombs dropped on the home islands of Japan were delivered by this type of bomber. Once Allied ground forces had captured islands sufficiently close to Japan, airfields were built on those islands, the initial raids were carried out by the Twentieth Air Force operating out of mainland China in Operation Matterhorn under XX Bomber Command, but these could not reach Tokyo. Operations from the Northern Mariana Islands commenced in November 1944 after the XXI Bomber Command was activated there, changing tactics to increase the damage, Curtis LeMay ordered the bombers to drop incendiary bombs to burn Japans vulnerable wood-and-paper buildings. The first such raid was against Kobe on 4 February 1945, LeMay ordered all defensive guns but the tail gun removed from the B-29s so that the aircraft would be lighter and use less fuel. On the night of 9–10 March,334 B-29s took off to raid with 279 of them dropping 1,665 tons of bombs on Tokyo. The bombs were mostly the 500-pound E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 napalm-carrying M-69 incendiary bomblets at an altitude of 2, 000–2,500 ft. The M-69s punched through thin roofing material or landed on the ground, in case they ignited 3–5 seconds later. A lesser number of M-47 incendiaries was dropped, the M-47 was a 100-pound jelled-gasoline. In the first two hours of the raid,226 of the attacking aircraft unloaded their bombs to overwhelm the citys fire defenses. The individual fires caused by the bombs joined to create a general conflagration, approximately 15.8 square miles of the city were destroyed and some 100,000 people are estimated to have died. Damage to Tokyos heavy industry was slight until firebombing destroyed much of the industry that was used as an integral source for small machine parts. Firebombing also killed or made homeless many workers who had been taking part in war industry, over 50% of Tokyos industry was spread out among residential and commercial neighborhoods, firebombing cut the whole citys output in half
36.
Thermobaric weapon
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The fuel-air bomb is one of the most well-known types of thermobaric weapons. Their reliance on atmospheric oxygen makes them unsuitable for use underwater, at high altitude, thermobaric weapons have the longest sustained blast wave and most destructive force of any known non-nuclear explosive. There are many different types of thermobaric weapons rounds that can be fitted to hand-held launchers, the term thermobaric is derived from the Greek words for heat and pressure, thermobarikos, from thermos, hot + baros, weight, pressure + suffix -ikos, suffix -ic. Other terms used for family of weapons are high-impulse thermobaric weapons, heat and pressure weapons, vacuum bombs. Thermobaric explosives apply the principles underlying accidental unconfined vapor cloud explosions, a typical weapon consists of a container packed with a fuel substance, in the center of which is a small conventional-explosive scatter charge. The most recent development involves the use of nanofuels, conventional upper and lower limits of flammability apply to such weapons. Close in, blast from the charge, compressing and heating the surrounding atmosphere. The upper limit has been demonstrated strongly to influence the ignition of fogs above pools of oil, in confinement, a series of reflective shock waves are generated, which maintain the fireball and can extend its duration to between 10 and 50 ms as exothermic recombination reactions occur. Further damage can result as the cool and pressure drops sharply. This effect has given rise to the vacuum bomb. Piston-type afterburning is also believed to occur in structures, as flame-fronts accelerate through it. A fuel-air explosive device consists of a container of fuel and two explosive charges. After the munition is dropped or fired, the first explosive charge bursts open the container at a predetermined height, the cloud of fuel flows around objects and into structures. The second charge then detonates the cloud, creating a massive blast wave, the blast wave destroys reinforced buildings and equipment and kills and injures people. The antipersonnel effect of the blast wave is more severe in foxholes and tunnels, fuel-air explosives were first developed, and used in Vietnam, by the United States. Soviet scientists, however, quickly developed their own FAE weapons, since then, research and development has continued and currently Russian forces field a wide array of third-generation FAE warheads. A Human Rights Watch report of 1 February 2000 quotes a study made by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, what kills is the pressure wave, and more importantly, the subsequent rarefaction, which ruptures the lungs. If the fuel deflagrates but does not detonate, victims will be severely burned, since the most common FAE fuels, ethylene oxide and propylene oxide, are highly toxic, undetonated FAE should prove as lethal to personnel caught within the cloud as most chemical agents
37.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
38.
Fragmentation (weaponry)
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Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonation of the explosive filler. The correct technical terminology of these pieces is fragmentation – although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments, preformed fragments can be of various shapes and size and are normally held rigidly within some form of matrix or body until the high explosive filling is detonated. These casing pieces are often referred to as shrapnel, though this is the result of the original term being culturally genericized due to its uniquely memorable phonology. The use of fragmentation in bombs dates to the 14th century, the fragmentation bombs were filled with iron pellets and pieces of broken porcelain. Once the bomb explodes, the resulting shrapnel is capable of piercing the skin, for this bomb you take tung oil, yin hsiu, salammoniac, chin chih, scallion juice, and heat them so as to coat a lot of iron pellets and bits of broken porcelain. Then fill in to a case of cast iron making a fragmentation bomb, when it bursts, it breaks into pieces that wound the skin and break the bones and blinds their eyes. The modern fragmentation grenade was developed during the 20th century, the Mills bomb, first adopted in 1915 by the British army, is an early fragmentation grenade used in World War I. The Mk 2 grenade was a fragmentation grenade adopted by the American military based on the Mills bomb, the term shrapnel is often incorrectly used to refer to fragments produced by any explosive weapon. However, the shrapnel shell predates the modern high-explosive shell and operates via a different process. A shrapnel shell consists of a shell casing filled with steel or lead balls suspended in a resin matrix, when the projectile is fired, it travels a pre-set distance along a ballistic trajectory before the fuse ignites a relatively weak secondary charge in the base of the shell. Since the cone of impact is small, shrapnel shells needed to be carefully sighted. Detonating on impact after being fired, whereas a shrapnel shell would ineffectually fire its contents only a few feet into the air in a cone-shaped pattern, another artillery round very similar to shrapnel is canister shot, sometimes called case shot. Canister shot is a sheet metal casing filled with steel or lead balls. Upon firing, the casing fractures as it exits the muzzle of the gun and dispenses the balls from the gun’s muzzle much like a large shotgun
39.
The Blitz
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By September 1940—two months into the battle—faulty German intelligence suggested that the Royal Air Force was close to defeat at the hands of the Luftwaffe. The German air fleets were ordered to attack London, thereby drawing up the last remnants of RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation, Adolf Hitler and commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, sanctioned the change in emphasis on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, one year into the war, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 out of the following 57 days, on 15 September 1940, a large daylight attack against London was repulsed with significant German losses. Thereafter, the Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favour of nocturnal attacks, ports and industrial centres outside London were also attacked. The main Atlantic sea port of Liverpool was bombed, the North Sea port of Hull, a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, was subjected to raids in the Hull Blitz during the war. More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged and more than 40,000 civilians were killed, by May 1941, the threat of an invasion of Britain had ended, and Hitlers attention turned to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or significantly damage the war economy, the eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British production and the war industries continued to operate and expand. The German offensives greatest effect was forcing the dispersal of aircraft production, British wartime studies concluded that cities generally took 10 to 15 days to recover when hit severely but exceptions like Birmingham took three months. The German air offensive failed for several reasons, discussions in OKL revolved around tactics rather than strategy. Poor intelligence on British industry and economic efficiency was also a factor, in the 1920s and 1930s, air power theorists Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell espoused the idea that air forces could win wars, without a need for land and sea fighting. It was thought there was no defence against air attack, particularly at night, enemy industry, seats of government, factories and communications could be destroyed, taking away their means to resist. It was also thought the bombing of residential centres would cause a collapse of civilian will, democracies, where the populace was allowed to show overt disapproval of the state, were thought particularly vulnerable. This thinking was prevalent in both the RAF and the United States Army Air Corps, the policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. In the Luftwaffe, there was a view of strategic bombing. OKL did not believe that air power alone could be decisive, contrary to popular belief, evidence suggests that the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official bombing policy in which civilians became the primary target until 1942. The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets and it could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but the breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. Wever outlined five points of air strategy, To destroy the air force by bombing its bases and aircraft factories
40.
Warhead
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The term warhead refers to the explosive or toxic material that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo. Types of warheads include, Explosive, An explosive charge is used to disintegrate the target, conventional, Chemicals such as gunpowder and high explosives store significant energy within their molecular bonds. This energy can be released quickly by a trigger, such as an electric spark, thermobaric weapons enhance the blast effect by utilizing the surrounding atmosphere in their explosive reactions. Blast, A strong shock wave is provided by the detonation of the explosive, fragmentation, Metal fragments are projected at high velocity to cause damage or injury. Continuous rod, Metal bars welded on their ends form a cylinder of interconnected rods. The rapidly expanding ring produces a planar cutting effect that is devastating against military aircraft, shaped charge, The effect of the explosive charge is focused onto a specially shaped metal liner to project a hypervelocity jet of metal, to perforate heavy armour. Nuclear, A runaway nuclear fission or nuclear fusion reaction causes immense energy release, chemical, A toxic chemical, such as poison gas or nerve gas, is dispersed, which is designed to injure or kill human beings. Biological, An infectious agent, such as spores, is dispersed. Often, a biological or chemical warhead will use a charge for rapid dispersal. Type of detonators include Guidance system List of aircraft weapons List of missiles Nuclear weapon yield Missile The Nuclear Weapon Archive, the B61 Bomb - Intermediate yield strategic and tactical thermonuclear bomb. Atomic Audit - The Costs and Consequences of U. S, ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill AFB, Utah. NNSA Achieves Significant Milestone for B61 Bomb, Nuclear Weapons, The Secret History, pp. 162–164
41.
Tank
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A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat, with heavy firepower, strong armour, and tracks providing good battlefield maneuverability. The first tanks were designed to overcome the deadlock of trench warfare, now they are a mainstay of ground forces. Modern tanks are versatile mobile land weapon platforms, mounting a large-calibre cannon in a rotating gun turret. In both offensive and defensive roles, they are units that are capable of performing tasks which are required of armoured units on the battlefield. As a result of advances, tanks underwent tremendous shifts in capability in the years since their first appearance. Tanks in World War I were developed separately and simultaneously by Great Britain and this was a prototype of a new design that would become the British Armys Mark I tank, the first tank used in combat in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The name tank was adopted by the British during the stages of their development. While the British and French built thousands of tanks in World War I, Germany was unconvinced of the tanks potential, Tanks of the interwar period evolved into the much larger and more powerful designs of World War II. Tanks in the Cold War were designed with these weapons in mind, improved engines, transmissions and suspensions allowed tanks of this period to grow larger. Aspects of gun technology changed significantly as well, with advances in shell design, during the Cold War, the main battle tank concept arose and became a key component of modern armies. Modern tanks seldom operate alone, as they are organized into combined arms units which involve the support of infantry and they are also usually supported by reconnaissance or ground-attack aircraft. The tank is the 20th century realization of an ancient concept, the internal combustion engine, armour plate, and continuous track were key innovations leading to the invention of the modern tank. Many sources imply that Leonardo da Vinci and H. G. Wells in some way foresaw or invented the tank, leonardos late 15th century drawings of what some describe as a tank show a man-powered, wheeled vehicle with cannons all around it. However the human crew would not have power to move it over larger distance. In the 15th century, Jan Žižka built armoured wagons containing cannons, the caterpillar track arose from attempts to improve the mobility of wheeled vehicles by spreading their weight, reducing ground pressure, and increasing their traction. Experiments can be traced back as far as the 17th century and it is frequently claimed that Richard Lovell Edgeworth created a caterpillar track. It is true that in 1770 he patented a machine, that should carry and lay down its own road and his own account in his autobiography is of a horse-drawn wooden carriage on eight retractable legs, capable of lifting itself over high walls. The description bears no similarity to a caterpillar track, armoured trains appeared in the mid-19th century, and various armoured steam and petrol-engined vehicles were also proposed
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Armoured fighting vehicle
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An armoured fighting vehicle is a combat vehicle, protected by strong armour and generally armed with weapons, which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked and it is not uncommon for AFVs to be simply referred to as armour. Armoured fighting vehicles are classified according to their role on the battlefield. This classification is not absolute, at different times different countries will classify the vehicle in different roles. For example, armoured carriers were generally replaced by infantry fighting vehicles in a similar role. Modern armoured fighting vehicles are the realization of an ancient concept, War machines with rudimentary armour have been used in battle for millennia. These designs historically struggled between the paradox of exposed-mobility, effective-firepower and cumbersome-protection, Siege engines, such as battering rams and trebuchets, would often be armoured in order to protect the crews from the defenders. Very large movable siege towers, helepolis were developed by Polyidus of Thessaly, the idea of a vehicle with a tortoise like cover has been known since antiquity. Frequently cited is Leonardo da Vincis 15th century sketch of a mobile, protected gun platform, the machine was to be mounted on four wheels which would be turned by the crew through a system of hand cranks and cage gears. Leonardo quoted I will build armored wagons which will be safe, there will be no obstacle which it cannot overcome. Modern replicas have demonstrated that the crew would have been able to move it over only short distances. The war wagon were medieval weapon-platforms developmed during the Hussite Wars around 1420 by Hussite forces rebelling in Bohemia. These heavy wagon were given protective sides with firing slits and heavy firepower from either a cannon or a force of hand-gunners and crossbowmen, supported by infantry using pikes, heavy arquebuses mounted on wagons were called arquebus à croc. These carried a ball of about 3.5 ounces, the first modern AFVs were armed cars, dating back virtually to the invention of the motor car. The Motor Scout was designed and built by British inventor F. R. Simms in 1898 and it was the first armed petrol engine powered vehicle ever built. The vehicle was a De Dion-Bouton quadricycle with a mounted Maxim machine gun on the front bar, an iron shield offered some protection for the driver from the front, but it lacked all-around protective armour. The armoured car was the first modern fully armoured fighting vehicle, the first of these was the Simms Motor War Car, designed by Simms and built by Vickers, Sons & Maxim in 1899. The vehicle had Vickers armour 6 mm thick and was powered by a four-cylinder 3. 3-litre 16 hp Cannstatt Daimler engine giving it a speed of around 9 miles per hour
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Explosively formed penetrator
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As the name suggests, the effect of the explosive charge is to deform a metal plate into a slug or rod shape and accelerate it toward a target. They were first developed during WWII, an EFP, on the other hand, has a liner face in the shape of a shallow dish. The force of the blast moulds the liner into any of a number of shapes, depending on the shape of the plate and how the explosive is detonated. A less sophisticated approach for changing the formation of an EFP is the use of wire-mesh in front of the liner, with the mesh in place the liner fragments into multiple penetrators. In addition to single-penetrator EFPs, there are EFP warheads whose liners are designed to more than one penetrator. The liner of an MEFP generally comprises a number of dimples that intersect each other at sharp angles, upon detonation the liner fragments along these intersections to form up to dozens of small, generally spheroidal projectiles, producing an effect similar to that of a shotgun. The pattern of impacts on target can be controlled based on the design of the liner. A nuclear-driven MEFP was apparently proposed by a member of the JASON group in 1966 for terminal ballistic missile defense, a related device was the proposed nuclear pulse propulsion unit for Project Orion. The penetration is proportional to the density of the metal, tantalum 16.654 g/cm3, copper 8.960 g/cm3. Tantalum is preferable in delivery systems that have limitations in size, like the SADARM, for other weapon systems where the size does not matter, a copper liner of double the calibre is used. An EFP eight inches in diameter threw a seven-pound copper slug at Mach 6, EFPs have been used in improvised explosive devices against armoured cars, for example in the 1989 assassination of the German banker Alfred Herrhausen, and by Hezbollah in the 1990s. A recent development is their use in IEDs by insurgents in Iraq against coalition vehicles. The charges are generally cylindrical, fabricated from commonly available metal pipe, explosive is loaded behind the metal liner to fill the pipe. Upon detonation, the projects the liner to form a projectile. Often mounted on crash barriers at window level, they are placed along roadsides at choke points where vehicles must slow down and this gives the operator time to judge the moment to fire, when the vehicle is moving more slowly. Detonation is controlled by cable, radio control, TV or IR remote controls, EFPs can be deployed singly, in pairs, or in arrays, depending on the tactical situation. At close standoff distance there is no need for the cone-tailed projectiles aerodynamic stability, the SIM-EFP is a construction that fits in between the military linear cutting charge and the platter charge. The main difference is how much the rectangular liner plate is bent, sIM-EFPs are built from simple cut and bent steel bars, side by side, with explosives attached
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Anti-personnel mine
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Anti-personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines, the mines are often designed to injure, not kill, their victims in order to increase the logistical support required by enemy forces that encounter them. Some types of mines can also damage the tracks on armoured vehicles or the tires of wheeled vehicles. What makes them different from most anti-tank mines, however, is their smaller size and this process can be done manually, via dispensers on land vehicles, or from helicopters or aircraft. Alternatively, they can be dispensed by cargo-carrying artillery shells and their primary purpose is to blow the victims foot or leg off, disabling them. Injuring, rather than killing, the victim is viewed as preferable in order to increase the burden on the opposing force. When a person steps on a blast mine and activates it, the shock wave sends a huge compressive force upwards, ejecting the mine casing and any soil covering the mine along with it. When the blast wave hits the surface, it transfers the force into the subjects footwear. This results in a compression force being applied. In most cases, the foot is blown off by the blast wave. Different types of soil will result in different amounts of energy being transferred upward into the subjects foot, secondary injuries from a blast mine are often caused by the material that has been torn loose by the mines explosion. This consists of the soil and stones that were on top of the mine, parts of the victims footwear and this debris creates wounds typical of similar secondary blast effects or fragmentation. Special footwear, including combat boots or so-called blast boots, is only moderately protective against the effects of blast mines. Blast mines have little effect on armoured vehicles, but can damage a vehicle if it runs directly over the mine. Small blast mines will severely damage a tire, rendering it irreparable while some types could also damage adjacent running gear, the mine casing houses the components of the mine and protects it from its environment. Early mines, such as the used in the World War II era, had casings made of steel or aluminium. However, by the middle of the conflict, the British Army was using the first, practical, the Germans responded with mines that had a wooden or glass casing to make detection harder. Wooden mines had been used by the Russians in 1939, before the appearance of metal detectors, some, like the PP Mi-D mine, continued to be used into the 1980s as they were easy to make and hard to detect
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Anti-tank mine
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An anti-tank mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a larger explosive charge. While obviously the anti-tank mine as such did not pre-date the deployment of tanks in 1916, for example, during the U. S. Civil War, Confederate forces created pressure-activated anti-railroad mines which destroyed at least two trains. The first anti-tank mines were improvised during the First World War as a measure against the first tanks introduced by the British towards the end of the war. Initially they were nothing more than a high explosive shell or mortar bomb with its fuze upright. Later, purpose built mines were developed, including the Flachmine 17, the Soviet Union began developing mines in the early 1920s, and in 1924 produced its first anti-tank mine, the EZ mine. The mine, which was developed by Yegorov and Zelinskiy, had a 1 kg charge, meanwhile, in Germany, defeat spurred the development of anti-tank mines, with the first truly modern mine, the Tellermine 29, entering service in 1929. It was a disc shaped device approximately 30 cm across filled with about 5 kg of high explosives, a second mine, the Tellermine 35 was developed in 1935. Anti-tank mines were used by both sides during the Spanish Civil War, notably, Republican forces lifted mines placed by Nationalist forces and used them against the Nationalists. This spurred the development of anti-handling devices for anti-tank mines, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland also saw widespread use of anti-tank mines. The German Tellermine was a purpose-built anti-tank mine developed during the period between the first and second world wars, the first model being introduced in 1929. Some variants were of a shape, but in all cases the outer casing served only as container for the explosives and fuze. Tellermine was the prototypical anti-tank mine, with elements of its design emulated in the Pignone P-1, NR25. Because of its high operating pressure, a vehicle would need to pass directly over top of the mine to set it off. But since the tracks represent only about 20% of a tanks width, as a tank passed over the mine, the rod was pushed forward, causing the charge to detonate directly beneath it. The blast often killed the crew and sometimes exploded onboard ammunition, now that tank crews were directly at risk, they were less likely to plow through a minefield. Shaped charge devices like the Hohl-Sprung mine 4672 were also developed by Germany later in the war, the most advanced German anti-tank mine of the war was their minimal metal Topfmine. In contrast to the dinner plate mines such as the German Tellermine were bar mines such as the German Riegel mine 43 and this form of mine was the inspiration for the British L9 bar mine
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Area Denial Artillery Munition
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Area Denial Artillery Munition is a family of US land mines and 155 mm artillery projectiles. The mines carried by these projectiles are the M67 long-duration anti-personnel mines, the duration refers to the self-destruct time, which is set at the time of manufacture to 4 or 48 hours. Once the mine lands, it launches seven tripwires before arming itself, any disturbance of the tripwires will trigger the mine. The mine is entirely electrically detonated, if the level of the mine drops below a pre-set level - the mine self-destructs. Even if the mine does not self-destruct, the battery will fully discharge after 14 days, the mines contain a spherical warhead in a void that also contains 51 g of M10 liquid propellant. Upon activation the spherical warhead is launched upward to a height of 1–2 m where it detonates, producing approximately 600 fragments travelling at a velocity of 900 m/s. Self-destruct time, M67,48 hours M72,4 hours Height,82.5 mm Width,57 mm Weight,540 g Explosive content,21.9 g of composition A5 Weight,46
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Honest John missile
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The MGR-1 Honest John rocket was the first nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile in the United States arsenal. Designated Artillery Rocket XM31, the first such rocket was tested 29 June 1951, the designator was changed to M31 in September 1953. The first Army units received their rockets by years end and Honest John battalions were deployed in Europe in early 1954. Developed at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, Honest John was a large but simple fin-stabilized, unguided artillery rocket weighing 2,640 kilograms in its initial M-31 nuclear-armed version. Mounted on the back of a truck, HJ was aimed in much the way as a cannon and then fired up an elevated ramp. The M-31 had a range of 24.8 kilometres with a 20 kiloton nuclear warhead and was capable of carrying a 680 kilograms conventional warhead. Early tests exhibited more scatter on target than was acceptable when HJ was conventionally armed, development of an upgraded Honest John, M-50, was undertaken to improve accuracy and extend range. The size of the fins was reduced to eliminate “weathercocking”. Increased spin was applied to restore the positive stability margin that was lost when fin size was reduced, Honest John was manufactured by the Douglas Airplane Company of Santa Monica, California. The M31 consisted of a truck-mounted, unguided, solid-fueled rocket transported in three separate parts, before launch they were assembled in the field, mounted on an M289 launcher and aimed and fired in about 5 minutes. There was a W31 variant of 20 kt used in the Nike Hercules antiaircraft system exclusively, M-31 had a range between 5.5 and 24.8 km. In the 1960s Sarin nerve gas cluster munitions were also available for Honest John launch, initially the M79 GB cluster warhead, containing 356 M134 bomblets for the M31A1C Honest John. The production model was the M190 GB cluster warhead, containing 356 M139 bomblets when the M31A1C was phased out in favor of the XM50 Honest John, under nominal conditions it had an MAE of 0.9 square kilometers. The Hercules Powder Company X-202 rocket motor was 5.015 metres long, weighed 1,786 kilograms, and had 401.79 kN average thrust. MGR-1B was 7.5827 metres long, had an diameter of 58 centimetres, a warhead diameter of 76 centimetres, a span of 140 centimetres, weighed 1,965 kilograms. An improved propellant formulation gave the rocket motor 670 kN thrust, production of the MGR-1 variants finished in 1965 with a total production run of more than 7,000 rockets. Honest John’s bulbous nose and distinctive truck-mounted launch ramp made it a recognized symbol of the Cold War at Army bases world-wide. Even though HJ was unguided and the first U. S. nuclear ballistic missile, the system was replaced with the MGM-52 Lance missile in 1973, but was deployed with NATO units in Europe until 1985 and National Guard units in the United States as late as 1982
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M134 bomblet
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The M134 bomblet was a U. S. chemical sub-munition designed for use in the Honest John rocket during the 1950s. The weapon was never mass-produced and was supplanted in 1964 by an improved design, the M134 bomblet, developed as the E130, or E130R1 bomblet, began development in the early 1950s. While the weapon was not yet battle-ready, or ready for mass-production, in 1960, by 1964 the bomblet design had been improved and the smaller M139 was adapted for use with the rocket warheads utilized by the M134. Thus, the M134 was never mass-produced, by the time the missile warhead, the M134 bomblet was designed for the M190 Honest John rocket warhead. The bomblets carried sarin nerve agent and when the missile was fired the bomblets were released 5,000 feet above their target, when the time came for the sub-munitions to be released a mechanical time fuze would cut the warheads skin and the bomblets were released. The weapon could effectively saturate an area 1,000 meters in diameter with chemical agent, the Honest John held 356 of the 115 mm M134s. The spherical M134 was 4.5 inches around and constructed of ribbed steel, the U. S. Army Chemical Corps originally planned to use the M134 as a VX dissemination method as well, but later regarded this use as ineffective and scrapped the plan. The warhead meant to carry the M134 was classified and went into production on April 14,1960, the M134 had a host of issues which impeded its development. Problems with the system, and a tendency toward unacceptable pressure build-up in filled munitions were among the problems encountered during development. The problems with the M134 delayed the rocket-delivered nerve agent program, by 1964 the M139 bomblet was ready for production. The M139 was superior to the M134, its angle of 22° allowed it better agent coverage
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