photoflash bomb
Illustration — 19 lb Flashbombs are loaded into a photo-reconnaissance De Havilland Mosquito at Melsbroek, Belgium. C.1944 • Illustration — A photoflash bomb detonates over La Spezia during an air-raid on the night of 13-14 April 1943. It has illuminated the town's dockyard and a berthed battleship (marked with an 'A').
Also recorded as flash bomb
photoflash bomb
Broom R R (Plt Off), Wilson J G (Plt Off), Royal Air Force official photographer · This photograph C 4998 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums. · Public domain
- Field
- aerial bomb · airburst round
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wikidata · Q11688586 · wikipedia · Photoflash bomb
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Construction
The silhouette of one of the attacking Avro Lancaster bombers can be seen. Note the explosive shockwave faintly visible around the flash. A photoflash bomb, or flash bomb, is explosive ordnance dropped by aircraft, usually military surveillance aircraft, designed to detonate above ground to create an extremely bright flash of light. These bombs, which are capable of producing light at an intensity of up to hundreds of millions of candlepower, assist surveillance aircraft in taking nighttime aerial photos without the need to fly low to the ground which would make them vulnerable to possible enemy detection. Due to the advent of better nighttime optics, satellite imagery, and stealth aircraft, these bombs are no longer used by the military.
There were several models of photoflash bombs, but most had a similar construction and makeup. For example, the M23A1 was constructed of a cardboard tube, capped on both ends with metal "plugs." The tube was then filled with a flash powder "charge" and a fuse. The fuse would be attached to the hanging wire using a standard friction wire, which would ignite the flash powder after a specified delay. In this specific model of ordnance, the flash would last approximately 1/5th of a second after detonation.
Recent events
Recent events
On 19 July 2015, a World War II-era M122 (100 lb) photoflash bomb washed ashore at St. Pete Beach, Florida, U.S. This led authorities to evacuate the beach and several nearby homes. An Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from MacDill Air Force Base responded to the scene and detonated the device.
An Avro Lancaster silhouetted over the Italian port of La Spezia on the night of 13/14 April 1943. Annotated section of a vertical aerial photograph taken during a night raid on the docks at La Spezia, Italy. An Avro Lancaster is silhouetted over the target area as a photoflash bomb (centre right) illuminates the docks below, revealing a 'Littorio' class battleship lying in harbour ('A').
Royal Air Force official photographer · http: 54/media-54396/large.jpg This photograph C 3697 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Photoflash bomb, revision 1323179483 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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2- aerial bombTerminology
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- airburst roundTerminology
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