Re: 11 ton bomb
Judging by the captions, these are a Tallboy (used against the Tirpitz in 1944) and a Grand Slam (used against the Bielefeld viaduct in 1945). One or both were also used against U-Boat pens.
Both are missing their tail assemblies in the photos of course but looked much longer and sleeker when fully assembled. IIRC their fins were offset to spin the bomb as it fell and they were designed to destroy fortified structures by penetrating deep into the ground before exploding. The explosion formed a huge cavity which, as it fell back in collapsed neighbouring structures. You didn't need to hit whatever it was directed at, just get close.
Last edited by Nick Beale; 11th August 2008 at 01:20.
Reason: typo
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