Demolition/Sabotage/Booby-Trap explosive charges

[Bill Walker]

Very interesting. There are possibly two explosive devices shown, items 9 and 20.

This type of chart is prepared to permit the calculation of the c.g. and empty weight when some piece of equipment is, or is not, fitted. This suggests to me that the explosives were expected to be present only some of the time. Are there any documents that would show that to be the case? I wonder about that, since I can't recall too many examples of reports of attempts to destroy an aircraft after it was forced down, and those reports that do exist usually mention use of a hand gun or flare gun.

Maybe I'm biased by my flight time in turbine gas guzzlers, but if I was allowed to chose between a two pound bomb or another two pounds of fuel, I know what I would pick. Every time.