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Old April 18, 2011, 07:03 AM   #1
mete
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Bomblet ?

A friend showed me a bomblet about 1.5 to 2" long with fins. Made of bronze ?
Any ideas ? A dummy round ?
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Old April 18, 2011, 08:22 AM   #2
Rifleman1776
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Nope, really are a sort of bomblet. Dropped by the millions on enemy troops. A hit by one could be bad news. I have not seen bronze, the few I have are steel.
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Old April 18, 2011, 09:04 AM   #3
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These were called " devil dogs" and were dropped on enemy positions in Vietman from high flying aircraft. As the story goes the enemy never heard them coming so they didnt go to ground. It was reported that one penatrated a cong helmet, then the entire head and from there it penatrated the victums leg. If this is true WOW!
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Old April 18, 2011, 12:26 PM   #4
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That gave me somewhere to start , thanks. Various names ,most common is Lazy Dog Bomblet. Made of steel , perhaps the one I saw was plated. Some sources say it was developed in WWII and used through the Viet Nam war.Would penetrate various things including people !

Now an interesting point. I had a relative who was a pilot in WWI. In those days everything was new and they invented things as they went . One of the things they did was to find horses , then drop 6" spikes by the bucket full , which would kill the horses !
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Old April 18, 2011, 12:36 PM   #5
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OK, dumb question here: These bomblets were just gravity-propelled projectiles, right? There wasn't any explosive inside, right?
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Old April 18, 2011, 12:43 PM   #6
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Quote:
A friend showed me a bomblet about 1.5 to 2" long with fins. Made of bronze ?
Any ideas ? A dummy round ?
We used to see these at the flea market and were told that they were thrown by the bags-full on enemy troops from biplanes. True? I don't know.

As for being Vietnam War "devil dogs" with greater than ballistic penetration and super physic stealth, I don't think so. From high flying aircraft and even fin stabilized, the rounds would reach a terminal velocity that wasn't likely to be supersonic. They may even slow down from their release speed as a result of friction.

Here is a lead version from WWII.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...iw=997&bih=542

Also see...
http://www.warrelics.com/WebPhotos/E/E120.jpg

Some Vietnam War bomblet jewelry...
http://stockpiledesigns.blogspot.com...elry_2945.html

Sorry, can't find any quick images of bronze versions, unmodified, but have seen them in the past.

Quote:
OK, dumb question here: These bomblets were just gravity-propelled projectiles, right? There wasn't any explosive inside, right?
Yep, the bronze ones were more pointy, but all were anti-personnel projectiles with no explosives.
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Old April 18, 2011, 01:38 PM   #7
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I had a handful of those once,,,

When I was a kid my uncle gave them to me,,,
That would have been pre 1960.

I was told they were WW-I vintage,,,
Dropped by hand from biplanes.

If I recall correctly,,,
Mine were steel.

Aarond
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Old April 18, 2011, 06:35 PM   #8
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They also dropped caltrops, a very ancient weapon having four or five prongs arranged so that when it lands one spike is always pointing up. They could penetrate a horse's hoof or a vehicle tire. They were dropped on roads and seem to have had some effect.

They date back to at least the middle ages when they were scattered by retreating armies to impede enemy cavalry. They may go back further, to the Romans and the Greeks.

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Old April 18, 2011, 06:38 PM   #9
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I don't think biplanes of the middle ages spent much time stopping retreating rubber-tired vehicles, but I am not that old to remember.
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Old April 18, 2011, 06:50 PM   #10
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Also known as "Yellow dogs" when I was growing up.
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Old April 18, 2011, 09:07 PM   #11
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Outstanding! So not devil dogs, but yellow dogs.

See here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_Dog_(bomb)
Also called Lazy Dog, described as an unguided kinetic bomb. Says they were originally developed in WWII and pre 1952 well designed in bomb dispersal units.

Greatest estimated fall speed was 500 mph or about 733 fps, so subsonic.

Does that get it for you, mete?
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Last edited by Double Naught Spy; April 18, 2011 at 09:13 PM.
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Old April 19, 2011, 09:34 AM   #12
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I'm busy now making a large steel umbrella out of the best armor plate alloy !!
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Old April 19, 2011, 09:59 AM   #13
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The reponse I post earlier and most all posts since have been conjecture and speculation. I was hoping to hear from someone who actually used these. The story history I told as well as others are oral history. I would really like to hear from someone with hands on experence or has some reference materials stating their use and results. Who knows we all could have had our collective legs pulled and these are just novelty toys.
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Old April 20, 2011, 07:22 PM   #14
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As a kid, I saw buckets of them for sale in what used to be genuine military surplus stores. ('03 Springfield or 1917 Enfield bayonets $1.50, helmets $.75, unissued pistol belts $1.00, 1911 holsters $.50-2.00 depending on condition, etc., etc.).

I remember them being labeled as "yellow dog" bombs in big containers and were 3 for $.25, if I recall. They never interested me much, as there was soooo much other, neater stuff to buy.
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