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| Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum - Avro Lancaster Bomber / 69 Upkeep DamB usting Bouncing Bomb
Bill Maloney 1/22/2010 |
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69 Upkeep Dam Busting Bouncing Bomb
Length: 5 Feet 0 Inches
Diameter: 4 Feet 6 Inches
Weight: 9,250lbs
Warhead: 6,600lbs Torpex
Fusing: Hydrostatic fuse set to a depth of 30 feet. Backup chemical timed fuse
Release Height: 60 feet
Release Speed of aircraft: 220mph
Release RPM: 500rpm
Delivery Platforms: Avro Lancaster Bomber
Entered Service: 1943
The Upkeep Bomb is a purpose built bouncing bomb designed specifically for dam busting. Specially modified Lancaster bombers carried the bombs in a motor driven cradle beneath a cutout in the fuselage. The bombs would be spun up to 500rpm in reverse of the direction the plane was flying and released at a height of about 50 feet to bounce and skim across the water and torpedo nets and come to a rest at the wall of a dam, then sink to a depth of 30 feet and detonate, cracking and busting the dam open by sheer force of water. Here is a Youtube Video with Upkeep Bouncing Bomb footage. Here's another Youtube dambusting bomb video with some great period footage of the bombs being tested.