Show BOMBS mm AT FORT LOOK MEAN BUT MOST ARE DUDS Airbase Ordnance Men Learn to Prepare Handle Many Types By BOB Air corps units at Fort Douglas I could start a miniature war of their own with wIth- bombs they have on hand if only the eggs weren't duds Difference between a practice bomb and real to honest-to-gosh boomer is the color The dud is painted black the live one yel yel- low Bomb weights range from 17 to 2000 pounds although for target target target tar tar- get practice the air corps usually uses a pound tin can filled with sand and enough black powder Dowder to make a puff so sa bombardiers bom born bombardiers can check hits Bomb sizes vary for specific purposes ordnance men say but just try to find out something about their uses Army men are sil silent silent mt men Large-caliber Large bombs are akin altin to overgrown acetylene welding tanks tank The new trend in bombs is to the tear drop shape officers report Fuses are seated in both the nose and tail of the regular bomb and it may be a contact type or deH delayed delayed de de- de- de H fed a action fi 1 th 1 t er exploding ding 45 seconds after fter striking the ob ob- ob- ob The The fuse fuse consists of a small propeller propeller propeller pro pro- peller covering the firing pin The pinwheel on the fuse is freed from a safety wire catch when the bomb leaves the the plane allowing the propeller to spin After to spins on the way down the small propeller flies off and exposes the firing pin of the fuse The bomb then lands and boom The universal explosive used in all aU bombs is T NT N T or its tives With the safety device on on I the fuse properly set officers say saya sayI a live bomb can be dropped from any altitude and not explode indicating indic indicating indi indi- c cating ting safety in handling Bomb casings of tough steel are made by welding or by machining I processes At present they cannot be made strong enough by casting i methods although experiments I along those lines are being con con- ducted The bomb case has to be strong enough not to break on contact for if it did the resulting explosion would be aimless ordnance men declare Tests on empty bomb cases are conducted frequently by dropping them from high altitudes and if they break on landing it indicates manufacturing defects Fins or tail assemblies that cause caus the projectile to spin and make th the fall faU accurate are installed shortly before the bomb is loaded on the plane |