anyone know?

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), December 27, 1999

Answers

You are probably referring to a "fuel-air" bomb.

Basically, this device atomizes a very explosive fuel (such as gasoline) over an area then ignites it. With the proper dispersial and elevation above ground level, this is considered the "poor man's" nuclear bomb. The cuncussion and shock wave from such a device is nothing short of spectacular.

It will easily collapse structures and cause death to those exposed to the blast.

The reports of such a device being able to kill people in hardned underground shelters are BS.

-- Lighting the Fuse (ka@boom.com), December 27, 1999.

An animation is worth a thousand words...

Link

-- John (jh@NotReal.ca), December 27, 1999.

I can give you three definitions. First would be a military bomb dropped from bomber, in some manner a mist of gasloine or other highly flamable fuel is formed, after the fuel is misted in the air it is ignited. The resulting explosion is greater that the same size bomb of normal explosives, for one the oxidizer (air) is free. Very effective in Vietnam on underground tunnels - sucked the oxygen right out of the air. The second definition would be on the order of a molitov(sp) cocktail, fuel in a bottle with a lit rag in the top thrown against a hard surface. Third might be ammonium nitrate mixed with deisel fuel (similar to what Mcvey used) hard to detonate but cheap & effective.

-- goldbug (goldbug@mint.com), December 27, 1999.

It's nice to know that I'll be safe in my bunker...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 27, 1999.

F.A.E = Fuel Air Explosive. The animation is great. The highest overpressures ever measured short of a nuclear weapon were generated by FAE bombs. And Yes Martha they are effective against tunnels and bunkers. As stated they are created by atomizing (finely distribuiting) a fuel into the air or some ozygen provider and then igniting the fuel. An example of an accidental FAE is a natural gas leak in a house that is eventually ignited by a light switch... very bad news... DONT STORE FUELS IN YOUR HOUSE.

-- (...@.......), December 27, 1999.

The way to use them against bunkers is to allow a few seconds for the fuel/air mix to seep into the bunker... then ignite. Yeah, they are effective against bunkers.

-- (...@.......), December 27, 1999.

What was the name of that movie, Outbreak maybe, where they dropped a couple of these? <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), December 27, 1999.

I live near a (very) large Air Force base that does a LOT of research and development on new advanced weapons systems. (The "bunker-buster" smartbombs were developed there.)

I've seen/heard/been knocked groundward by smaller fuel-air weapons tests.

In case you haven't guessed by now, a fuel-air device is probably the most power non-nuclear explosive device ever invented. The overpressures and shockwave intensities from one are more potent than any other conventional weapon system.

When they test one out this way, it's about thirty miles from me and I still hear it...

O d d O n e

-- OddOne (mocklamer_1999@yahoo.com), December 28, 1999.

BLU-96: AirForce Designation of a Fuel Air Explosive Weapons System (sic.) Not only does it ignite all of the air in the area, but causes MASSIVE overpressure damage much like a nuclear weapon. The bomb that the Air Force uses is usually loaded onto a C-130 on a pallet, (Its the size of a volkswagon beetle), then rolled out over the target from a great hieght. The scene at the beginning of Outbreak was one of the more realistic demonstrations.

The only thing they don't like to talk about is the fact that when the O2 is burned up, the resulting 'rush' of oxygen to fill the void can and will, at the right distance, rip your lungs out, pull the eyes right outta yer head, and even cause you to expire from loss of O2.

We used these toys in the Gulf War to great psychological advantage. Day one the air force'd fly over and kick out leaflet stating "Surrender now! Or we will drop the world's biggest non-nuclear bomb on you at 1000am tommorow!" Day two, drop the bomb. Right afterwards, theyd fly over and drop leaflets stating "Congradulations! You just survived the world's biggest non-nuclear bomb! Surrender now, cause tommorow, we're gonna drop another one!!" Goddamned Iraqis couldn't surrender fast enuff!!!LOL

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), December 28, 1999.

Your comment about the delivery vehicle is correct: they generally don't use bombers (B-52) but cargo planes - releasing the assembly from the opened rear deck. Don't think B-1's are qualified to carry them.

Cargo planes were loaded with bombs too during the Falklands War. But a ship-sized target was too small to hit. A "city block" - particularly when you don't care which city block is hit, is relatively hard to miss.

-- Robert A Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), December 28, 1999.