'Disney Swish' rocket bomb

msxyz · 06-30-10, 07:38 AM

I'm looking for good resolution pictures or drawings of this experimental bomb used during WW2 agains uboot pens and other bunkers.

A Google search yielded nothing but a pair of Youtube videos and a low quality scanned image from an old Polish book.

I know there's at least a color photo of the bomb and possibly a scanned sectional drawing. Unfortunately I couldn't track a working link for these. Can anybody help?

This rocket bomb was used in the closing months of WW2 against German submarine bunkers. Apparently some of them could withstand a direct hit from a 12000lbs bomb and both the RAF and the USAAF were looking for ways to destroy or damage them without having to resort to overload the bombers of the day (mostly Lancasters and B17) with 22000lbs bombs. These were so big that the bays had to be modified and the bombers incurred in a severe speed and maneuvrability penalty, making them an easier prey for AA fire and the fighters.

The 'Disney swish' bomb was a 4000lbs rocket assisted, armour piercing bomb with a terminal velocity of over 700m/s (c.a. 2000fps). Dropped in pairs at about 6000m (20000ft) it fell freely (some sources says it was a retarded fall design, meaning a small drag chute would stabilize its descent and angle) until a delayed fuze would start a cluster or rocket motors propelling the bomb into a shallow, high speed dive.

vienna · 07-02-10, 04:07 PM

Check this link:

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA065940&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

It is a pdf file (downloadable) of an Army Air Force/Elgin Field Test Ground report titled "Comparative Test of the Effectiveness of Large Bombs against Reinforced Concrete Structures (Anglo-American Bomb Tests-Project RUBY)" produced in 1946. It has test results for various Disney bomb configurations and on page 88 is a partial cutaway drawing of a Disney bomb. Be advised that the pdf may take a while to load: the report is 319 pages long. If you have any problems downloading, send me a message and I'll e-mail you a copy of the file that I downloaded.

It is possibly a flaw in my character, but I often can't resist trying to find the "unfindable", so I took your request as a bit of a challenge. You are right; there is very little graphical material regarding this device. If I should come across anything further, I'll post it here. I hope this is of help to you.

Sailor Steve · 07-02-10, 08:55 PM

I've never heard of that project. I did get you some pictures of the 6-ton Tallboy and 11-ton Grand Slams. Apparently the Tallboys were effective against at least one u-boat bunker.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallboy_bomb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_bomb

aergistal · 07-03-10, 06:09 AM

Great find vienna!

edited: For the merged image see vienna's next post.

I've checked myself the British Explosive Ordnance document from 1946 but it was not listed. Maybe because it was experimental and used by USAAF instead. Anyway I'm listing the link. It has some nice drawings of the Tallboy and Grand Slam.

http://rapidshare.com/files/28570653...e_ordnance.pdf

msyx, can you post your images please?

vienna · 07-10-10, 02:17 PM

aergistal:

I happened to take a second look at the diagram and realized that it is essentially complete. As you probably did, I thought the diagram was the front part and the rear part of the device and that butting them together made for a "complete" diagram with the middle portion lost in the scanning process. Instead, the scan was done first of as much of the front part that would fit on the page and then the rear part also to fit the next page. By overlapping the scans, the complete drawing is seen. I used a graphics and drafting program called "Visio" to do the overlap:

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2662/restoreddisneydiagram.jpg

I hope you find this helpful. Thank you also for the "British Ordnance" pdf.

aergistal · 07-10-10, 09:08 PM

Yes, you're right! I didn't notice, thanks for pointing out!

kstindc · 12-05-10, 04:29 PM

There is a DVD called "Legends of Combat - B-17 Flying Fortress" which has some footage of the Disney Swish being dropped in pairs from B-17s.
If you can't find the DVD, I may be able to capture the clips and make them available.

Regards,
-stephen
Washington DC

"Legends of Combat - B-17 Flying Fortress"
(MHI 1002)
ISBN 978-1-58710-189-2

06-30-10, 07:38 AM	#1
msxyz Engineer Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 218 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	'Disney Swish' rocket bomb I'm looking for good resolution pictures or drawings of this experimental bomb used during WW2 agains uboot pens and other bunkers. A Google search yielded nothing but a pair of Youtube videos and a low quality scanned image from an old Polish book. I know there's at least a color photo of the bomb and possibly a scanned sectional drawing. Unfortunately I couldn't track a working link for these. Can anybody help? This rocket bomb was used in the closing months of WW2 against German submarine bunkers. Apparently some of them could withstand a direct hit from a 12000lbs bomb and both the RAF and the USAAF were looking for ways to destroy or damage them without having to resort to overload the bombers of the day (mostly Lancasters and B17) with 22000lbs bombs. These were so big that the bays had to be modified and the bombers incurred in a severe speed and maneuvrability penalty, making them an easier prey for AA fire and the fighters. The 'Disney swish' bomb was a 4000lbs rocket assisted, armour piercing bomb with a terminal velocity of over 700m/s (c.a. 2000fps). Dropped in pairs at about 6000m (20000ft) it fell freely (some sources says it was a retarded fall design, meaning a small drag chute would stabilize its descent and angle) until a delayed fuze would start a cluster or rocket motors propelling the bomb into a shallow, high speed dive. __________________ ...Sinking deeper into the cold, dark oceans of life Last edited by msxyz; 06-30-10 at 08:47 AM.

07-02-10, 04:07 PM	#2
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,507 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	Check this link: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA065940&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf It is a pdf file (downloadable) of an Army Air Force/Elgin Field Test Ground report titled "Comparative Test of the Effectiveness of Large Bombs against Reinforced Concrete Structures (Anglo-American Bomb Tests-Project RUBY)" produced in 1946. It has test results for various Disney bomb configurations and on page 88 is a partial cutaway drawing of a Disney bomb. Be advised that the pdf may take a while to load: the report is 319 pages long. If you have any problems downloading, send me a message and I'll e-mail you a copy of the file that I downloaded. It is possibly a flaw in my character, but I often can't resist trying to find the "unfindable", so I took your request as a bit of a challenge. You are right; there is very little graphical material regarding this device. If I should come across anything further, I'll post it here. I hope this is of help to you. Last edited by vienna; 07-11-10 at 04:49 PM.

07-02-10, 08:55 PM	#3
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	I've never heard of that project. I did get you some pictures of the 6-ton Tallboy and 11-ton Grand Slams. Apparently the Tallboys were effective against at least one u-boat bunker. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallboy_bomb http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_bomb __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

07-03-10, 06:09 AM	#4
aergistal Chief Join Date: May 2010 Location: France Posts: 326 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 1	Great find vienna! edited: For the merged image see vienna's next post. I've checked myself the British Explosive Ordnance document from 1946 but it was not listed. Maybe because it was experimental and used by USAAF instead. Anyway I'm listing the link. It has some nice drawings of the Tallboy and Grand Slam. http://rapidshare.com/files/28570653...e_ordnance.pdf msyx, can you post your images please? Last edited by aergistal; 07-10-10 at 09:09 PM.

07-10-10, 02:17 PM	#5
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,507 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	aergistal: I happened to take a second look at the diagram and realized that it is essentially complete. As you probably did, I thought the diagram was the front part and the rear part of the device and that butting them together made for a "complete" diagram with the middle portion lost in the scanning process. Instead, the scan was done first of as much of the front part that would fit on the page and then the rear part also to fit the next page. By overlapping the scans, the complete drawing is seen. I used a graphics and drafting program called "Visio" to do the overlap: http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/2662/restoreddisneydiagram.jpg I hope you find this helpful. Thank you also for the "British Ordnance" pdf. Last edited by vienna; 07-11-10 at 04:50 PM.

07-10-10, 09:08 PM	#6
aergistal Chief Join Date: May 2010 Location: France Posts: 326 Downloads: 23 Uploads: 1	Yes, you're right! I didn't notice, thanks for pointing out!

12-05-10, 04:29 PM	#7
kstindc Bilge Rat Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 1 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Disney Swish There is a DVD called "Legends of Combat - B-17 Flying Fortress" which has some footage of the Disney Swish being dropped in pairs from B-17s. If you can't find the DVD, I may be able to capture the clips and make them available. Regards, -stephen Washington DC "Legends of Combat - B-17 Flying Fortress" (MHI 1002) ISBN 978-1-58710-189-2