" I follow Ewen’s finger, pointing to the top shelf of the racking. Two yellow cylinders, rather like 50gal oil drums, sit there harmlessly. “We only recently discovered what those were”, comments Ewen. “We knew they were German from World War Two. For a long time we thought they were a type of aerial mine. All we had to go on was ‘SA4000’ painted on the side, but eventually we discovered that it was one of Hitler’s nuclear weapons. Not a proper fission weapon, you see, but the original dirty bomb. It was designed to drop a mixture of radioactive isotopes and high explosive; the conventional explosion would scatter radioactive contamination over a wide area.” Germany experimented with nuclear piles during the war, none of which became critical, and toyed with the idea of making a nuclear weapon but lacked the facilities and expertise.
rickshaw said:I note from the first image in the second posting by TSRJoe that its filling was intended to be "Amatol 50/50*"
Yet there doesn't appear to be an explanation on the image of the asterisk, nor what the other 50% was intended to be.
rickshaw said:Oh, and I'd always understood the "Hochdruckpumpe" multi-chamber gun at Mimoyecques in France was referred to as the "V3".
SOC said:Is this maybe related to the radiological bomb the Germans intended to drop from Sanger's spaceplane?
Orionblamblam said:SOC said:Is this maybe related to the radiological bomb the Germans intended to drop from Sanger's spaceplane?
There were no such intentions.
SOC said:Then why did they intend to use a 5,000 pound HE bomb wrapped in radioactive silica?
Sanger's own gaussian plots of target areas showed that due to the small payload you'd need 80-100 or so Raketenbombers.
Siegfried Knemeyer's idea was to wrap the bombs in radioactive silica
edwest said:US Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama. "Preparing the American Public for a V-3 Attack - December 1944. L/C Box 223, USAF Microfilm Reel 43811.
"At a CCS meeting in Washington, Dec 8, 1944, the CCS discussed 'without much interest' a Presidential directive which would take action to meet a V-3 threat -- intercontinental missile attack against the United States."
FutureSpaceTourist said:Call me cynical but 'precautionary measures taken' sounds a bit like 'we need to say we're doing something in response to the president's concern'?!
edwest said:Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. Map Room Files, Box 20, Folder: Warm Springs, Dec. 9-18, 1944.
"December 9, 1944
"For the President from Admiral Leahy:
"Reference MR-in 217
"Possibility of V-3 stratospheric bomb attack on U.S. was discussed at a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday. General Marshall and Admiral King have sent messages to defense commands, sea frontiers and the First Air Force at Mitchell Field ordering precautionary measures taken.
(signed) William Leahy"
Ed
edwest said:Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. Map Room Files, Box 20, Folder: Warm Springs, Dec. 9-18, 1944.
"December 9, 1944
"For the President from Admiral Leahy:
"Reference MR-in 217
"Possibility of V-3 stratospheric bomb attack on U.S. was discussed at a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday. General Marshall and Admiral King have sent messages to defense commands, sea frontiers and the First Air Force at Mitchell Field ordering precautionary measures taken.
(signed) William Leahy"
Ed