lenochs%drcoa1.decnet@drcvax.af.mil (DRCOA1::LENOCHS) (01/18/91)
From: "DRCOA1::LENOCHS" <lenochs%drcoa1.decnet@drcvax.af.mil>
I was having a discussion with a co-worker here about the war and a
question came up concerning the movement of 20 B-52s from Diego Garcia
to either Saudi Arabia or an undisclosed base elsewhere.
I used to be a munitions maintenance troop in the Air Force (in my
former life!) and the implications of the question seemed to be of a
general enough nature to post to you fine folks.
No matter where they went, it would have to be a fairly large
installation to handle the logistics of arming B-52s for multiple
strikes.
Notice the following equation:
20 B-52s * (108 500# GP hard bombs * number of sorties per B-52)
The 108 figure assumes external multiple ejection racks (MERs).
That equation would tend to indicate a very non-trivial number of
bombs!!!
Also add into the logistical equation the complete parts list to build
up a *single* 500 pound general purpose bomb (none of the fancy stuff,
like guide/glide packages, retarding fins, fuze extenders, etc):
2 bomb lugs (attach bomb to rack)
1 nose fuse delay element (allows variable detonation from on impact
(instantaneously) to some time after impact - seconds to minutes).
1 nose fuse
1 nose fuse well
1 nose booster
duplicate for tail fuze
1 fin assy
1 fin rotor (to arm tail fuze. Since the fuze is inside the fin, the
rotor on the fuze won't blow in the wind. Solution: put a rotor
on the outside of the fin.)
arming wire (inserted in fuze rotors to keep them from spinning and
arming the weapon before you want it armed - like going down the
runway!! - with the other end attached to the ejection rack)
arming wire clips (keeps arming wire from slipping out)
ejector cartridges for external racks (number determined by type of
rack). Bombs don't "fall" off the racks - air pressure and
aerodynamics of the aircraft and the weapon tend to push the bomb
onto the rack. Hence, a small low explosive cartridge 'pushes'
the bomb away.
lots of stuff!
That makes the "simple" GP bomb no longer sound so simple, especially
when one considers that you'd need to have the proper proportion of all
those components and have a bunch of spares and having a way of making
sure nothing gets lost in the shuffle!
Other considerations for using a 'simple' GP with BUFs, in particular,
but for any type of aircraft with multiple ejector points on a pylon:
Do you have extra pylons around, so that bombs can be pre-loaded? This
would allow you to just pull a complete pylon fully loaded over to the
aircraft and swap the used pylon for a full one (a great time saver -
allows quick combat turnarounds).
Do you have enough people around (as well as miscellaneous equipment)
to create an assembly line for bomb build up and pre-load? This was
done in Guam and in Thailand. Some munitions job titles were "nose
fuse well inserter" and "fin attacher". Long rows of metal rollers on
stilts were used to roll the bombs from one pre-load station to the
next. Bombs were built up with various fuzes and delay elements
without a specific mission, then stored classified by configuration for
later use.
Need flares??
How 'bout 20MM for the cannons?? What kind?? What mix on the belt??
Do you have enough heavy equipment to move all this stuff? Tractors
and flat bed trailers (about 1 to 4 ratio is good), cranes, bomb lift
trucks, fire department and EOD (better safe than sorry!), supply
people to keep track of everything. Walkie-talkies? Buses for people?
Portable lighting stands for three-shift operations? Gloves?
Wrenches?
WHERE DO YOU PUT ALL THE TRASH?!?!?!?!?
The world of the Munitions Maintenance Squadron in a heavy 'dropping'
war is quite complex and demanding. Scheduling, obviously, gets really
important. Having the right mix of ordnance is equally important to
allow the 'fraggers' the freedom of armament selection to effectively
remove targets from the active list.
I don't mind being where I am at all!
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|| An ORI [an Air Force Operational Readiness Inspection] is an ||
|| event where you stop doing what you were doing so that you can ||
|| simulate doing what you were doing to someone else, so that the ||
|| inspector will know that you can simulate doing what you were ||
|| doing just as well as you were doing it. ||
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Loyd M. Enochs - Dynamics Research Corporation - Andover, MA