Why Concrete Filled Bombs are So Damn Useful

strategy page ^ | October 7, 2005 | James Dunnigan

[strategofr]

One of the strangest, and most useful, bombs employed in Iraq has been the concrete filled JDAM. Why deliver a 500 pound bomb filled with concrete instead of explosives? You do that if you want to do some damage, but not a lot. Concrete JDAMs were first used in the 1990s to destroy anti-aircraft guns, radars and missiles that Saddam Hussein placed in residential areas.

He believed that the Americans would not attack these weapons, for fear of hurting nearby civilians. But it turned out that a laser, or satellite (JDAM) guided concrete smart bomb could take out the air-defense weapons without hurting nearby civilians. The concrete bombs come in various sizes (500, 1,000 and 2,000 pounds), but the new 500 pound JDAM has become a favorite when a concrete version is required.

Recently, for example, two small bridges near the Syrian border were seen being used by terrorists to bring in people and weapons. There was no need to completely destroy the bridges (which might take months, or longer, to replace), because the terrorists were slowly being chased from the area. But a concrete bomb on each bridge damaged the structures enough so that they could not be used, but not so much that they could not be repaired in a week or two.

Concrete bombs are still used against terrorist targets in residential areas, where the bomb can reach the terrorists before police or ground troops can. It’s all a case of a seemingly off-the-wall weapon idea being, not a joke, but actually quite useful.

[Redcloak]

I know that these things work great. It's just that dropping an anvil on the Jihadis would be so much more satisfying; especially if it said "ACME" on the side.

[TankerKC]

Another “Why Concrete Bombs Are So Useful”

[Nam Vet]

Seems they used these for the assault on Baghdad to take out tanks on the city streets and alleys. Seems the top hatches on tanks are very light. Those (in Baghdad) were laser guided by spec ops teams as I recall. I just love American ingenuity. I split a gut when I read about those during the war.

Nam Vet

[AlienCrossfirePlayer]

....you should strap a pig to every single bomb dropped just for "good measure."

I hope PETA doesn't see this! < / s >

[Khurkris]

Intereasting topic - need more info & specifics to adequately comment.

[metmom]

It's a good question. I was wondering the same thing.

[Khurkris]

"Murphy's Rule of War No. ???"

If its dumb and it works, it ain't dumb.

[Dumpster Baby]

In 1949 my dad was deployed to Port Leyaute, Morocco, to help develope radar bombing techniques for the Navy's first nuclear bomber, the North America AJ2 Savage. This was a 3 engined bomber about the size of a P2V Neptune patrol plane, and had 2 Pratt & Whitney radial engines and a turbojet engine buried in the rear fuselage. The former tail gunner's position was the jet exhaust outlet. The bombs, or "shapes" dropped were cement filled Fat Man bomb casings weighing in at 10,000 pounds.

I don't know why the bombing range was in Morocco instead of the desert southwest, but they dropped dummy Fat Man bombs there for years. He had to deploy there again in 1951 or 1952 for the same purpose.

[strategofr]

"Date may be correct however:"

Point taken. Dunnigan's cheating.

[metmom]

Another “Why Concrete Bombs Are So Useful”


Great thread but what the heck kind of plane is that a picture of in post #106? Photoshopped?

[Nam Vet]

I see you're in Tinian. My dad was there, as I recall, towards the end of WWII just before his last wartime station on mainland China. He was at Tinsin (sp). Near the mouth of some river at the coast near Peking. Marines had trouble there, and some were killed, by communist chinese troops. That was sometime in 1945 if memory serves.

Nam Vet

[cynicom]

Old times...we use to drop the 10,000 pounders in Salton Sea in CA. Your chin was down around your belt when it dropped.

[metmom]

Thanks for the link. There were some really interesting ideas on it. Water would actually work pretty well. It's basically incompressible and probably everybody knows what it's like to do a belly flop. I can't imagine what getting hit by a wall of water would do to you . (But I'm trying.)

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Point taken. Dunnigan's cheating.

Maybe it's just too many years working Austin Bay and Al Nofi?

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

The reason why war is so prevalent is that the USA keeps finding ways to make it so clean and tidy--nobody fears war anymore.

The USA continues to go insane.

Check out Russia and China--if they do not produce "concrete filled bombs" then that is the signal that the USA is fringe lunatic. War is supposed to be deadly and dirty and destructive. As such, the horror makes war so unwanted that nations seek peace--Japan and Germany are examples. Political correctness in Iraq has cost many Marines and soldiers their lives. This is BS.

The national IQ of the USA continues to plunge, and the decision makers at the White House, the Pentagon and DOD are no exception.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

When it hits a fixed structure like a bunker, building, bridge or a gun emplacement it does a hell of a lot of damage. It will penetrate several stories. It is not a great deal of use against troops.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

ping post #55

[Trajan88]

I wonder if Tony Soprano has the contract to supply the concrete ;-)

Trajan88 (American, of Italian heritage)

[HP8753]

but can anyone tell me what happens on impact with a concrete bomb? They don't explode, so what do they do? Just shatter like a big rock?

This may shed some light...Calculating Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy.....KE=1/2MV^2....Kinetic Energy is equal to half of Mass times square of the Velocity.

Double the mass equals double the energy.

Double the velocity and energy goes up 4 times.

Concrete bomb can put enough energy on target to destory it without using high explosives,Thus making it safer for nearby civilians and buildings.

They may rupture or they may punch through depending on the target,But they can put large amounts of energy on small targets using precision guidance.

You don't have to totally destroy a tank to reduce it's effectiveness.Bending or damaging the barrel of its main gun goes along way in reducing the effectiveness of a tank.

[Yasotay]

Guppy .... Pregnant or Super