Posted on 06/26/2018 1:50:07 PM PDT by Eddie01
Loring was memorialized in that cool Wargames flick. “We’re still here!”
I worked a midnight shift back then and sure don’t miss having to remove quarter inch thick ice from my car so I could drive in from York Beach.
“The 20000lb MOAB has been eclipsed by the 33000lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP)…” [blackpacific, post 78]
Neither will eclipse the other.
They are built differently: the GBU-43 MOAB is designed for use against soft targets - stuff & people out in the open. The GBU-57 is designed for use against hardened or deeply buried targets.
GBU-57 contains 5300 pounds of high explosive for a bursting charge. GBU-43 could be termed much more “powerful” in terms of explosive content, as its bursting charge weighs 18,700 pounds.
It might help to think of the difference between an armor-piercing artillery projectile, and a general-purpose artillery shell filled with high explosive such as TNT or RDX.
The confusion may stem from the only use of GBU-43 in action: it struck a cave complex.
“...Then there’s the possibility of modifying the bomb bay to accommodate the MOAB.” [Doc91678, post 79]
I used to conduct operational tests on a number of B-52 systems. Can’t be perfectly sure - I no longer have the exact dimensions at my fingertips - but I’d say there is not much chance of increasing the size of the B-52H bomb bay.
Front and rear main wheels are mounted to bulkheads and other airframe structural members immediately forward and immediately aft of the bomb bay. They cannot be moved. The upper interior surface of the bomb bay is tight against the bottom of a fuel tank, and that cannot be moved either.
The only other option is to use mounts attached to the underwing hardpoints. Munition size there is subject to fewer constraints, but - given the weight of the munition - there might be strength limits. Hence the potential requirement for modifications.
I was stationed at Malstrom AFB when we were still flying KB-29’s and KC-97’s. My other tour was in the UK near Brize Norton, Lakenheath, Greenham Common, Fairford and Upper Heyford
When were you at Lakenheath? I was in Jr High from ‘64-’67 when my dad was in the US Navy.
I was actually stationed at Burderop Park, 7505th USAF Hospital. We were the main hospital for all the bases I mentioned. I was stationed there from Jan 1958 to Mar 60. the 7505th was as large as Wiesbaden at the time.
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