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Cluster bombs were developed in order to improve the efficiency of aerial attacks, particularly against "soft" targets like personnel. Single bombs are less useful for this purpose because they cover a smaller area (known as a "footprint" in military parlance), and their effectiveness is dependent on the accuracy of the bomb's drop. A cluster bomb functions like a shotgun, covering a wider area with a spread of miniature bombs.
Cluster bomb technology was first used by Germany against the United Kingdom in the Second World War, and developed independently by America and Russia. Cluster bombs are now standard air-dropped munitions for most nations, in a wide variety of types.
Artillery shells that employ similar principles have existed for decades. They are typically referred to as ICM (Improved Conventional Munitions) shells. The US military slang terms for them are "firecracker" or "popcorn" shells, for the many small explosions they cause in the target area.A basic cluster bomb is a hollow shell (generally streamlined if intended for carriage by fast aircraft) containing anywhere from three to more than 2,000 submunitions. Some types are dispensers that are designed to be retained by the aircraft after releasing their munitions. The submunitions themselves may be fitted with small parachute retarders or streamers to slow their descent (allowing the aircraft to escape the blast area in low-altitude attacks).
Anti-personnel cluster bombs produce shrapnel to kill troops and destroy soft (unarmored) targets. Anti-armor munitions contain hardened spikes with shaped chargeA shaped charge is an explosive charge shaped to focus the released energy. It is used to cut and form metal, ignite nuclear weapons, and penetrate armour. A modern shaped charge can commonly penetrate about 7 times the diameter of the charge. A typical d warheads to pierce the armor of tankM1A1 Abrams tank is a typical modern main battle tank. The turret is low-profile, well-integrated into the overall shape of the vehicle. A tank is a tracked and armoured combat vehicle ( armoured fighting vehicle), designed primarily to destroy enemy grous and armored fighting vehicles. Anti-runway submunitions are often designed to penetrate concrete before detonating, allowing them to shatter and crater runway surfaces. Mine-laying weapons do not detonate on contact, but scatter their cargo of land mines for later detonation.
Many cluster bomb submunitions have an incendiary effect, starting fires. Some are specifically designed for this purpose, with payloads of white phosphorus or napalmNapalm is also the name of a card game based on poker. Napalm is a flammable, gasoline-based weapon invented in 1942. The name is short for naphthenic palmitic acids''. Background During World War I both the Allies and Germany used gasoline as a weapon in.
During the 1950sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Years: 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. and 1960sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the United States and Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ( Russian: ; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR) also called the Soviet Union ( ; tr. Sovetsky Soyuz , was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1 developed cluster weapons designed to deliver chemical weapons, ranging from lethal nerve gas like Sarin to defoliants and tear gas. International pressure has made the use of chemical weapons politically volatile, although both the U.S. and Russia retain such weapons in their arsenals.
Modern cluster bombs and submunition dispensers are often multiple-purpose weapons, containing mixtures of anti-armor, anti-personnel, and anti-materiel munitions.
A growing trend in cluster bomb design is the "smart" submunition, which uses guidance circuitry to locate and attack particular targets, usually armored vehicles. Some recent weapons of this type include the U.S. CBU-97 , employed in Serbia in 1999 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Munitions specifically intended for anti-tank use may be set to self-destruct if they reach the ground without locating a target, theoretically reducing the risk of collateral damage to civilians and non-military targets. The limitation of the smart submunition is cost: such weapons are many times more expensive than standard cluster bombs, which are cheap and simple to manufacture.
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