Re: Stone skipping. Was: Re: bending of object thrown into pool

[Brian Whatcott <betwys1@SBCGLOBAL.NET>]

At 09:33 PM 8/16/2004, Hugh, you wrote:
> Several years ago, I saw a television documentary about the British
> Bomber Squadron using bomb skipping in order to destroy German dams
> during WW2. //The idea was actually used in 1943. It was very dangerous for
> the bomber crew, because the plane had to fly at an altitude of about 60
> feet -- less in some cases. There were many casualties.
>
> The details are on the web at
> <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/case_nazidams/clues.html>.

///

> Hugh Logan
> Retired physics teacher


By the time I arrived at Scampton (in Lincolnshire) 15 years later,
617 squadron, "The Dambusters", were equipped with  the Vulcan
bomber, a delta planform - and a pretty plane like others of the
Avro provenance. The bombs available then were the Blue Steel
type; a nuclear weapon - and crews were on fast ready status
as needed. A descendent of the Lancaster bomber, the Shackleton,
was still used for coastal reconnaissance work at the time.

The Vulcan had the unexpected quality of being very hard to spot
on the airfield radar, as close as 20 miles out - a gratuitous stealth
 design, in fact.

I understood that the dambuster bomb had reverse spin in order
 to promote skipping - I seem to recall seeing  prototype trials
footage  showing the forward spun bomb tended to dive.



Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka!