Bouncing-Bomb Man - Feature Facts

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BOUNCING-BOMB MAN - FEATURE FACTS “Bouncing-Bomb Man: The Science of Sir Barnes Wallis”, by Iain Murray published by Haynes, 29 October 2009, 288pp., 27 x 21 x 1.7 cm This book is the story of Barnes Wallis’s inventions, how they worked and why they were (often) better than alternatives of the time. Most famous for the “bouncing bombs”, used by 617 Squadron (“The Dambusters”) to breach the Möhne and Eder Dams in Nazi Germany in 1943, Wallis’s engineering skills covered a vast range of areas: designer of the Tallboy and Grand Slam “earthquake bombs” used by the RAF against concrete bunkers, underground targets and bridges in 1944 and 1945 designer of the geodetic structure used in the Wellington bomber (the mainstay of RAF Bomber Command 1939-1942) and in several other aircraft designer of the R.100 airship which flew successfully to Canada in 1930, then was scrapped following the crash of the (separately designed) R.101 airship main developer and promoter of variable geometry “swing wing” aircraft from 1945 until around 1960, when others picked up his baton continued to design supersonic and hypersonic aircraft through the 1960s and into his retirement in the 1970s also designed submarines, telescopes, cooling towers, golf balls … knighted in 1968, he was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Aeronautical Society and many other learned societies, and holder of honorary degrees from Cambridge, Loughborough, UMIST, Oxford and Heriot-Watt Universities died in 1979, aged 92 This book features: the most detailed study of the workings of Wallis’s inventions, including coverage of his extensive portfolio of patents descriptions of how the “bouncing bombs” worked - why they had to bounce, and how all the dropping parameters were set the most in-depth coverage of Wallis’s post-war work on variable geometry coverage of the controversy over how Wallis’s VG work was “stolen” by the Americans, and then taken away from him in the UK information on Wallis’s ideas for post-Concorde hypersonic passenger aircraft coverage of many of Wallis’s many miscellaneous projects extensive illustrations and archive photos, many published for the first time, including maps of all the relevant locations in the Wallis story substantial appendices, including the first list attempting to detail all of the experimental drops of the “bouncing bombs” and “earthquake bombs” Author Iain Murray is a lecturer in the School of Computing at the University of Dundee. Further information on Wallis can be found at www.SirBarnesWallis.com .

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As the Upkeep Bomb Was Not Only a Different Shape to Contemporary
CARRYING UPKEEP As the Upkeep bomb was not only a different shape to contemporary bombs but also had to be spun before release, Barnes Wallis and Vickers-Armstrongs had to come up with a purpose built mounting to be fitted to the Type 464 Lancasters. This section was the most significant and important of all the Type 464 modifications, yet due to its position, in shadow under the black painted belly of the Lancaster, it has never clearly been illustrated before. 14 15 starboard front port rear the calliper arms The four calliper arms were made of cast aluminium with the connecting piece at the apex made of machined steel. Each apex piece contained a circular hub upon which the Upkeep would be suspended. The four arms were attached to the fuselage by heavy duty brackets which allowed the arms to rotate freely outwards to allow a clean release of the bomb. To load the Upkeep, the arms were closed onto it and retained in that position by means of a heavy-duty cable in an inverted ‘Y’ shaped form, with each of the V shaped lengths being connected to one of the front calliper arms, while the stem was attached to a standard 4000lb ‘Type F’ bomb release unit. After the arms were closed, the threaded ends of the cables were fitted through eyelets in the front calliper arms, and retained in position by large bolts, which also allowed for some adjustment and tensioning. 16 17 port front starboard spinning the Upkeep To enable the Upkeep to be spun, A Vickers Variable Speed Gear (VSG) unit was installed forward of the calliper arms and securely bolted to the roof of the bomb bay.
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Bouncing-Bomb Man
r Iain Murray is a lecturer in arnes Wallis is best known as the the School of Computing at the ‘boffin’ behind the famous bouncing D Bouncing B University of Dundee, where his bomb used by 617 Squadron to breach research interests include emotion the Ruhr dams in 1943, but his work in synthesised speech. He is Chair covers a far wider canvas. It ranges of the Tayside & Fife Branch of the from airships, through novel aircraft British Science Association and acted structures and special weapons to as a consultant for an episode of the long-range supersonic aircraft, and an ITV drama series Foyle’s War, which extensive patent portfolio. featured a group working on the So how did Wallis’s engineering ‘bouncing bomb’. He lives in Dundee. brilliance take ideas from airships and push them forward to create aircraft - faster than Concorde? Dr Iain Murray Bomb Man Bomb describes the huge breadth of Wallis’s work, showing why his genius brought totally new ideas into these fields, and From giant airships, hypersonic passenger aircraft and a better cricket ball reveals the science and engineering to the legendary bouncing bomb, this fascinating book examines the work expertise that he deployed to make them work. of British engineering genius Sir Barnes Wallis. Dr Iain Murray analyses This is the first book to describe Wallis’s ideas as he did himself – like an experiment, to be invented, built the entire life’s work of Wallis in detail, viewed through the prism of his and tested in operation. He looks at the huge range of Wallis’s inventions technical achievements.
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