Preparing a Napalm Bomb for a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

[jzichek]

Check out this new article at RetroMechanix.com reproducing "Preparation and Employment of the Fire Bomb,” a manual showing the step-by-step process of converting a drop tank into a napalm bomb for use by a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt:



This article features 22 high resolution photos showing the equipment and techniques used in preparing the bomb; candid shots of personnel; and detail shots of the bomb being mounted on the P-47D, which provide useful reference for modelers.

-Jared

[Dan K]

Excellent link!

I learned more about napalm bombs in the last 10 minutes than in the last 10 years...double igniters...sodium igniters for water attack...WIX rocks.

And I'm not even a modeler...

[Pogo]

You said it, Dan! Thanks for posting, jzichek!

[Jack Cook]

Just what the evil-doers in the world need. Another how-to on how to kill people in a gruesome manner

Last edited by Jack Cook on Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Holedigger]

Good thing it isn't easy to do that with a Cessna 172!

[Invader26]

I failed physics. Can someone explain how the "fuel" flows into that drop tank uphill from the barrel?????

[Jack Frost]

I got a dangerous site warning from my security software when I tried to go to Retromechanix.com. Your results may vary.

[Jack Cook]

I failed physics. Can someone explain how the "fuel" flows into that drop tank uphill from the barrel?????

either reverse osmosis or the fuel pump by the guys hand.

[jzichek]

The security warnings are a false positive - the anti-virus software may be mistaking one of the advertisements for something malicious. I'm running the latest version of avast and don't have any problems.

[jdeters79]

Does anyone have a copy of the "Preparation and Employment of the Fire Bomb" manual that was the subject of the original post? I am helping a friend research the circumstances regarding the loss of his grandfather in a P-47, where fire bombs are suspected to have been used during the mission.

The Daily Operations Report from the mission (snippet attached) states "110 gal FTI" under the "Type Explosive" heading along with "Inst" under "Fusing N.T." It is suspected that "FTI" is "Fuel Tank Installation" or "Fuel Tank Incendiary" with an instantaneous fuse.

Additionally, the following is a portion of a statement contained in the MACR from this loss.

I RELEASED MY FIRE BOMBS AT APPROXIMATELY EIGHT HUNDRED TO ONE THOUSAND FEET AND ENCOUNTERED LIGHT, MODERATE AND ACCURATE FLAK AS I CAME OFF THE TARGET.

It is hoped that the manual that was the subject of this post will provide definitive explanation regarding the "110 gal FTI" type of explosive.

Attachments

Snippet of Daily Operations Report.

[Stoney]

where are the gun barrels? and it would not let me see the article.

[ZRX61]

When I saw the threat title I thought you were planning a mission...

[C VEICH]

where are the gun barrels? and it would not let me see the article.

I wondered about the gun barrels as well, seems odd. Oh, and the original post is from 2011 so, no doubt, the linked article is long gone.

[junkman9096]

where are the gun barrels? and it would not let me see the article.

I think I noticed that the aircraft serial number was repeated on the underside of the wing next to the pylon. That, and the lack of guns, leads me to believe this was at a stateside training/test location. (Edit-confirmed. From a partial recovery of the original article by way of webarchive: The slideshow above reproduces “Preparation and Employment of the Fire Bomb,” a manual issued by The Chemical Warfare School at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland sometime during late World War II. )
Unfortunately, the Wayback Machine shows the text and lists the photos but can't display the photos.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160706015 ... underbolt/

Anyone have another idea on how to view them??