This Was The Biggest Bomb Dropped In WWII (Conventional)

The Grand Slam weighed in at 22,000 lbs, a little step up from the standard bomb weight of 500 lbs. It was so big, Lancaster bombers had to be specially outfit just to carry it. Although it was developed late in the war, quite a few still made their way onto German targets.

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[robert-trading-as-Bob]

Before the Grand Slam was the Tallboy, also developed by Barnes Wallis. Over 800 were dropped on Axis targets.

[yetti]

it was also good if it slightly missed as it wrecked the perimeter walls foundations.

[Itsjustme-Justme]

One of them was used against a U-boat bunker in Hamburg in early 1945. The bunker had been greatly reinforced just months earlier, making it one of the strongest they had. They believed it was unbreakable by air dropped bombs. The bomb made its was through the roof like it was made of paper and exploded inside. Survivors told after the war, the effect on morale was even bigger than the physical damage because from that moment on, they felt there was nowhere to hide.

[Senbei]

Yeah... there was one of these used as a 'gate guard' at an RAF base. 15 years later, on having decided to move the thing... they realised it was still live. Gave the bomb squad an exciting afternoon.

Edit: did a bit of a search... nobody is entirely sure if this story is a myth or not.

[bigblue]

There was a railway viaduct in France which they tried on several occasions to bomb with conventional bombs but failed to hit it. They dropped just one of these bombs and destroyed the viaduct without even hitting it.

The bomb was designed to go through the sound barrier as it dropped while the tail fins made it spin. When it hit the ground it buried itself before exploding next to the viaduct which shook part of it down with the shockwave. This is way it was more often called the Earthquake Bomb.

It was also used to block a French railway tunnel. The bomb hit the side of the mountain the tunnel cut through and exploded in the tunnel bringing the mountain down on it.

[owarida]

One thing for sure everything it touches disappears.

[JB-nqrf]

That WAS the biggest bomb, but then there was the movie Battlefield Earth.

[porkchop]

I need to look this up in Warthunder...

[uncletiggermclaren]

The important ability of the grandslam was it was so heavy, and durable, that it drove through the roof of the bunker, or buried deep in the ground beside it, before detonating.
The USAF built some more, when they were rolling up Saddam's biggest bunkers. To build the casing, they used sections of the big rifles off of the mothballed WW2 battleship fleet.

[ssausage]

so for those wondering the grand slam was designed so huge and heavy so ta when droped from the right hight it penertrate deep into the ground like bunker buster bombs do and then detonate on a delay opening A MASSIVE cavern under the target causeing strucual collapse this was so that u didnt need a direct hit unlike the conventional bombs that were mainly used it was also so heavy that the lancaster bomber had to be massivly retrofited to even fly with it and the price ment that any unsued were returned to base insted of dumped in the ocean

[aaronbest]

So which is more powerful, the grand slam, or the moab????

[murraygray]

My Dad was in the 617 could not land with the grand break the wing

[Reaper]

Now I want Denny's grand slam breakfast

[jessa]

Imagine being in a bar telling people how you dropped the biggest bomb man has ever known when news comes in that nukes had not only been invented but used

[Teknofobe]

Think these where used on, ( Pienemunnde)? And the sub pens in France?

[Alex-nexj]

How does it compare to the modern American MOAB?

[cheezkid]

The granddaddy of the MOAB, the nuke's smaller cousin, and the coolest-named bomb ever made. Now that's a grand slam.

[shhsgsshsjhs]

And the bomb was so heavy that the planes gained around a few hundred feet of altitude after releasing the bomb

[nicholasbrandl]

Imagine dropping that on a civilian target.

[ledhceb]

The point of the grand slam was the transmitted pressure wave hence its label as an earthquake bomb