Aasen Bomb
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An Aasen Bomb (Italian: Granata con manico e paracadute tipo Aasen A2) was an early World War I bomb fashioned from a hand grenade with a handle and parachute.
History
Creation
The Aasen bomb was developed originally in Denmark by Nils Waltersen Aasen, who it was named after, by his Det Aasenske Granatkompani. He was a Norwegian arms inventor who developed a wide range of early prototypes which would later lead to the modern hand grenade for the military use.[1][2][3][4]
Users
Italy would adopt the bombs in 1912 to assist with the Italian invasion of Libya.[1][5] They were also adopted for a short period at the onset of World War I by Germany and France.[4]
Other countries and leaders would also become interested in the weapon, with Russia ordering one million grenades and the Pope buying two thousand.[5][6]
Design
The bomb was made of an 80mm x 105mm piece of iron based sheet metal forming the head with a 330mm wooden handle.[1] The bomb itself weighed 3 kg.[7]
It could be used as a torpedo, land mine, or aerial bomb based on the type of detonator installed. Italy would famously use them in early aerial bombardments; dropping them on the intended target from Italian military aircraft.[1] The aerial bombs would make use of a highly sensitive contact exploder to minimize misfire potential.[8]
To ensure that it did not bury itself in the ground before exploding, the bomb would also release a small parachute.[4] The parachute was also designed to neutralize issues with horizontal velocity.[9] As the bomb fell an internal arming mechanism would either rotate around a threaded end of the handle, arming it as it fell, or burn a length of wool that acted as a safety mechanism.[6][7]
References
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