[303rd-Talk] Bill Runnels - A Few More Questions

[Bob Van Pelt]

Bill:  Wasn't a piano like wire sometimes attached to the cotter keys with the other end of the wire attached to a hard point in the bomb bay, so when the bombs were released, the cotters keys were pulled as the bombs dropped?  Seems I've read or seen this somewhere.  Or did you always pull the key by hand?  When did you pull the keys - over the Channel, closer to the IP, before t/o?
   
  You said in a message a while back that the front fuse had a millisecond delay and was a back-up for the fuse in the tail.  How did one set the delay?  And could the M101 or M102 be used for both the front and rear fuse or was one specifically for the rear and one specifically for the front?
   
  Thanks, Bill, for helping me understand this!
  Bob.

Bob Van Pelt <bvp6565 at yahoo.com> wrote:
  Thanks, Bills, for the information - much appreciated! Bob

bill runnels wrote: Bob,
If the so called duds were the first to impact the ground in train, chances are there was a lazy bombardier on the crew. The lower slung bombs (first out) required a little effort to pull the cotter keys from the fuses which they probably did not do so the bombs were released in a safe mode. As our ground troops advanced they found unexploded bombs with the cotter keys still in the fuses. I was there during the period in question and we were required to turn in the pins for a count following each mission for this very reason.

Regarding vane revolutions, the 500 and 1,000 lb. bomb tail fuses (M101 & M102) required 675 revolutions during a free fall of 2,000 feet.

Bill Runnels
Bombardier

Bob Van Pelt wrote:
I have been corresponding with a German who lives in Weimar, Germany, who is researching the 9 March 1945 mission by the 3rd BD to that town. He said some of the townspeople saw a trail of bomb craters with some of the bombs exploding and some of the bombs being duds. Can anyone tell me why a bomb would be a dud?

And how many revolutions would a typical arming vane need to make before arming the fuse. I know it would depend on the type of fuse, but just in general.

Thanks!
Bob


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