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

[betty cofrances]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Van Pelt" <bvp6565 at yahoo.com>
To: "303rd Bomb Group Talk Forum" <303rd-talk at 303rdBG.com>
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 10:54 AM
Subject: Re: [303rd-Talk] Bill Runnels - A Few More Questions


> 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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