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A “Pumpkin bomb” being loaded on a flatbed trailer. Note the three large contact fuzes arranged in equilateral triangle pattern.
Note: This is an imported suggestion from the old WT forum.
The “Pumpkin bomb” is a large bomb designed as a “conventional” version of the Fat Man atomic bomb. Intended to be used to allow the crew of the “Silverplate” B-29 to get used to handling the bomb, it saw service during the late stage of the war against Japanese home islands.
History
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The “Pumpkin bomb” was a brainchild of U.S. Navy Captain William S. Parsons, the head of the Ordnance division of the Manhattan project who later on became the bombardier of the atomic bombing mission over Hiroshima, who conceived the concept in December 1944. Parsons wanted a close replica of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb to provide a realistic training for the 509th Composite Group. Who will also deployed in the upcoming atomic bombing missions as well. The bomb itself have no official designation, but were called “Pumpkin bomb” in the official records, either due to its wide shape, or that it was painted in “pumpkin color”, as the unit delivered to Tinian were shipped in bright yellow primer worn by Fat Man.
The Pumpkin bomb were produced in two variants; inert and high explosive. Both versions were configued to give a close ballistic and handling characteristic to the actual Fat Man bomb, with the only difference being the filler. The inert version were filled with a cement-sand mixture, while the high explosive version were filled with 6,300 lbs (2,900 kg) of Composition B filler, both versions have a similar filler density of the live plutonium core on the atomic bomb. The bomb were to be carried in the forward bombing bay of the “Silverplate” B-29 and equipped with fuze to be used against actual targets.
A close-up view of the Pumpkin bomb.
While the Pumpkin bombs is a close replicas of the Fat Man, it has several visual differences. The most distinctive being that the Pumpkin bombs casing were almost entirely welded, while the Fat Man has a separate shells that were required to be assembled on the spot as well as sealed with liquid asphalt. Other notable difference is that the Pumpkin bombs lack four externally-mounted radar antennas that the Fat Man have. Pumpkin bombs also initially utilized a distinctive three large contact fuzes, which were later replaced by four smaller fuzes used on the Fat Man.
A Pumpkin bomb being loaded on the B-29 at Tinian, a few weeks before the atomic bombings. Note the four smaller fuzes on the bomb.
The bombs were used by the 509th Composite Group to provide a realistic training as well as combat missions. The inert bombs were used during the tests in the United States, while the live bombs were shipped over to Tinian. The Pumpkin bombs saw brief combat services during the closing stages of World War II, with the 509th Composite Group flown on 20, 23, 26 and 29 July and 8 and 14 August 1945. The mission protocol is similar to that of an actual atomic bombing mission, with the target were located within the vicinity of the actual atomic attack. After the war, the Strategic Bombing Survey concluded that the Pumpkin bombs were reasonably effective against tactical targets, being able to cause severe structural damage to nearby buildings.
In total, 486 Pumpkin bombs of all variants were built, with 49 bombs were dropped on Japan, one bomb was jettisoned into the ocean, as well as another two which were carried but not dropped after the aircraft involved have aborted their mission.
In War Thunder, the Pumpkin bomb will serve in a similar roles with the Soviet FAB-5000 bomb; a super-heavy tactical bomb capable fo wiping out a city bloc, as well as sinking a ship in naval battles via near miss. While the Pumpkin bombs were historically equipped on a lighter “Silverplate” B-29 with most of its defensive armaments removed, the Pumpkin bombs can be fitted on a normal variant of the B-29A we currently have in-game, albeit requires a modification to fit the bomb into the frontal bomb bay and cause a significant performance reduction due to the weight of the bomb.
Specifications
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Length: 3.25 meters
Diameter: 1.52 meters
Total mass: 5,340 kg (11,772 lbs)
Shell weight: 1,700 kg (3,800 lbs)
Tail weight: 193 kg (425 lbs)
Filler: 2,900 kg (6,300 lbs) of Composition B
TNT equivalent: ~3,650 kg
Sources
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Pumpkin bomb - Wikipedia
https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/9.pdf
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/documents/atomic-bomb-end-world-war-ii/015.pdf
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/documents/atomic-bomb-end-world-war-ii/016.pdf
Campbell, Richard H. (2005). The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola xxxx and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0-7864-2139-8. OCLC 58554961.
Coster-Mullen, John (2012). Atom Bombs: The Top Secret Inside Story of Little Boy and Fat Man. (self published). OCLC 298514167.
Hoddeson, Lillian; Henriksen, Paul W.; Meade, Roger A.; Westfall, Catherine L. (1993). Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945. New York City: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-44132-3. OCLC 26764320.
