HP42 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 http://web.archive.org/web/20090918075619/http:/www.gunnies.pac.com.au/gallery/grand_slam.htm Is this story about a gate guard 'Grand Slam' true? If so, any pictures of it blowing up off Shoeburyness? I suspect it's an urban myth. Surely it would be safer to steam the explosive out rather than transport it all the way to the coast? That way you'd get to keep the casing as a museum piece. Anyone know anything about this? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 (edited) There was a Grand Slamand Tallboy on show alongside Lancaster S-Sugar (now in the RAFM) but I`ve not hears about it being taken away to be blown up? There is a Grand Slam or Tallboy on display at Coningsby outside the BBMF hangar, but not sure if it is related at all? I suspect that these pics were possibly taken after the road widening,......note how much the line of tree`s have grown between b&w and colour pics! Mind you, that grass verge seems to have got narrower so who knows eh,......that might be the live bomb in the b&w pic! Cheers Tony. PS- Cracking story!! PPS- Why is it when people want to tart up an old aeroplane they always seem to paint the spinner/s red? Edited November 15, 2015 by tonyot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 My father in law was an armourer at boscombe down working on the grand slam, took him to SMW last week, the plane models brought back a lot of memories for him and he recalled this to be true. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 O a similar note, many years ago when i was a trainee, my mate of the time was an apprentice at Martin Bakers (the ejection seat people) and was doing the rounds of all the different departments, he was assigned to packaging and his boss gave him a solid propellant rocket motor to design a shipping crate for, he sat at his desk with the motor when a works foreman came in promptly removed the motor, telling my friend that it wasnt safe it was live!! He went and told his boss, who then fainted and had to be revived, when asked why he fainted he said "ive been using that as an ashtray for the past 3 months, using the nozzle to keep his dog ends in" Chris 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Very tasty story about the bomb... Like this, that somwhere in Africa was a RAF squadron with young but already grown lion which lived as a pet play a role of squadron mascot... One of ferry pilot visiting this airfield, after evening in canteen were lion was also, saw in the morning a lion lying in shadow under wing of plane, so he came and kick the lion, to force him to move on, before he climbed into the cockpit. Then he suddently saw the mascot lion going out of canteen. So he kicked another, WILD lion! I think I've read this story some 40 years ago in a novel with WWII memoires of Polish fighter pilot Bogdan Arct (316 Sqn, Skalski CIrcus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohdan_Arct) Cheers J-W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Very tasty story about the bomb... Like this, that somwhere in Africa was a RAF squadron with young but already grown lion which lived as a pet play a role of squadron mascot... One of ferry pilot visiting this airfield, after evening in canteen were lion was also, saw in the morning a lion lying in shadow under wing of plane, so he came and kick the lion, to force him to move on, before he climbed into the cockpit. Then he suddently saw the mascot lion going out of canteen. So he kicked another, WILD lion! I think I've read this story some 40 years ago in a novel with WWII memoires of Polish fighter pilot Bogdan Arct (316 Sqn, Skalski CIrcus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohdan_Arct) Cheers J-W I`ve heard (or read?) a similar story myself,......another corker! Cheers Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I can't imagine they would take a charged bomb from Scampton to Shoeburybess when there is so much flat empty land nearby where it could be safely detonated. Doesn't run with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartp Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 There appears to still be one in the Heritage Centre: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g186336-d2049455-i97459754-Royal_Air_Force_Scampton_Museum-Lincoln_Lincolnshire_England.html No idea whether it's the same one of course ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I can't imagine they would take a charged bomb from Scampton to Shoeburybess when there is so much flat empty land nearby where it could be safely detonated. Doesn't run with me. That's the point. There isn't so much flat empty land nearby where it could be safely detonated! this was a 22000lb bomb designed for deep penetration, the blast radius would be enormous if detonated above ground. In my service career I saw a live 1000lb bomb dropped once and I was shocked by the size of the blast effect i felt from it when stood well over a mile away from the explosion site I don't think the Lincolnshire ranges could take weapons up to 1000lb size at that time (c 1958) let alone a 22000lb bomb! I think Shoeburyness was the only place licenced for a bomb that size, Actually they may have had to have a special dispensation to blow it there. Nowadays in the UK only garvie island in the far north of scotland can be used for 1000lb size stores. Selwyn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamf Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I could be wrong but I think when 33EOD ( Royal Engineers bomb disposal) were at Chattenden (I was in 24SQN )there were a row of bombs on display outside their offices and one of them was a Grand Slam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 I saw a live 1000lb bomb dropped once and I was shocked by the size of the blast effect i felt from it when stood well over a mile away from the explosion site I don't think the Lincolnshire ranges could take weapons up to 1000lb size at that time (c 1958) let alone a 22000lb bomb! BTW - Three years ago a 550 lb bomb was exploded in center of Munich: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2195144/WWII-horrors-relived-allied-bomb-detonated-Munich.html Cheers J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders154 Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Wasn't there one by the guardhouse of RAF Chilmark when it was in use? Rodders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bish Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 There was a Grand Slamand Tallboy on show alongside Lancaster S-Sugar (now in the RAFM) but I`ve not hears about it being taken away to be blown up? There is a Grand Slam or Tallboy on display at Coningsby outside the BBMF hangar, but not sure if it is related at all? I suspect that these pics were possibly taken after the road widening,......note how much the line of tree`s have grown between b&w and colour pics! Mind you, that grass verge seems to have got narrower so who knows eh,......that might be the live bomb in the b&w pic! Cheers Tony. PS- Cracking story!! PPS- Why is it when people want to tart up an old aeroplane they always seem to paint the spinner/s red? Ok, I am a bit confused. This is the Lanc and bombs in question from Scampton. But it seems to me that the first colours pics were taken after the road was widened. Not only has the verge shrunk, it no longer has a slope. But that aircraft is in the same spot, so I don't get why they needed to move them to widen the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Laidlaw Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 PPS- Why is it when people want to tart up an old aeroplane they always seem to paint the spinner/s red? Probably for the same reason my dear old Dad absolutely insisted that nose of the Matra rocket pod I was painting should be painted red. Caused our third and final major argument. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Why explode it? Isn't it usual to steam the explosive out of such bombs? Or is that a more modern habit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 That's the point. There isn't so much flat empty land nearby where it could be safely detonated! this was a 22000lb bomb designed for deep penetration, the blast radius would be enormous if detonated above ground. In my service career I saw a live 1000lb bomb dropped once and I was shocked by the size of the blast effect i felt from it when stood well over a mile away from the explosion site I don't think the Lincolnshire ranges could take weapons up to 1000lb size at that time (c 1958) let alone a 22000lb bomb! I think Shoeburyness was the only place licenced for a bomb that size, Actually they may have had to have a special dispensation to blow it there. Nowadays in the UK only garvie island in the far north of scotland can be used for 1000lb size stores. Selwyn To give you an idea about blast damage, if you remember the damage caused to the center of Manchester when the IRA bomb detonated in 1996, it was calculated that it was 3300lbs and that was a Semtex/ ammonium nitrate fertiliser explosive not as effective as the Torpex that the Grand Slam used, it contained just over 9000lbs of that explosive one of those going off on the surface would create huge damage across a very wide area... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Is the B/w photo S-Sugar and the colour of NX611 aka 'Just Jane' ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Is the B/w photo S-Sugar and the colour of NX611 aka 'Just Jane' ??? Looks like it yes, judging by the tyres, nose blister etc Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 When I did a Glyding course at Lindholme with the air-cadets in the mid to late 70's I know there were two big bombs along side the guard room, (Or across the way). either a Grand Slam or Tallboy. I would to know for definate if these were the two at Scampton? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Why explode it? Isn't it usual to steam the explosive out of such bombs? Or is that a more modern habit? There is still a major risk of explosion when treppaning a bomb, so its quite possible that at the time it was considered less risky to move the bomb. Selwyn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 You think that'll make a bang. I hope to God that this little never decides to go up.... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I can verify they were there back in 1969! I was on my ATC camp there and the gate guard Lanc was R5868.. the one thats in Hendon. I do have a photo of the GG display with yours truly posing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 22,000lb is also an awful lot of explosives to steam out. That said, I'm surprised there appears to be little to no contemporaneous evidence of this taking place, even eye witnesses coming forward at a later date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 I can verify they were there back in 1969! I was on my ATC camp there and the gate guard Lanc was R5868.. the one thats in Hendon. I do have a photo of the GG display with yours truly posing. The bomb in question was discovered and disposed of in 1958. the ones you are referring to are replacement Inert (I hope!) bombs. Selwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 How were the GS's produced ? Wouldn't it have been possible to simply remove the charge ? At least modern (plastic) explosives are basically harmless without an ingniter device, and plastic explosives were a pre-war British invention. In case the GS had a detachable tail with access to the charge, it certainly would have been no more risky to empty the case on site than to transport it over a distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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