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Regarding the BL755 Hunting cluster bomb


RAGATIGER

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Hi there

Well after tehe brief tread regarding modern RAF Ordenance I have couple of questions who bought this bomb and also on witch aircraft was also used

Regarding Saint Google writings the folowing

The bomb is cleared for use by the Tornado aircraft in the British Royal Air Force.

United Kingdom[edit]

The BL755 was used in combat by the Royal Navy during the Falklands War, and the RAF during the Gulf War and Bosnian War.[citation needed]

Yugoslavia[edit]

On the night of 21 October 1991, a Yugoslavian Soko J-22 Orao mistakenly dropped two BL-755 Mk.3 bombs on the outskirts of Barcs, a small city in southernmost part of Hungary, causing extensive material damage, but no casualties. The incident led to an emergency upgrade of the Hungarian Air Force, which obtained 28 new MiG-29B fighter jets in exchange for a write-off of ex-Soviet state debt. The Hungarian government also invited NATO's E-3 AWACS planes to patrol over the Lake Balaton area, keeping a constant radar eye on the Balkan civil war theatre.[citation needed]

Zimbabwe[edit]

The Air Force of Zimbabwe's BAE Hawks were armed with BL755s, which were used against the Rwandan, Ugandan and Congolese rebel forces during the early stages of the Second Congo War, in support of Congolese leader Laurent Kabila.[citation needed]

Iran[edit]

The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force heavily used BL755 cluster bombs on Iraqi troop and armor concentrations during the Iran-Iraq War. They were carried by the F-5E, F-5F, F-4D and F-4E Phantoms.[citation needed]

Operators[edit]

BUT in Verlinden Lock On Northrop F-5E/F is also used in Swiss AF planes so there probably more platforms

Best day

Armando

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Please note that the BL755 was NOT used by ANY British aircraft during the 1st Gulf War. The only multi-munitions weapon used by the Tornado's was the JP233 airfield denial weapon, and only at the start of the conflict.

The only time cluster bombs were loaded onto the Tornado's and Jaguar's was towards the end of the conflict, and they were US CBU-97's. By the time of the Gulf War (Desert Storm) the BL755 had already been taken out of RAF service.

The CBU-97's were never flown or dropped due to the cessation of the war.

CBU-87onTornado.jpg

XVTonker :pilot:

Edited by xvtonker
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Please note that the BL755 was NOT used by ANY British aircraft during the 1st Gulf War.

The only time cluster bombs were loaded onto the Tornado's and Jaguar's was towards the end of the conflict, and they were US CBU-97's. By the time of the Gulf War (Desert Storm) the BL755 had already been taken out of RAF service.

I'm afraid that last sentence is incorrect. BL755s were in service until at least 2004. In the late 90s they had an upgrade so that they could be dropped from medium altitude. They were used in combat in Kosovo.

You are quite correct in stating that BL755s were not used by the RAF in the Gulf War. They were an ideal close support weapon when used by Harriers. However the Harrier Force was in transition at the time of the Gulf War. The GR5s were nowhere near combat ready. Some might say they were never combat ready... :fool:

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xvtonker, I believe you mean CBU-87. CBU-97 is/was the Sensor Fuzed Weapon, which became operational well after the Gulf War.

BL-755 was cleared for use on US tactical aircraft only in an emergency war situation, at Allied bases. Evidently, it never met US safety criteria (for whatever reason).

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xvtonker, I believe you mean CBU-87. CBU-97 is/was the Sensor Fuzed Weapon, which became operational well after the Gulf War.

BL-755 was cleared for use on US tactical aircraft only in an emergency war situation, at Allied bases. Evidently, it never met US safety criteria (for whatever reason).

My apologies, you're absolutely right, a touch of finger trouble. However the picture I took at Muharraq shows our Tornado's loaded with CBU-87's.

XVTonker :pilot:

Edited by xvtonker
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For some reason the Hasegawa 1/71 F-16s had a nice pair of BL755s!

From memory, they were used by the RAF in the first Gulf war - IIRC a very few were dropped by Jaguars in the first couple of days, before the switch to medium level

Edited by Dave Fleming
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Please note that the BL755 was NOT used by ANY British aircraft during the 1st Gulf War. The only multi-munitions weapon used by the Tornado's was the JP233 airfield denial weapon, and only at the start of the conflict.

The only time cluster bombs were loaded onto the Tornado's and Jaguar's was towards the end of the conflict, and they were US CBU-97's. By the time of the Gulf War (Desert Storm) the BL755 had already been taken out of RAF service.

The CBU-97's were never flown or dropped due to the cessation of the war.

CBU-87onTornado.jpg

XVTonker :pilot:

Nice, I've had a few pints in Pelaw club :)

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For some reason the Hasegawa 1/71 F-16s had a nice pair of BL755s!

From memory, they were used by the RAF in the first Gulf war - IIRC a very few were dropped by Jaguars in the first couple of days, before the switch to medium level

One of the official publications by either the MoD or the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence gave a figure of 8 BL755 being delivered by the Jags.

The shift to medium level ops by the Jag force had been planned before the war started, when Bill Pixton (OC 41) turned up to command the JagDet and reviewed the situation, concluding that the amount of AAA available to the Iraqi forces to be attacked by the Jags made low-level suicidal; this led to the rapid procurement of the CRV7 in lieu of the BL755 and the use of CBU-87 when the software for rocket release proved flawed, leading to CRV-7 use being suspended until the software was sorted out (which it was).

The RBL755 with medium-altitude capability appeared after the war, as Enzo says.

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Being worked on by a RAF JT Armourer while at a stop over at RAF Gutersloh while on excersise.

Thought it was a strange (and rare) picture. As far as I know the RAF never had any practice BL755's only Live and Drill. This is the first "in service" Practice BL755 I have ever seen!

Selwyn

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One of the official publications by either the MoD or the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence gave a figure of 8 BL755 being delivered by the Jags.

The shift to medium level ops by the Jag force had been planned before the war started, when Bill Pixton (OC 41) turned up to command the JagDet and reviewed the situation, concluding that the amount of AAA available to the Iraqi forces to be attacked by the Jags made low-level suicidal; this led to the rapid procurement of the CRV7 in lieu of the BL755 and the use of CBU-87 when the software for rocket release proved flawed, leading to CRV-7 use being suspended until the software was sorted out (which it was).

The RBL755 with medium-altitude capability appeared after the war, as Enzo says.

Which would have been two aircraft, as they carried them in tandem on the inner pylons. There is a pic of one in flight in the Aerospace Gulf War Debrief book. I recall there was an article on the RBL755 certification at China Lake in the RAF yearbook.

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