Flettner rotor bomblet

The Flettner rotor bomblet was never standardized by the U.S. military

The Flettner rotor bomblet was a U.S. biological sub-munition that was never mass-produced. Based on the vertical Flettner rotor which takes advantage of the Magnus effect, a force acting on a spinning body in a moving airstream, it was developed toward the end of the U.S. biological weapons program in the 1960s.

1 History
2 Specifications
3 See also
4 References

History

The Flettner rotor biological bomblet was an experimental [4]

Specifications

The Flettner rotor was seven inches long and winged.^[1] It could carry a liquid or dry biological agent and was designed to be used as a sub-munition in a missile warhead, cluster bomb or dispenser.^[1] The fins, or wings, were designed to extend by centrifugal force, thus stabilizing the bomblet as it flew to the target area.^[1] The Flettner rotor has a glide angle of 44 degrees.^[2] The Flettner rotor made it possible for a single B-52 to cover an area of 20,000 square kilometers with biological agent.^[2]

The Flettner rotor utilized the delayed action dissemination technique (DADT) fuse. This type of fuse has two functions. The first is that the internal fuse can initiate the gas expulsion system in the event of tampering, or certain environmental conditions.^[2] This DADT fuse also self-destructs after three days if the munition fails to dispense its agent on impact as designed.^[2]^[1] Fuses incorporating self-destruct mechanisms are considerably more expensive than traditional fuses.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Eitzen, Edward M. Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare: Chapter 20 - Use of Biological Weapons, (PDF: p. 5), Borden Institute, Textbooks of Military Medicine, PDF via Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, accessed November 16, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Kirby, Reid. "The CB Battlefield Legacy: Understanding the Potential Problem of Clustered CB Weapons", Army Chemical Review, pp. 25–29, July-December 2006, accessed November 16, 2008.
^ Croddy, Eric and Wirtz, James J. Weapons of Mass Destruction: An Encyclopedia of Worldwide Policy, Technology, and History, (Google Books), ABC-CLIO, 2005, p. 304, (ISBN 1-85109-490-3), accessed November 13, 2008.
^ U.S. Public Health Service, Office of Emergency Preparedness, "Proceedings of the Seminar Responding to the Consequences of Chemical and Biological Terrorism", Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md; July 11–14, 1995, p. 70, via LSU Law Center's Medical and Public Health Law Site, accessed November 16, 2008.

United States biological weapons program

Weaponized agents	Anthrax Botulism Brucellosis Q fever Enterotoxin type B Rice blast Tularemia VEE Wheat stem rust

Researched agents	AHF BHF Bird flu CHIKV Dengue fever EEE Glanders Hantavirus Lassa fever Melioidosis Newcastle disease Plague Potato blight Psittacosis Ricin RVF Rinderpest Smallpox Typhus WEE Yellow fever

Munitions	E120 bomblet E133 cluster bomb E14 munition E23 munition E48 particulate bomb E61 bomb E77 balloon bomb E86 cluster bomb E96 cluster bomb Flettner rotor bomblet M114 bomb M115 bomb M143 bomblet M33 cluster bomb

Operations and testing	Operation Big Buzz Operation Big Itch Operation Dark Winter Operation Dew Operation Drop Kick Operation LAC Operation Magic Sword Operation May Day Operation Polka Dot Operation Whitecoat Project 112 Project Bacchus Project Clear Vision Project Jefferson

Facilities	U.S. Army Biological Warfare Labs Building 101 Building 257 Building 470 Deseret Test Center Dugway Proving Ground Fort Detrick Fort Douglas Fort Terry Granite Peak Installation Horn Island Testing Station One-Million-Liter Test Sphere Pine Bluff Arsenal Vigo Ordnance Plant

Related topics	Biological agent Biological warfare (BW) Entomological warfare Soviet biological weapons program Korean War BW allegations List of topics U.S. biological defense program U.S. bio-weapons ban War Bureau of Consultants War Research Service

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Flettner rotor bomblet