One of the tasks of the engineering troops on the battlefield is the destruction of enemy obstacles and fortifications. With the help of special means, military engineers must destroy enemy structures, ensuring the passage of their troops. To solve such problems during the Second World War, all countries participating in the conflict proposed different weapons of one kind or another. One of the most interesting proposals in this area led to the emergence of the American project Cable Bomb. With the help of weapons made according to this project, it was planned to destroy bunkers, long-term firing points and other structures of the enemy.
Large-caliber artillery was the standard means of destroying enemy fortifications during the Second World War. However, in some cases, the available guns were not very effective, which made it necessary for other weapons. A more convenient means of destruction were air bombs, which were distinguished by a relatively large mass of an explosive charge, but their use was associated with certain difficulties. By the middle of 1944, there was a proposal for the joint use of modified aerial bombs and ground engineering equipment. The result was to be a successful combination of ease of use and high power of the weapon.
The use of a "cable bomb"
In mid-1944, the US Army Corps of Engineers sent a request to the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to study the original proposal for a promising weapon. It was required to conduct some research and determine the prospects for the use of jet bombs for the destruction of protected structures. If positive results were obtained, it was possible to continue the design work and complete the creation of new weapons for the engineering troops.
The original proposal of military engineers involved the use of a number of components for various purposes. The main elements of the promising complex in the proposed form were a modified aerial bomb and a cable, with the help of which it was planned to provide an original method of using weapons. For this reason, the new project received the symbol Cable Bomb - "Cable bomb". Within the framework of the project, several versions of ammunition were proposed, but the name of these systems did not change as they developed.
The carriers of "cable bombs" were supposed to make the existing engineering tanks. In particular, armored vehicles based on the M4 Sherman medium tank could apply for this role. To use special anti-bunker weapons, the tank needed some minor alterations. So, on the roof of the hull or turret, a set of hooks should have been installed, and control devices for new weapons should have appeared at the gunner's workplace. All this made it possible to preserve the existing standard weapons, as well as to use the engineering equipment of existing types.
It was proposed to transport the bombs on a special wheeled cart with a launcher. She was supposed to have an armored body without a roof with several cells-guides for ammunition. According to the original proposal, the trolley was supposed to carry six new type of bombs. The cart was supposed to move with the help of two of its own wheels and a rigid hitch of great length. It should have been towed across the battlefield by an engineering tank.
The task of destroying the enemy bunker was assigned directly to the Cable Bomb product. It was supposed to be a large and heavy ammunition with a relatively powerful warhead, equipped with its own jet engine. It was proposed to attach a cable to the body of the bomb, which is necessary to bring it to the correct trajectory and aim at the target. A thimble was placed at the free end of the cable, intended for installation on the hooks of the carrier tank. Calculations have shown that the new weapon can be equipped with a 50 ft (15.4 m) cable.
The proposed principle of using the "cable bomb" was as follows. An engineering tank with a trolley on a rigid hitch was supposed to enter the battlefield. Having received a combat mission to destroy a specific enemy object, the tank crew had to go on a "combat course" and approach the target at a distance of 15 m. In this case, the attacked object had to be on a line that continued the longitudinal axis of the "tank and cart" system. Having completed such a preliminary aiming of weapons, the tankers could open fire.
The M8 missile is a possible element of the Cable Bomb complex
At the command of the gunner, the electrical system was supposed to ignite the bomb's solid propellant engine. Due to the thrust of the engine, the bomb was supposed to take off and go to the intended target. At the same time, the cable attached to the turret of the tank did not allow the ammunition to go straight up. Pulling on the cable, the bomb began to move in a circle. Flying in an arc with a radius of about 15 m, the ammunition was supposed to hit the roof of the attacked structure. When using existing aerial bombs as the basis for the Cable Bomb, there was a theoretical possibility of guaranteed destruction of most fortifications with two or three "shots".
The cable bomb project proposed the use of a transport cart with a launcher for six ammunition. On the battlefield, an engineering tank could face different targets, which is why a proposal appeared to use two types of ammunition. Depending on the main features of the attacked bunker, military engineers had to use a bomb with a high-explosive or cumulative warhead. The first type of ammunition was proposed as a multipurpose means of destruction, and the cumulative Cable Bomb was intended to destroy structures with a high level of protection.
The bunker shaped bomb was developed from scratch. The project proposed assembling a product with a characteristic appearance. The bomb was supposed to receive a main cylindrical body with a diameter of 1 foot (305 mm) and a length of 4 feet (1, 22 m). Inside such a housing was placed a shaped charge of explosive weighing 375 pounds (about 170 kg). It was planned to attach the engine and stabilization means to the tail end of the main body. A cylindrical body about 0.5 feet in diameter and less than 2 feet in length was supposed to accommodate a 25-pound charge (11.34 kg) of solid propellant. Above and below, square vertical planes measuring 2x2 feet (610x610 mm) were attached to the engine body. It is noteworthy that the bomb did not have horizontal planes: thanks to the use of a cable, it only needed stabilization along the course. On the lower surface of the main body, along the longitudinal axis of the product, there were two cable attachment points. To hold the bomb in the optimal position, it was proposed to use a cable of the required length, which was divided into two parts near the hull.
The high-explosive "cable bomb" was to be manufactured using serial units of existing aircraft weapons. As a warhead, the rocket should have used a body with a charge borrowed from a serial 250-pound high-explosive fragmentation bomb. In its original form, such a bomb weighed 112 kg, had a length of 1.38 m and a diameter of 261 mm. A charge of TNT or ammotol weighing 30.3 kg was used. In the manufacture of ammunition for the engineering troops, the aerial bomb should have been deprived of the standard tail stabilizer, instead of which it was proposed to mount new devices, including the engine.
A solid-propellant engine of the existing type was supposed to send a high-explosive bomb to the target. For reasons of economy, the authors of the Cable Bomb project decided to use the engine from the T22 unguided aircraft rocket, which was a further development of the M8 serial product. The T22 rocket had a total length of 84 cm with a maximum diameter of 4.5 inches (114 mm). Rocket weight - 17 kg, maximum flight speed - 960 km / h. The range was determined at the level of 3-3, 2 km. The T22 rocket engine used in the "cable bomb" was supposed to receive a new stabilizer and be installed on the tail of the serial bomb body. Due to significant differences in mass, the new type of ammunition was supposed to be inferior to an aircraft missile in terms of speed and range, but this did not matter with the proposed application method.
Cumulative ammunition design
Entering the battlefield, an engineering tank based on the serial "Sherman" was supposed to tow a cart with six "cable bombs" of two types. It was assumed that the typical ammunition load of the new complex will consist of three high-explosive fragmentation and the same number of cumulative bombs. This made it possible to obtain acceptable flexibility in the use of weapons in real combat conditions, where military engineers could face a variety of threats and targets.
It took some time to develop a promising Cable Bomb project. Apparently, the design work was completed at the beginning of 1945. For testing, several prototypes of weapons were made, as well as a corresponding stand. It is not known whether the serial tanks underwent the necessary revision and whether carts with a launcher were built. At the same time, the general features of the project made it possible to carry out the first tests without involving technology, exclusively with the help of stands simulating it.
The Allegany Ballistics Laboratory research complex (West Virginia) has become a platform for testing new weapons. For some time, specialists from the Ballistic Laboratory and the Army Corps of Engineers conducted joint tests, during which the main ideas of the original project were tested and its prospects were determined. According to reports, only high-explosive "cable bombs" made from existing aviation ammunition were used during the tests. Based on the results of their verification, it was determined that the unusual appearance of the anti-bunker weapon, in general, justifies itself and can be used in practice.
Despite the use of non-standard ideas, the proposed "cable bomb" looked interesting and promising. The use of a cable limiting the range of the ammunition to several meters made it possible to use the existing solid-fuel engine of relatively low power, but at the same time equip the bomb with a heavy warhead of high power. All this really allowed the engineering tank - at least in theory - to effectively destroy enemy bunkers and firing points. The only noticeable problem of the unusual project was the need to approach the target at a short distance, but in some cases all existing threats were completely neutralized by the armor of the engineering tank.
Weapons of the Cable Bomb project at the beginning of 1945 passed the first tests and confirmed their capabilities. Despite this, all work on the original project was discontinued. The army command considered that in the current situation, the military industry and research organizations should be engaged in other projects. In particular, the development of new anti-mine weapons intended for installation on serial armored vehicles became a priority at that time. The need to develop other projects and limited resources led to the abandonment of "cable bombs". The project, which once seemed promising, did not lead to the expected results, and the new weapon did not reach the point of being used by the troops.
As far as is known, the Cable Bomb project was the first and last attempt by the American military industry to create a weapon to destroy bunkers using "tethered" ammunition. In the future, the development of weapons of this designation went in other ways and no longer needed such means of control and targeting. Nevertheless, the unusual project is of great interest from a technical and historical point of view.
