The AB 23 (Abwurfbehälter) was a
cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...
used by the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Design
The body of the AB 23 was constructed of mild sheet steel with four fins welded to the rear of the container. The AB 23 was composed of two longitudinal halves and was internally divided by two sheet metal discs held in place by steel rods. The front compartment held six bombs while the rear compartment held seventeen bombs. The two halves of the container were held together by a shear wire which passed through a steel anvil, in the lower part of the fuze pocket. When the fuze was triggered, the wire was sheared by a small exploder under the fuze. The case then opened allowing the bombs to fall out. By removing the sheet metal discs it could also be used to drop strips of metal coated paper for disrupting enemy radars. The AB 23 was painted dark green and there were two longitudinal red stripes running the length of the tail fins.
The AB 23 could be configured for two different payloads:
*23 x
SD 2 anti-personnel mines.
*Metallic foil
chaff
Chaff (; ) is dry, scale-like plant material such as the protective seed casings of cereal grains, the scale-like parts of flowers, or finely chopped straw. Chaff cannot be digested by humans, but it may be fed to livestock, ploughed into soil ...
.
See also
*
References
{{WWIIGermanAerialWeapons
World War II aerial bombs of Germany