The E61 anthrax bomblet was an American biological sub-munition for the E133 cluster bomb. This anti-personnel weapon was developed in the early 1950s and carried 35 milliliters of

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

spores or another pathogen.

History

Around October 1953 the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

reoriented its

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...

program. One result of this, in anti-personnel weaponry, was a move away from weapons such as the M33 cluster bomb to the lethal E61 anthrax bomb.Whitby, Simon M. ''Biological Warfare Against Crops'',
Google Books
, Macmillan, 2002, pp. 114-15, (). The E61 was first developed in January 1951 as both an anti-personnel and anti-animal weapon capable of being clustered and dropped from a medium height.Endicott, Stephen Lyon and Hagerman, Edward. ''The United States and Biological Warfare: Secrets from the Early Cold War and Korea'',
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, Indiana University Press, 1998, p. 72, (). On March 5, 1954, a directive from the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

altered the course of the

U.S. biological weapons program The United States biological weapons program officially began in spring 1943 on orders from U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Research continued following World War II as the U.S. built up a large stockpile of biological agents and weapons. Ove ...

. The program shifted focus to developing munitions that were not only improved but those that could be delivered by high speed aircraft and balloon. The weapons referred to included the E61 bomblet. Guillemin, Jeanne. ''Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-Sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism'',
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, Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 101, ().

Specifications

The E61 bomblet was a anti-personnel bomb designed to be carried in the E133 cluster bomb. Cirincione, Joseph. ''Deadly Arsenals:'',
Google Books
, APH, New Delhi: 2004, p. 60, (). The cluster bomb was designed to hold about 540 of the E61 anthrax bomblets. The E61 held about of agent and a variety of

pathogen In biology, a pathogen (, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of"), in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a Germ theory of d ...

s could be used,Chauhan, Sharad. ''Biological Weapons'',
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, APH, New Delhi: 2004, p. 197, (). generally

spores In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plant ...

. The E61 was perceived as superior to its predecessors, the M33 cluster bomb and its payload of M114 bombs. In fact, four of the smaller E61 bomblets produced twice the coverage area of the larger M114 bomb.Smart, Jeffery K.
Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare
'': Chapter 2 - History of Chemical and Biological Warfare: An American Perspective,
PDF
p. 51 - p.43 in PDF), ''

Borden Institute The Borden Institute is a U.S. Army “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education”. In 1987, U.S. Army Colonel Russ Zajtchuk conceived the idea for a “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education,” u ...

'', Textbooks of Military Medicine, PDF via

Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. ...

, accessed December 28, 2008. Upon impact the E61 would detonate releasing an aerosol of its anthrax spore laden slurry into the air of its target area.

References

{{U.S. biological weapons Biological weapon delivery systems Submunitions

History

Specifications

See also

References