FAB-5000: Difference between revisions

FAB-5000NG
FAB-5000NG
	Sketch of a FAB-5000NG
Type	General-purpose bomb
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	28 April 1943 - 9 May 1945
Used by	Soviet Air Force
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Nison Illich Gelperin
Specifications
Mass	5,400 kg (11,900 lb)
Length	5,200 mm (200 in)
Diameter	1,000 mm (39 in)
Warhead	TNT, RDX and aluminium powder
Warhead weight	3,200 kg (7,100 lb)

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The FAB 5000NG (Russian: ФАБ-5000НГ, where NG stands for its inventor, Nison Ilicz Gelperin) was a 5,000 kilogram (11,000 lb) large air-dropped, thin cased, high explosive demolition bomb used by the Soviet Air Forces during World War II. The device was the most powerful aerial bomb in the wartime Soviet inventory (until the FAB-9000 demolition bomb was developed during the Cold War as part of the M-46 series).^[1]

Development

The bomb was designed by Soviet chemical engineer Nison Gelperin [ru] (1903-1989) in 1942. Gelperin planned and built bombs with thin metal casings, in order to reduce the use of cast iron and aluminium. In Gelperin's developments, the metal casings represented only 35 percent of the bomb's weight.^[2]

By 1942, the State Defense Committee of the Soviet Union perceived the need for weapons that could hit hard industrial and military facilities, marshaling yards and fortifications, without the usual scattering of medium-weight bombs. The first attempt came in the form of an explosive unmanned aircraft, a modified version of the TB-3, but the trials of this flying bomb were less than satisfactory.^[2]

The Directorate of Logistics of the Air Forces eventually requested to Gelperin the development of a five-ton bomb, capable of being dropped by the Pe-8, the heaviest Soviet bomber of the time.^[2] The definitive version of the FAB-5000 was fitted with six contact lateral fuses, and the warhead was filled with 3200 kg (7055 lb) of an explosive mixture of TNT, RDX, and aluminium powder. The number of fuses ensured that the force of the blast would disperse laterally, which increases the damage in areas such as industrial compounds and military facilities.^[3] In order to load the device, the bomber's bay doors had to remain half-open. The tests, however, were successful.^[2] Two bombs were dropped, one from an altitude of 4,000 m and the other from 3,300 m. The first bomb fell in open ground, leaving a crater 6 metres (20 ft) in diameter and 3 metres (9.8 ft) in depth. Grass in a radius of 150 m was charred. The second bomb landed in the woods, and left a crater of 8 metres (26 ft) in diameter and 3 metres (9.8 ft) in depth. Some 600 trees with a diameters ranging from 150mm to 500mm, thinner 150mm were not counted, were torn out within a 70 m radius, while 30 percent of the trees within 135 m radius also fell down. Later tests produced craters up to 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter and 9 metres (30 ft) in depth.^[3] The project was brought to the assembly line and the bomb was hastily put in service on 15 February 1943.^[2] By the end of the war, 98 FAB-5000s had been delivered to the Soviet Air Forces, all of them produced in 1943.^[3]

Operational use

The first combat use of the FAB-5000 took place on the night of 28 April 1943, when coastal fortifications at Königsberg were hit.^[2] The Pe-8 bomber that dropped the bomb from an altitude of 5,800 m (19,000 ft) was shaken by the shockwave of the explosion.^[3] On 19 July 1943, during the battle of Kursk, two Pe-8 dropped two bombs on a railroad yard near Orel,^[3] ripping apart a 100 m section of the railway and obliterating dozens of railcars and German military vehicles.^[2] Railroads and fuel depots had already been hit around Orel with one bomb on 4 June and with two bombs on 3 July. Two attacks were carried out on advancing German troops on 12 July, but further tactical use was suspended to avoid the risk of friendly fire.^[3] Soviet sources also claim that two buildings occupied by the Gestapo and the Belarusian Auxiliary Police were demolished by two FAB-5000 bombs at the city of Mogilev, Belarus,^[4] apparently on 26 May 1943. On 7 February 1944, another two FAB-5000 bombs were dropped on Helsinki, in the course of the 1944 Great Raids.^[3] Soviet sources claim that railway workshops and a cable factory were destroyed.^[5] A couple of days later, two more bombs fell on Finland's capital. The last FAB-5000 was dropped on the railway station of Brailiv [Wikidata], Ukraine, on 9 March 1944, during the Soviet offensive on the Kamenets–Podolsky pocket, halting all railroad traffic for several days.^[3]

In popular culture

In the 2012 video game War Thunder, the FAB-5000 is included as a payload option for the Pe-8 bomber, and is portrayed as having a blast/kill radius over 200 meters. It has gained a large amount of infamy and notoriety in the community for being the largest-yield bomb in the game (being referred to as the Nuke due to its ability to kill ground targets), until the British 12,000 lb Tallboy bomb was added for the Lancaster aircraft.

Notes

^ ФУГАCНЫЕ АВИАБОМБЫ Retrieved on 19 July 2015
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ФАБ-5000 Retrieved on 19 July 2015
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Bombas de alto explosivo de calibre de 5.000kg (FAB-5000)" (in Spanish). Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército Rojo. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
^ Бомба Нисона Гельперина Retrieved on 19 July 2015
^ Раткин, В. (1996). "Пе-8. Испытание войной". Мир авиации. Авиационно-исторический журнал. 2.

[1] ФУГАCНЫЕ АВИАБОМБЫ Retrieved on 19 July 2015

[fab-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ФАБ-5000 Retrieved on 19 July 2015

[:0-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Bombas de alto explosivo de calibre de 5.000kg (FAB-5000)" (in Spanish). Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército Rojo. Retrieved 20 July 2015.

[neeson-4] Бомба Нисона Гельперина Retrieved on 19 July 2015

[5] Раткин, В. (1996). "Пе-8. Испытание войной". Мир авиации. Авиационно-исторический журнал. 2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|WW2 Soviet large general-purpose bomb}}
 {{Infobox weapon
 | name               = FAB-5000NG
@@ Line 22: / Line 23: @@
 | number             =
 | variants           = <!-- General specifications -->
-| weight             = {{convert|5000|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
+| weight             = {{convert|5400|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
-| length             = 3107&nbsp;mm
+| length             = {{convert|5200|mm|in|abbr=on}}
 | part_length        =
 | width              =
@@ Line 47: / Line 48: @@
 | head_type          =
 | haft_type          = <!-- Explosive specifications -->
-| diameter           = {{convert|642|mm|in|abbr=on}}
+| diameter           = {{convert|1000|mm|in|abbr=on}}
 | filling            = [[TNT (explosive)|TNT]], [[RDX]] and [[aluminium powder]]
 | filling_weight     = {{convert|3200|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
@@ Line 63: / Line 64: @@
 }}
-The '''FAB 5000NG''' ({{lang-ru|ФАБ-5000НГ}}, where NG stands for its inventor, Nison Gelperin) was a {{convert|5000|kg|lb}} large air-dropped, thin cased, high explosive demolition bomb used by the [[Soviet Air Forces]] during [[World War II]]. The device was the most powerful aerial bomb in the wartime Soviet inventory (until the [[FAB-9000]] demolition bomb was developed during the [[Cold War]] as part of the M-46 series).<ref>[http://commi.narod.ru/txt/shirad/402.htm ФУГАCНЫЕ АВИАБОМБЫ] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref>
+The '''FAB 5000NG''' ({{langx|ru|ФАБ-5000НГ}}, where NG stands for its inventor, Nison Ilicz Gelperin) was a 5,000 kilogram (11,000 lb) large air-dropped, thin cased, high explosive demolition bomb used by the [[Soviet Air Forces]] during [[World War II]]. The device was the most powerful aerial bomb in the wartime Soviet inventory (until the [[FAB-9000]] demolition bomb was developed during the [[Cold War]] as part of the M-46 series).<ref>[http://commi.narod.ru/txt/shirad/402.htm ФУГАCНЫЕ АВИАБОМБЫ] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref>
 ==Development==
-The bomb was designed by Soviet [[Chemical engineering|chemical engineer]] {{Interlanguage link multi|Nison Gelperin|ru|3=Гельперин, Нисон Ильич}} (1903-1989) in 1942. Gelperin projected and built bombs with tiny metal casings, in order to reduce the use of cast iron and aluminium. In Gelperin's developments, the metal casings represented only 35 percent of the bomb's weight.<ref name=fab/>
+The bomb was designed by Soviet [[Chemical engineering|chemical engineer]] {{Interlanguage link multi|Nison Gelperin|ru|3=Гельперин, Нисон Ильич}} (1903-1989) in 1942. Gelperin planned and built bombs with thin metal casings, in order to reduce the use of cast iron and aluminium. In Gelperin's developments, the metal casings represented only 35 percent of the bomb's weight.<ref name=fab/>
-By 1942, the [[State Defense Committee]] of the Soviet Union perceived the need of weapons that could hit hard industrial and military facilities, marshaling yards and fortifications, without the usual scattering of medium-weight bombs. The first attempt came in the form of an explosive unmanned aircraft, a modified version of the [[Tupolev TB-3|TB-3]], but the trials of this [[flying bomb]] were less than satisfactory.<ref name="fab" />
+By 1942, the [[State Defense Committee]] of the Soviet Union perceived the need for weapons that could hit hard industrial and military facilities, marshaling yards and fortifications, without the usual scattering of medium-weight bombs. The first attempt came in the form of an explosive unmanned aircraft, a modified version of the [[Tupolev TB-3|TB-3]], but the trials of this [[flying bomb]] were less than satisfactory.<ref name="fab" />
-The Directorate of Logistics of the Air Forces eventually requested to Gelperin the development of a five-ton bomb, capable of being dropped by the [[Petlyakov Pe-8|Pe-8]], the heaviest Soviet bomber of the time.<ref name="fab" /> The definitive version of the FAB-5000 was fitted with six contact lateral fuses, and the warhead was filled with 3200 kg (7055 lb) of an explosive mixture of [[TNT (explosive)|TNT]], [[RDX]], and [[aluminium powder]]. The number of fuses ensured that the force of the blast would disperse laterally, which increases the damage in areas such as industrial compounds and military facilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://www.rkka.es/Armamento/004_bombas/003_FAB/FAB-5000/FAB-5000.htm|title = Bombas de alto explosivo de calibre de 5.000kg (FAB-5000)|access-date = 20 July 2015|publisher = Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército Rojo|language = es}}</ref> In order to load the device, the bomber's bay doors had to remain half-open. The tests, however, were successful.<ref name="fab" /> Two bombs were dropped, one from an altitude of 4,000&nbsp;m and the other from 3,300&nbsp;m. The first bomb fell in open ground, leaving a crater {{convert|6|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|3|m|ft}} in depth. Grass in a radius of 150&nbsp;m was charred. The second bomb landed in the woods, and left a crater of {{convert|8|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|3|m|ft}} in depth. Some 600 trees were torn out within a 70&nbsp;m radius, while 30 percent of the trees within 135&nbsp;m also fell down. Later tests produced craters up to {{convert|20|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|9|m|ft}} in depth.<ref name=":0" /> The project was brought to the assembly line and the bomb was hastily put in service on 15 February 1943.<ref name="fab">[http://www.airwar.ru/weapon/ab/fab5000.html ФАБ-5000] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref> By the end of the war, 98 FAB-5000s had been delivered to the Soviet Air Forces, all of them produced in 1943.<ref name=":0" />
+The Directorate of Logistics of the Air Forces eventually requested to Gelperin the development of a five-ton bomb, capable of being dropped by the [[Petlyakov Pe-8|Pe-8]], the heaviest Soviet bomber of the time.<ref name="fab" /> The definitive version of the FAB-5000 was fitted with six contact lateral fuses, and the warhead was filled with 3200 kg (7055 lb) of an explosive mixture of [[TNT (explosive)|TNT]], [[RDX]], and [[aluminium powder]]. The number of fuses ensured that the force of the blast would disperse laterally, which increases the damage in areas such as industrial compounds and military facilities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url = http://www.rkka.es/Armamento/004_bombas/003_FAB/FAB-5000/FAB-5000.htm|title = Bombas de alto explosivo de calibre de 5.000kg (FAB-5000)|access-date = 20 July 2015|publisher = Fuerzas Aéreas del Ejército Rojo|language = es}}</ref> In order to load the device, the bomber's bay doors had to remain half-open. The tests, however, were successful.<ref name="fab" /> Two bombs were dropped, one from an altitude of 4,000&nbsp;m and the other from 3,300&nbsp;m. The first bomb fell in open ground, leaving a crater {{convert|6|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|3|m|ft}} in depth. Grass in a radius of 150&nbsp;m was charred. The second bomb landed in the woods, and left a crater of {{convert|8|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|3|m|ft}} in depth. Some 600 trees with a diameters ranging from 150mm to 500mm, thinner 150mm were not counted, were torn out within a 70&nbsp;m radius, while 30 percent of the trees within 135&nbsp;m radius also fell down. Later tests produced craters up to {{convert|20|m|ft}} in diameter and {{convert|9|m|ft}} in depth.<ref name=":0" /> The project was brought to the assembly line and the bomb was hastily put in service on 15 February 1943.<ref name="fab">[http://www.airwar.ru/weapon/ab/fab5000.html ФАБ-5000] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref> By the end of the war, 98 FAB-5000s had been delivered to the Soviet Air Forces, all of them produced in 1943.<ref name=":0" />
 ==Operational use==
 [[File:Pe-8 Kratowo Winter.JPG|thumb|250px|Pe-8 bomber]]
-The first combat use of the FAB-5000 took place on the night of 28 April 1943, when coastal fortifications at [[Königsberg]] were hit.<ref name="fab" />  The Pe-8 bomber that released the bomb from an altitude of 5,800&nbsp;m was shaken by the shockwave of the explosion.<ref name=":0" /> On 19 July 1943, during the [[battle of Kursk]], two Pe-8 dropped two bombs on a railroad yard near [[Oryol|Orel]],<ref name=":0" /> ripping apart a 100&nbsp;m section of the railway and obliterating dozens of [[railroad car|railcars]] and German military vehicles.<ref name=fab/> Railroads and fuel depots had already been hit around Orel with one bomb on 4 June and with two bombs on 3 July. Two attacks were carried out on advancing German troops on 12 July, but further tactical use was suspended to avoid the risk of [[friendly fire]].<ref name=":0" /> Soviet sources also claim that two buildings occupied by the [[Gestapo]] and the [[Belarusian Auxiliary Police]] were demolished by two FAB-5000 bombs at the city of [[Mogilev]], [[Belarus]],<ref name="neeson">[http://www.lechaim.ru/ARHIV/97/aronov.htm Бомба Нисона Гельперина] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref> apparently on 26 May 1943. On 7 February 1944, another two FAB-5000 bombs were dropped on [[Helsinki]], in the course of the [[Bombing of Helsinki in World War II|1944 Great Raids.]]<ref name=":0" /> Soviet sources claim that railway workshops and a cable factory were destroyed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Раткин|first=В.|date=1996|title=Пе-8. Испытание войной|url=http://allaces.ru/p/episode.php?id=107|journal=Мир авиации. Авиационно-исторический журнал|volume=2}}</ref> A couple of days later, two more bombs fell on Finland's capital. The last FAB-5000 was dropped on the railway station of {{Interlanguage link multi|Brailiv|WD=Q2641183}}, [[Ukraine]], on 9 March 1944, during the Soviet offensive on [[Kamenets-Podolsky pocket]], halting all railroad traffic for several days.<ref name=":0" />
+The first combat use of the FAB-5000 took place on the night of 28 April 1943, when coastal fortifications at [[Königsberg]] were hit.<ref name="fab" />  The [[Petlyakov Pe-8|Pe-8]] bomber that dropped the bomb from an altitude of {{Convert|5800|m|ft|abbr=unit}} was shaken by the shockwave of the explosion.<ref name=":0" /> On 19 July 1943, during the [[battle of Kursk]], two Pe-8 dropped two bombs on a railroad yard near [[Oryol|Orel]],<ref name=":0" /> ripping apart a 100&nbsp;m section of the railway and obliterating dozens of [[railroad car|railcars]] and German military vehicles.<ref name=fab/> Railroads and fuel depots had already been hit around Orel with one bomb on 4 June and with two bombs on 3 July. Two attacks were carried out on advancing German troops on 12 July, but further tactical use was suspended to avoid the risk of [[friendly fire]].<ref name=":0" /> Soviet sources also claim that two buildings occupied by the [[Gestapo]] and the [[Belorusian Auxiliary Police|Belarusian Auxiliary Police]] were demolished by two FAB-5000 bombs at the city of [[Mogilev]], [[Belarus]],<ref name="neeson">[http://www.lechaim.ru/ARHIV/97/aronov.htm Бомба Нисона Гельперина] Retrieved on 19 July 2015</ref> apparently on 26 May 1943. On 7 February 1944, another two FAB-5000 bombs were dropped on [[Helsinki]], in the course of the [[Bombing of Helsinki in World War II|1944 Great Raids.]]<ref name=":0" /> Soviet sources claim that railway workshops and a cable factory were destroyed.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Раткин|first=В.|date=1996|title=Пе-8. Испытание войной|url=http://allaces.ru/p/episode.php?id=107|journal=Мир авиации. Авиационно-исторический журнал|volume=2}}</ref> A couple of days later, two more bombs fell on Finland's capital. The last FAB-5000 was dropped on the railway station of {{Interlanguage link multi|Brailiv|WD=Q2641183}}, [[Ukraine]], on 9 March 1944, during the Soviet offensive on the [[Kamenets–Podolsky pocket]], halting all railroad traffic for several days.<ref name=":0" />
 == In popular culture ==
-* In the 2012 video game [[War Thunder]], the FAB-5000 is included as a payload option for the Pe-8 bomber, and is portrayed as having the capacity to knock out tanks across the blast radius upwards of 100 meters. The FAB-5000 is given a unique whistle while falling to warn players of the impending explosion.<ref>{{Cite web|title=5,000 kg FAB-5000 bomb - War Thunder Wiki|url=https://wiki.warthunder.com/FAB-5000_(5,000_kg)|access-date=2021-11-15|website=wiki.warthunder.com}}</ref>
+* In the 2012 video game ''[[War Thunder]]'', the FAB-5000 is included as a payload option for the Pe-8 bomber, and is portrayed as having a blast/kill radius over 200 meters. It has gained a large amount of infamy and notoriety in the community for being the largest-yield bomb in the game (being referred to as the Nuke due to its ability to kill ground targets), until the British 12,000 lb [[Tallboy (bomb)|Tallboy]] bomb was added for the [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] aircraft.
 == See also ==
 * [[FAB-9000]]
 * [[Tallboy (bomb)|Tallboy]]
-* [[Grand Slam (bomb)|Grand Slam]]
+* [[Avro Lancaster|Grand Slam]]
+* [[Avro Lancaster|T-12]] [[T-12 Cloudmaker|Cloudmaker]]
 *[[GBU-43/B MOAB]]