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An aerial bomb is a type of explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircraft.

The use of aerial bombs is termed aerial bombing.

Bomb types

Aerial bombs include a vast range and complexity of designs. These include unguided gravity bombs, guided bombs, bombs hand-tossed from a vehicle, bombs needing a large specially-built delivery-vehicle, bombs integrated with the vehicle itself (such as a glide bomb), instant-detonation bombs, or delay-action bombs.

As with other types of explosive weapons, aerial bombs aim to kill and injure people or to destroy materiel through the projection of one or more of blast, fragmentation, radiation or fire outwards from the point of detonation.

Early bombs

The first bombs delivered to their targets by air were single bombs carried on unmanned hot air balloons, launched by the Austrians against Venice in 1849 during the First Italian War of Independence.^[1]

The first bombs dropped from a heavier-than-air aircraft were grenades or grenade-like devices. Historically, the first use was by Giulio Gavotti on 1 November 1911, during the Italo-Turkish War.^[2]^[3]

In 1912, during the First Balkan War, Bulgarian Air Force pilot Christo Toprakchiev suggested the use of aircraft to drop "bombs" (called grenades in the Bulgarian army at this time) on Turkish positions.^{[citation needed]} Captain Simeon Petrov developed the idea and created several prototypes by adapting different types of grenades and increasing their payload.^[4]

On 16 October 1912, observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on the Turkish railway station of Karağaç (near the besieged Edirne) from an Albatros F.2 aircraft piloted by Radul Milkov, for the first time in this campaign.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

During the Mexican Revolution, US inventor Lester P. Barlow convinced General Pancho Villa of the insurgent Villista forces to purchace a plane from which were dropped on trains carrying on Mexican Federal troops. Although the bombs were weak, they launched Barlow's career as an explosives inventor.^[8]^[9]

World War Two

Aerial bombing saw widespread use during World War Two. A precursor was the 1937 bombing of Guernica by the Nazi German Luftwaffe and the Fascist Italian Aviazione Legionaria at the behest of Francisco Franco.^[10] The bombs used were a mix of high-explosive bombs and 1 kg (2.2 lb) incendiaries, that Germany would later use also against the UK.

As part of The Blitz Nazi-Germany's Coventry Blitz set a benchmark for destruction that caused Joseph Goebbels to later use the term coventriert ("coventried") to describe similar levels of destruction of enemy cities.

While a single raid of the Coventry Blitz killed almost 600 people, later allied raids using conventional aerial bombs each killed up to tens of thousands of people, with the bombing of Dresden and the bombing of Hamburg as notable examples.

The final stages of World War Two saw the most lethal air raid in history, the bombing of Tokyo where possibly 100,000 or more were killed primarily by incendiary bombs.^[11] The majority of these incendiary bombs were the 500-pound (230 kg) E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 M-69 oil-based incendiary bombs at an altitude of 2,500 ft (760 m).^[12]

The end of World War Two was brought about with the aerial, atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people and which remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.

After World War Two

An example of extensive use of aerial bombs after World War Two is the U.S. aerial bombing during the Vietnam War, where the amount of bombs dropped was more than three times what the USA dropped during World War II in Europe and Asia.

Technical description

Aerial bombs typically use a contact fuze to detonate the bomb upon impact, or a delayed-action fuze initiated by impact.

Reliability

Controlled detonation of 250 kg World War Two aerial bomb in Schwabing, München in AUgust 2012

Not all bombs dropped detonate; failures are common. It was estimated that during the Second World War about 10% of German bombs failed to detonate, and that Allied bombs had a failure rate of 15% or 20%, especially if they hit soft soil and used a pistol-type detonating mechanism rather than fuzes.^[13] A great many bombs were dropped during the war; thousands of unexploded bombs which may be able to detonate are discovered every year, particularly in Germany, and have to be defused or detonated in a controlled explosion, in some cases requiring evacuation of thousands of people beforehand, see World War II bomb disposal in Europe. Old bombs occasionally detonate when disturbed, or when a faulty time fuze eventually functions, showing that precautions are still essential when dealing with them.

References

^ Millbrooke, Anne (2006). Aviation History. Jeppesen. pp. 1–20. ISBN 0-88487-235-1.
^ Grant, R.G. (2004). Flight - 100 Years of Aviation. Dorling-Kindersley Limited. p. 59. ISBN 9780751337327.
^ Clark, Christopher (2013). The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Harper Collins. p. 243. ISBN 9780062199225.: "Bombs were dropped in small numbers from aeroplanes too, though this was an awkward business, since the aviator had somehow to steer the machine while gripping the bomb between his knees and using his free hand to insert the fuse, before aiming it at the troops below."
^ ^a ^b Who was the first to use an aircraft as a bomber? (in Bulgarian; photographs of 1912 Bulgarian air-dropped bombs)
^ A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence Archived 30 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^ "The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines". Time. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
^ I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov: The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol.I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)
^ "Lester P. Barlow Is Dead at 80; Built World War I Aerial Bomb". New York Times. 6 September 1967 – via TimesMachine.
^ "They started here; LESTER BARLOW, Soldier of Fortune". The Globe Gazette. 5 October 1940. p. 18. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via iagenweb.org.
^ "Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 9". Yale Law School. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
^ Technical Sergeant Steven Wilson (25 February 2010). "This month in history: The firebombing of Dresden". Ellsworth Air Force Base. United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
^ Bradley, F.J. (1999). No Strategic Targets Left. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9781563114830.
^ Brian Melican (23 April 2018). "'They haven't lost their potency': Allied bombs still threaten Hamburg". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

External links

"bomb" at Encyclopædia Britannica

[1] Millbrooke, Anne (2006). Aviation History. Jeppesen. pp. 1–20. ISBN 0-88487-235-1.

[Flight100_59-2] Grant, R.G. (2004). Flight - 100 Years of Aviation. Dorling-Kindersley Limited. p. 59. ISBN 9780751337327.

[The_Sleepwalkers-3] Clark, Christopher (2013). The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. Harper Collins. p. 243. ISBN 9780062199225.: "Bombs were dropped in small numbers from aeroplanes too, though this was an awkward business, since the aviator had somehow to steer the machine while gripping the bomb between his knees and using his free hand to insert the fuse, before aiming it at the troops below."

[multiple-4] Who was the first to use an aircraft as a bomber? (in Bulgarian; photographs of 1912 Bulgarian air-dropped bombs)

[5] A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence Archived 30 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine

[The_Balkan_Wars:_Scenes_from_the_Front_Lines-6] "The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines". Time. 8 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2015.

[7] I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov: The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol.I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)

[:0-8] "Lester P. Barlow Is Dead at 80; Built World War I Aerial Bomb". New York Times. 6 September 1967 – via TimesMachine.

[:1-9] "They started here; LESTER BARLOW, Soldier of Fortune". The Globe Gazette. 5 October 1940. p. 18. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2024 – via iagenweb.org.

[10] "Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 9". Yale Law School. Archived from the original on 31 December 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2024.

[11] Technical Sergeant Steven Wilson (25 February 2010). "This month in history: The firebombing of Dresden". Ellsworth Air Force Base. United States Air Force. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.

[12] Bradley, F.J. (1999). No Strategic Targets Left. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9781563114830.

[13] Brian Melican (23 April 2018). "'They haven't lost their potency': Allied bombs still threaten Hamburg". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

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+{{Short description|Explosive or incendiary weapon intended to travel through the air on a predictable trajectory}}
-[[File:Cooper 20 pound Aerial Bomb AWM.jpg|thumb|right|A British Cooper 20 [[Pound (mass)|pound]] bomb used during [[World War I|WWI]]]]
+{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
-[[File:German WW2 Bombs.jpg|thumb|right|German [[World War II|WWII]] bombs: [[Explosive material|explosive]] to left, rest [[concrete]] practice bombs (250 [[kilogram|kg]] and 50 kg), [[Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection]] (2007)]]
+[[File:US_Navy_030323-N-1328C-507_GBU-31_Joint_Direct_Attack_Munitions_(JDAM)_are_staged_in_the_hanger_bay.jpg|thumb|[[Joint Direct Attack Munition|GBU-31 JDAM]] aerial bombs in the hangar bay of the [[USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)|USS ''Theodore Roosevelt'' (CVN-71)]]]]
-An '''aerial bomb''' is a type of [[Explosive weapon|explosive]] or [[Incendiary bomb|incendiary weapon]] intended to travel through the [[Atmosphere of Earth|air]] on a predictable [[trajectory]], usually designed to be dropped from an [[aircraft]].  Aerial bombs include a vast range and complexity of designs, from unguided [[gravity bomb]]s to [[guided bomb]]s, hand tossed from a [[vehicle]], to needing a large specially built delivery vehicle; or perhaps ''be'' the vehicle itself such as a [[glide bomb]], instant detonation or [[delay-action bomb]].  The act is termed aerial bombing. As with other types of [[explosive weapon]]s, aerial bombs are designed to kill and injure people and destroy [[materiel]] through the projection of blast and fragmentation outwards from the point of detonation.
+An '''aerial bomb''' is a type of [[Explosive weapon|explosive]] or [[Incendiary bomb|incendiary weapon]] intended to travel through the [[Atmosphere of Earth|air]] on a predictable [[trajectory]]. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an [[aircraft]].
+The use of aerial bombs is termed '''aerial bombing'''.
+== Bomb types ==
+Aerial bombs include a vast range and complexity of designs. These include unguided [[gravity bomb]]s, [[guided bomb]]s, bombs hand-tossed from a [[vehicle]], bombs needing a large specially-built delivery-vehicle, bombs integrated with the vehicle itself (such as a [[glide bomb]]), instant-detonation bombs, or [[delay-action bomb]]s.
+As with other types of [[explosive weapon]]s, aerial bombs aim to kill and injure people or to destroy [[materiel]] through the projection of one or more of blast, fragmentation, radiation or fire outwards from the point of detonation.
 == Early bombs ==
+[[File:German_WW2_Bombs.jpg|right|thumb|German aerial bombs from [[World War II]]. From left to right: [[Explosive material|explosive]], 250 kg [[concrete]] practice bomb, 50 kg concrete practice bomb.]]
-[[File:Giulio Gavotti.jpg|thumb|right|Giulio Gavotti on a [[Farman]] biplane, Rome 1910.]]
+The first [[bomb]]s delivered to their targets by air were single bombs carried on unmanned [[Incendiary balloon|hot air balloons]], launched by the Austrians against [[Venice]] in 1849 during the [[First Italian War of Independence]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Millbrooke|first=Anne|title=Aviation History|publisher=Jeppesen|year=2006|pages=1–20|isbn=0-88487-235-1}}</ref>
-[[File:Albatros F-2.jpg|thumb|right|Albatros F-2, the first aircraft used as a bomber]][[File:British Grand Slam bomb.jpg|thumb|right|[[Royal Air Force]] "[[Grand Slam bomb|Grand Slam]]" bomb, early 1945]]
+The first bombs dropped from a [[heavier-than-air]] aircraft were grenades or grenade-like devices. Historically, the first use was by [[Giulio Gavotti]] on 1 November 1911, during the [[Italo-Turkish War]].<ref name="Flight100_59">{{cite book |last=Grant |first=R.G. |title=Flight - 100 Years of Aviation |pages=59 |publisher=Dorling-Kindersley Limited |year=2004 |isbn=9780751337327}}</ref><ref name="The Sleepwalkers">{{cite book |last=Clark |first=Christopher |title=The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 |pages=243 |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2013 |isbn=9780062199225}}: "Bombs were dropped in small numbers from aeroplanes too, though this was an awkward business, since the aviator had somehow to steer the machine while gripping the bomb between his knees and using his free hand to insert the fuse, before aiming it at the troops below."</ref>
-The first [[bomb]]s delivered to their targets by air were launched on unmanned [[Incendiary balloon|hot air balloons]], carrying a single bomb, by the Austrians against [[Venice]] in 1849 during the [[First Italian War of Independence]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Millbrooke|first=Anne|title=Aviation History|publisher=Jeppesen|year=2006|pages=1–20|isbn=0-88487-235-1}}</ref>
-The first bombs dropped from a [[heavier-than-air]] aircraft were grenades or grenade-like devices. Historically, the first use was by [[Giulio Gavotti]] on 1 November 1911, during the [[Italo-Turkish War]].<ref name="Flight100_59">{{cite book |last=Grant |first=R.G. |title=Flight - 100 Years of Aviation |pages=59 |publisher=Dorling-Kindersley Limited |year=2004 |isbn=9780751337327}}</ref>
-[[File:F-100D 308TFS 31TFW TuyHoa 1966.jpg|thumb|right|An [[North American F-100 Super Sabre|F-100 Super Sabre]] of the 308th TFS, being loaded with [[M117 bomb|Mk 117 750 lb]] bombs, [[Tuy Hoa Air Base]], South Vietnam (1966)]]
-[[File:JDAM GBU30 MER.jpg|thumb|right|Modern [[Joint Direct Attack Munition|JDAM]] guided GBU-31 bombs]]
 In 1912, during the [[First Balkan War]], [[Bulgarian Air Force]] [[Aviator|pilot]] Christo Toprakchiev suggested the use of aircraft to drop "bombs" (called [[grenade]]s in the Bulgarian army at this time) on Turkish positions.{{cn|date=January 2018}} [[Captain (land)|Captain]] Simeon Petrov developed the idea and created several [[prototype]]s by adapting different types of grenades and increasing their payload.<ref name="multiple">[https://web.archive.org/web/20030219175331/http://aviation.zonebg.com/istoria/balcan-war/index.php Who was the first to use an aircraft as a bomber?] (in Bulgarian; photographs of 1912 Bulgarian air-dropped bombs)</ref>
-On 16 October 1912, observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on the Turkish railway station of Karağaç (near the besieged [[Edirne]]) from an [[Albatros Flugzeugwerke|Albatros]] F.2 aircraft piloted by Radul Milkov, for the first time in this campaign.<ref name="multiple" /><ref>[https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/histechintel.htm A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230215249/https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/histechintel.htm |date=December 30, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines">{{cite web|title=The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines|url=http://world.time.com/2012/10/08/the-balkan-wars-scenes-from-the-frontlines/photo/bulgarian-bomber/|website=TIME|date=8 October 2012|accessdate=28 July 2015}}</ref><ref>I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov: ''The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol.I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt''. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)</ref>
+On 16 October 1912, observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on the Turkish railway station of Karağaç (near the besieged [[Edirne]]) from an [[Albatros Flugzeugwerke|Albatros]] F.2 aircraft piloted by Radul Milkov, for the first time in this campaign.<ref name="multiple" /><ref>[https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/histechintel.htm A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230215249/https://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/histechintel.htm |date=30 December 2008 }}</ref><ref name="The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines">{{cite magazine|title=The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines|url=https://world.time.com/2012/10/08/the-balkan-wars-scenes-from-the-frontlines/photo/bulgarian-bomber/|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=8 October 2012|access-date=28 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327234541/http://world.time.com/2012/10/08/the-balkan-wars-scenes-from-the-frontlines/photo/bulgarian-bomber/|archive-date=27 March 2016}}</ref><ref>I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov: ''The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol.I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt''. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)</ref>
+During the [[Mexican Revolution]], US inventor [[Lester P. Barlow]] convinced General [[Pancho Villa]] of the insurgent [[División del Norte|Villista forces]] to purchace a plane from which were dropped on trains carrying on [[Federal Army|Mexican Federal troops]]. Although the bombs were weak, they launched Barlow's career as an explosives inventor.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=6 September 1967 |title=Lester P. Barlow Is Dead at 80; Built World War I Aerial Bomb |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/09/06/90401164.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[New York Times]] |via=[[TimesMachine]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=5 October 1940 |title=They started here; LESTER BARLOW, Soldier of Fortune |url=http://iagenweb.org/cerrogordo/bios/StartedHere/cg_bio_started_barlowlesterpence.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323210015/https://iagenweb.org/cerrogordo/bios/StartedHere/cg_bio_started_barlowlesterpence.htm |archive-date=23 March 2023 |access-date=5 October 2024 |work=[[The Globe Gazette]] |pages=18 |via=iagenweb.org}}</ref>
+== World War Two ==
+[[File:Luftwaffe 1kg Incendiary Bomb.jpg|right|thumb|A Luftwaffe 1&nbsp;kg incendiary bomb dated 1936]]
+[[File:British Grand Slam bomb.jpg|thumb|right|[[Royal Air Force]] "[[Grand Slam (bomb)|Grand Slam]]" [[earthquake bomb]] used towards the end of World War II]]
+Aerial bombing saw widespread use during World War Two. A precursor was the 1937 [[bombing of Guernica]] by the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi German]] [[Luftwaffe]] and the [[Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|Fascist Italian]] [[Aviazione Legionaria]] at the behest of [[Francisco Franco]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 9 |url=https://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/03-14-46.htm#Goering2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231200445/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/03-14-46.htm |archive-date=31 December 2006 |access-date=5 April 2024 |website=[[Yale Law School]]}}</ref> The bombs used were a mix of high-explosive bombs and {{convert|1|kg|abbr=on}} [[Incendiary device|incendiaries]], that Germany would later use also against the UK.
+As part of [[The Blitz]] Nazi-Germany's [[Coventry Blitz]] set a benchmark for destruction that caused [[Joseph Goebbels]] to later use the term ''coventriert'' ("coventried") to describe similar levels of destruction of enemy cities.
+While a single raid of the Coventry Blitz killed almost 600 people, later allied raids using conventional aerial bombs each killed up to tens of thousands of people, with the [[bombing of Dresden]] and the [[bombing of Hamburg]] as notable examples.
+The final stages of World War Two saw the [[Civilian casualties of strategic bombing|most lethal air raid in history]], the [[Bombing of Tokyo (10 March 1945)|bombing of Tokyo]] where possibly 100,000 or more were killed primarily by incendiary bombs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ellsworth.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123192125 |title=This month in history: The firebombing of Dresden |author=Technical Sergeant Steven Wilson |date=25 February 2010 |work=[[Ellsworth Air Force Base]] |publisher=[[United States Air Force]] |access-date=8 August 2011 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929013643/http://www.ellsworth.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123192125 |archive-date=29 September 2011}}</ref> The majority of these incendiary bombs were the {{convert|500|lb|kg|adj=on}} E-46 cluster bomb which released 38 [[M-69 Incendiary cluster bomb|M-69 oil-based incendiary bombs]] at an altitude of {{convert|2500|ft|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sr6nn47tDOUC&pg=PA33 |pages=34–35 |title=No Strategic Targets Left |last=Bradley |first=F.J. |location=Paducah, Kentucky |publisher=Turner Publishing |year=1999 |isbn=9781563114830}}</ref>
+The end of World War Two was brought about with the aerial, [[atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] that killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people and which remain the only use of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict.
+== After World War Two ==
+[[File:Boeing B-52 dropping bombs.jpg|thumb|right|Aerial bombs dropped by a B-52 over Vietnam]]
+An example of extensive use of aerial bombs after World War Two is the [[Vietnam_War#Extent_of_U.S._bombings|U.S. aerial bombing during the Vietnam War]], where the amount of bombs dropped was more than three times what the USA dropped during World War II in Europe and Asia.
 ==Technical description==
+[[File:F-100D_308TFS_31TFW_TuyHoa_1966.jpg|right|thumb|An [[North American F-100 Super Sabre|F-100 Super Sabre]] being loaded with [[M117 bomb|M117]] bombs during the [[Vietnam War]]]]
 Aerial bombs typically use a [[contact fuze]] to detonate the bomb upon impact, or a delayed-action fuze initiated by impact.
 ==Reliability==
+[[File:FliegerbombensprengungMuenchen2012.ogv|thumb|Controlled detonation of 250&nbsp;kg World War Two aerial bomb in [[Schwabing]], München in AUgust 2012]]
-Not all bombs dropped detonate; failures are common. It was estimated that during the [[Second World War]] about 10% of German bombs failed to detonate, and that [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] bombs had a failure rate of 15% or 20%, especially if they hit soft soil and used a [[Fuze#Aerial bomb fuze|pistol-type detonating mechanism]] rather than fuzes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/apr/23/allied-bombs-still-threaten-hamburg-ww2 |title='They haven't lost their potency': Allied bombs still threaten Hamburg |newspaper=The Guardian |date=23 April 2018  |author=Brian Melican |accessdate= 23 April 2018}}</ref> A great many bombs were dropped during the war; thousands of [[unexploded bomb]]s which may be able to detonate are discovered every year, particularly in Germany, and have to be defused or detonated in a controlled explosion, in some cases requiring evacuation of thousands of people beforehand. Old bombs occasionally detonate when disturbed, or when a faulty time fuze eventually functions, showing that precautions are still essential when dealing with them.
+Not all bombs dropped detonate; failures are common. It was estimated that during the [[Second World War]] about 10% of German bombs failed to detonate, and that [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] bombs had a failure rate of 15% or 20%, especially if they hit soft soil and used a [[Fuze#Aerial bomb fuze|pistol-type detonating mechanism]] rather than fuzes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/apr/23/allied-bombs-still-threaten-hamburg-ww2 |title='They haven't lost their potency': Allied bombs still threaten Hamburg |newspaper=The Guardian |date=23 April 2018 |author=Brian Melican |access-date= 23 April 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423090434/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/apr/23/allied-bombs-still-threaten-hamburg-ww2 |archive-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> A great many bombs were dropped during the war; thousands of [[unexploded bomb]]s which may be able to detonate are discovered every year, particularly in Germany, and have to be defused or detonated in a controlled explosion, in some cases requiring evacuation of thousands of people beforehand, see [[World War II bomb disposal in Europe]]. Old bombs occasionally detonate when disturbed, or when a faulty time fuze eventually functions, showing that precautions are still essential when dealing with them.
 ==See also==
@@ Line 29: / Line 55: @@
 * [[Strategic bombing]]
 * [[Tactical bombing]]
-Types of aerial bomb:
+;Types of aerial bomb:
-{{div col|colwidth=12em}}
 * [[Cluster bomb]]
 * [[Concrete bomb]]
@@ Line 38: / Line 64: @@
 * [[Gravity bomb|Gravity (dumb) bomb]]
 * [[Guided bomb|Guided (smart) bomb]]
-* [[Thermonuclear bomb]] (in most cases)
+* [[Nuclear weapon|Nuclear bomb]]
-{{div col end}}
 ==References==
@@ Line 45: / Line 70: @@
 == External links ==
+*[https://www.britannica.com/technology/bomb-weapon#ref103516 "bomb"] at ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
 {{Commons category|Air-dropped bombs}}
 [[Category:Aerial bombs| ]]
 [[Category:Aerial bombing| ]]
+[[Category:Bombs]]
 [[Category:Explosive weapons]]