Typical bombsights of the prewar era worked on the vector bombsight principle introduced with the world war i course setting bomb sight. In fact this is the probably the most famous norden bomb sight of them all. Master storyteller malcolm gladwell tells the tale of the norden bombsight, a groundbreaking piece of world war ii technology with a deeply unexpected result. Pictured are some of the platforms hosting norden radar, display and fire control systems. Guaranteed to work, with a 90day warranty and lifetime product support. The sperry s1 bombsight was developed in the 1930s and was the first bombsight used in the b24 liberators. Its operation was a closely guarded secret of world war ii. Highly classified, it gave american forces bombing accuracy unmatched by any other nation at the time. One more norden bombsight at the empire state aerosciences museum in schenectady, ny.
One of a series of classified films made for the army air forces during wwii about the norden bombsight, this film focuses on the principles behind the device. Norden bombsight and bombing equipment thread starter tim moore. The norden bombsight was crucial to the success of the u. Even though carl lucas norden had built a prototype and was developing his bombsight well before, it was its use during wwii which made it famous. Massey air museum has on display a norden bombsight such as would have been used by the bombardier on a b17 bomber and other u.
The secondgeneration norden bombsight vault at the former mccook army air base near mccook, nebraska, is an example of the structures used by the military to help ensure the secrecy of this advanced technology device during world war ii. The luftwaffe decided their lotfe 7 was better than the norden and gave the american device no further consideration. Several years back the smithsonian museum acquired one of our norden bomb sight gyros to restore the enola gay to its original condition. Hold the bombsight manually to keep the line of sight on the target until the bombsight clutch is engaged to stabilize the bombsight in azimuth. Evolutionary agentbased simulation of the introduction of. Army service, was a bombsight used by the united states army air forces usaaf and the united states navy during world war ii, and the united states air force in the korean and the vietnam wars. There is lots of good reference material on the web, including this great site about for bombsights we are fortunate to have a complete norden bombsight with the optional x1 reflex sight. Mar 14, 2016 malcolm gladwell gave a ted talk about the norden bombsight back in 2011, wherein i found this bit.
Jul 31, 2017 the combination of norden mark xv bombsight above had all its controls on the righthand side, slowing the bombardiers adjustments, while the sperry s1 bombsight below had controls on both sides, allowing range and course to be adjusted simultaneously. B29s with norden bombsights dropped the atomic bombs on japan in 1945. It turns out that the famous norden bombsight was not only u. Norden bombsights by moore quality norden bombsight. The norden bombsight was deployed on b17, b24, b25, and a26 aircraft in european the pacific theaters in wwii. Army service, is a bombsight that was used by the united states army air forces usaaf and the united states navy during world war ii, and the united states air force in the korean and the vietnam wars. Bombsights, a feature of combat aircraft since world war i, were first found on purposedesigned bomber aircraft and then moved to fighterbombers and modern tactical aircraft as those aircraft took up the brunt of the bombing role a bombsight has to estimate the path the bomb will take after release from. While it had a number of drawbacks such as requiring visual contact with the desired target, it was widely adopted and used in the european theatre, with the usaaf ordering 90,000.
The enigma of the norden bombsight maxwell air force base. If you have any information how does it compare to british bombsights in theory and practice. The norden bombsight was a tachometric bombsight used by the united states army air forces usaaf and the united states navy during world war ii, and the united states air force in the korean and the vietnam wars to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately. Bombardiers position in nose of b25 mitchell, norden bombsight in center. The bomb missed its target by 800 feet, but of course it didnt matter, and thats the greatest irony of all, gladwell said. This sight is presently installed in the nose of the most famous b29. You cannot and must not make any attempt to shift that responsibility. Key to the operation of the norden were two features.
His idea was to remove the manual electrical switches used to move the pointer and use the entire. Deconstructing the myth of the norden bombsight on our first day at norden, we were awed and even scared to be in the very building that housed the mysterious, secret, powerful and famous norden bombsight it is a wonderful, superb instrument it has made an unsurpassed contribution toward the. One out of every 10 norden bombsights produced was taken to a test facility for quality control and calibration. The norden bombsight was reported to be so accurate that a bomb could be dropped into a pickle barrel from 30,000. Norden bombsight description and operation background. Norden inventor of the classified norden bombsight used in world war i. It was an early tachometric design that directly measured the aircrafts ground speed. Jan 20, 2012 the bomb missed its target by 800 feet, but of course it didnt matter, and thats the greatest irony of all, gladwell said. Norden bombsight history autopilot, production problems. There are good drawings of the various systems and how they solve the bombing problem. The combination of norden mark xv bombsight above had all its controls on the righthand side, slowing the bombardiers adjustments, while the sperry s1 bombsight below had controls on both sides, allowing range and course to be adjusted simultaneously. Weapons systems technology of 1948 made for us army air force. And to put that in perspective, the total cost of the manhattan project was three billion dollars. This is the section on nomenclature and operation of the norden m series bomb sight.
Upon the shoulders of the bombsight maintenance personnel rests the responsibility of accurate calibration and maintenance and to that extent the success or failure of a bombing mission. Weapon bombardiers took an oath to guard the norden bombsight with their lives to ensure it didnt fall into enemy hands, but the secret was already out by c. Offered is a handbook of instructions for the norden m9 bombsight. The norden bomb sight maintenance calibration manual introduction. Another norden bombsight at the quonset air museum in north kingston, ri. This manual contains 290 scanned pages, is numbered an 169, and is dated 5 june 1945. The norden bombsight was a complex, 2000piece mechanical computer. Nordens that were not calibrated had an accuracy of more like 14 mils, or a 14 foot miss for every 1,000 feet of altitude. This series of films provides a rare look at the operation of the bombsight as it was presented to bombardiers. The norden bombsight was reported to be so accurate that a bomb could be dropped into a pickle barrel from 30,000 feet. Original vector bombsight technology relied on a bomber being abl. Norden bombsight the norden bombsight cost, based on 1940s dollar value. Norden actively attempted to make the bombsight incompatible with the a5, and it was not until 1942 that the impasse was finally solved by farming out autopilot production to honeywell regulator, who combined features of the sbae with the a5 to produce the c1.
Evolutionary agentbased simulation of the introduction of new technologies in air traf. In the norden bombsight domain, a series of planes must coop. Even today people still marvel at the super secret norden bombsight. Norden bombsight and bombing equipment aircraft of world. These systems consisted of a slide ruletype calculator that was used to calculate the effects of the wind on the bomber based on simple vector arithmetic.
The norden bombsight is arguably one of the most important technological advancements to come out of wwii. Dec 31, 2015 updated tutorial for the norden bombsight with crosstrail information added. Its purported that the sperry bombsights were superior to the norden system, but politics were involved when the government awarded the bombsight contract to. During the entire war the norden was considered a top secret piece of equipment and normally when it was shown in training films, it was hidden behind a piece of canvas or otherwise blacked out. Ix bombsight instruction manual the canadian museum. The first bombsight accepted by the government was the sperry s1 that was developed in the 1930s. Bombsight, norden victor adding machine m9 with x1. Bombsight, norden victor adding machine m9 with x1 reflex. In its day, the norden bombsight was the pinnacle of mechanical engineering. One of the most famous devices of ww ii is the norden bombsight, often mentioned along with radar and the atomic bomb as the most umportant technologies in winning the war. It was an early tachometric design, a system that allowed it to. The university of houston s college of engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization. As the norden bombsight helped write world war iis aviation history.
In world war ii, the norden bombsight was used by the united states army air force usaaf for their precision daylight raids over europe. Norden m9 bombsight national museum of the united states air. The enigma of the norden bombsight maxwell air force. This manual contains 94 scanned pages and is dated september, 1943. It was designated as standard equipment in march 1941 and was used in some u. Original norden bombsight used on enola gay for atom bomb drop on hiroshima august 1945, see accession memo for details. A norden bombsight at the military museum of southern new england. That tradition continued through 20 with the development and manufacture of sophisticated airborne electronics systems. In 1945, pattons third army came upon a hidden factory in the tyrolean alps and captured its secret product.
Weapons manual, a featured department in world war ii magazine, takes an in depth look at a different weapon used during the war from the february 2011 issue. The norden bombsight was a bombsight used by the united states army air force during world war ii, the korean war, and the vietnam war to aid the crew of bomber aircraft in dropping bombs accurately. Norden m9 bombsight national museum of the united states. The university of houston s college of engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. Deconstructing the myth of the norden bombsight by michael. May 12, 2017 one of a series of classified films made for the army air forces during wwii about the norden bombsight, this film focuses on the principles behind the device. A bombsight is a device used by military aircraft to drop bombs accurately.
I think ill stick with my cardboard tube bomb sightmy brain broke trying to follow those instructions. Updated tutorial for the norden bombsight with crosstrail information added. Malcolm gladwell gave a ted talk about the norden bombsight back in 2011, wherein i found this bit. Comes with power supply, connectorswitch box, service manual, custom stand, video for simulations, and more. This is the official maintenancerepair manual for the m9. Secondgeneration norden bombsight vault photo courtesy of nebraska state historic preservation office.
Army air forces bombers early in world war ii, primarily b24 liberators. Navy, the army air corps acquired its first norden bombsight in 1932. Efm, llc is not liable for the accuracy, effectiveness or safe use of any aircraft manual or publication and does not warrant that any aircraft manual or publication contains current revisions. Xv, known as the norden m series in army service, was a bombsight used by the united states army air forces usaaf and the united states navy during world war ii, and the united states air force in the korean and the vietnam wars. Sperry as the norden bombsight helped write world war iis aviation history, the lessknown sperry technology pioneered avionics for allweather flying contrary to conventional wisdom, carl l. Norden bombsight boeing b 17 flying fortress military. Its purported that the sperry bombsights were superior to the norden system, but politics were involved when the government awarded the bombsight contract to norden in late 1943. Would you like more technical details of how the bombsight was used. The legendary secret norden bombsight, by albert l. Victor 4120, an m9b, is the sight that was used by tom ferebee to drop the first atomic bomb on hiroshima on august 6th, 1945. Norden had its beginnings in the company that developed and manufactured the norden bombsight of world war ii fame.
Army air forces daylight bombing campaign during world war ii. These systems consisted of a slide ruletype calculator that was used to calculate the effects of the wind on the bomber based on. It will help you appreciate the task of the bomb aimers who toiled away in a dark, bouncing aircraft in freezing conditions high in the sky. All money goes toward maintaining and improving this web sight. Aug 01, 2010 this book explains how the bombsight works. Level the bombsight gyro, if necessary, by using the leveling knobs to center the bubbles in the spirittype levels mounted on the gyro housing. No one told carl norden that his bombsight had been used over hiroshima.
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