Conventional — penetrating · United Kingdom · 1944
Tallboy
Tallboy (12,000 lb bomb)
Designed by engineer Barnes Wallis: dropped from high altitude, it buries itself in the ground and causes an “earthquake” under the target.
See Tallboy in the 3D simulator- TNT equivalent
- 3.1 tPublic estimate
- Energy
- 13 GJ
- Mass
- 5.4 tDocumented
- Explosive charge
- 2.4 tPublic estimate
- Dimensions
- 6.4 m · Ø 0.95 mDocumented
- Type
- Penetrating “earthquake” bomb
- Period
- World War II
- Status
- Historical
Tallboy releases about 4,800 times less energy than Little Boy (Hiroshima, 1945).
Key points
- The Lancasters that carried it had to be specially lightened.
- The United States produced a copy, the T-10.
History
On 12 November 1944, three Tallboy hits capsized the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway (Operation Catechism).
- June 1944 First operational use.
- 15 September 1944 First hit on the Tirpitz (Operation Paravane).
- 12 November 1944 The Tirpitz is sunk (Operation Catechism).
How does it work?
A conventional bomb releases chemical energy: the explosive decomposes into very hot gases in a few microseconds (detonation).
Order of magnitude: a few megajoules per kilogram of explosive (1 kg of TNT ≈ 4.2 MJ), millions of times less than nuclear reactions for the same mass.
The expanding gases violently compress the air: the shock wave weakens very quickly with distance.
A penetrating bomb has a thick steel casing and a delayed fuze: it buries itself in the ground or concrete before exploding.
Much of the energy is then transmitted to the ground (seismic wave) rather than to the air: surface effects are much weaker than for an airburst of the same energy.
Estimated TNT equivalent = mass of explosive × relative effectiveness factor of that explosive (≈ 1.3 for Torpex or H-6, ≈ 1.05 for Tritonal).
Deliberately general explanations: the application provides no design or manufacturing information.
Frequently asked questions
How powerful is Tallboy?
Tallboy has an estimated yield of 3.1 t of TNT equivalent, about 13 GJ of energy.
What is the history of Tallboy?
Used by the RAF in 1944–1945 against tunnels, submarine pens and ships. On 12 November 1944, three Tallboy hits capsized the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway (Operation Catechism).
What does the Tallboy explosion look like?
The Bomb Simulator shows the fireball, shock wave and cloud of Tallboy at real scale, over Paris, London or New York, with the sources and reliability of each value.
Sources
- Tallboy (bomb) — Wikipedia (overview, to be cross-checked)
Other weapons
- Grand Slam — 5.5 t
- FAB-5000NG — 4 t
- FAB-9000 — 4.3 t
- BLU-82 — 5.7 t
- GBU-28 — 0.3 t
- Mk 84 — 0.5 t
- GBU-43/B MOAB — 11 t
- FOAB — 44 t
- FAB-3000 — 1.4 t
- GBU-57 MOP — 3 t
This application is an educational tool. The animations and effect zones are simplified representations meant to illustrate orders of magnitude. They are neither a prediction of the effects of a real weapon nor a military planning tool.