The AB 23 (Abwurfbehälter) was a
cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicl ...
used by the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Design
The body of the AB 23 was constructed of mild sheet steel with four fins welded to the rear of the container. The AB 23 was composed of two longitudinal halves and was internally divided by two sheet metal discs held in place by steel rods. The front compartment held six bombs while the rear compartment held seventeen bombs. The two halves of the container were held together by a shear wire which passed through a steel anvil, in the lower part of the fuze pocket. When the fuze was triggered, the wire was sheared by a small exploder under the fuze. The case then opened allowing the bombs to fall out. By removing the sheet metal discs it could also be used to drop strips of metal coated paper for disrupting enemy radars. The AB 23 was painted dark green and there were two longitudinal red stripes running the length of the tail fins.
The AB 23 could be configured for two different payloads:
*23 x
SD 2 anti-personnel mines.
*Metallic foil
chaff
Chaff (; ) is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of cereal grains or similar fine, dry, scaly plant material (such as scaly parts of flowers or finely chopped straw). Chaff is indigestible by humans, but livestock can eat it. In agri ...
.
See also
*
References
{{WWIIGermanAerialWeapons
World War II aerial bombs of Germany