The E14 munition was a cardboard sub-munition (air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject smaller submunitions) developed by the

United States biological weapons program The United States biological weapons program officially began in spring 1943 on orders from U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. Research continued following World War II as the U.S. built up a large stockpile of biological agents and weapons. Over t ...

as an anti-crop weapon. In a series of field tests in 1955, the E14 was loaded with fleas and air-dropped.

History

The E14 munition was developed by the United States for use in its offensive

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. ...

arsenal as an anti-crop weapon. After the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

U.S. interest in large-scale

entomological warfare Entomological warfare (EW) is a type of biological warfare that uses insects to interrupt supply lines by damaging crops, or to directly harm enemy combatants and civilian populations. There have been several programs which have attempted to instit ...

increased. The E14 was one of two sub-munitions used in large-scale testing aimed at learning the feasibility and result of an air-dropped insect attack. In September 1954, at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, the E14 was again used in a series of tests known as "

Operation Big Itch Operation Big Itch was a U.S. entomological warfare field test using uninfected fleas to determine their coverage and survivability as a vector for biological agents.Bubonic plague is an infection of the lymphatic system, usually resulting from the ...

". During Big Itch, uninfected rat fleasThe rat flea is a known

vector Vector most often refers to: *Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction *Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematic ...

for

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium ('' Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as wel ...

. See: Trivedi, "Xenopsylla cheopis". (''Xenopsylla cheopis'') were loaded into the E14 and air-dropped over the proving ground. The E14 used cardboard and sponge inserts to hold the fleas inside the cardboard container. With the sponge inserts in place, the E14 could hold about 100,000 fleas. Eighty cardboard inserts, or "loop tubes", could be carried in the E14 as well. The munition could hold 80 loop tubes, each one capable of holding 3,000 fleas. The testing in Utah was ultimately successful.Rose, William H.
An Evaluation of Entomological Warfare as a Potential Danger to the United States and European NATO Nations
, U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command, Dugway Proving Ground, March 1981, via '' thesmokinggun.com'', accessed December 28, 2008. In May 1955 the U.S. utilized the E14 in field test, this time in the U.S. state of Georgia. The E14 was packed with "aircomb waffles" or loop tubes, instead of fleas these tests used uninfected yellow fever mosquitoesThe yellow fever mosquito is a known vector for

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a g ...

s such as

Dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic ...

and

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

. See: Russell, "Aedes aegypti". (''

Aedes aegypti ''Aedes aegypti'', the yellow fever mosquito, is a mosquito that can spread dengue fever, chikungunya, Zika fever, Mayaro and yellow fever viruses, and other disease agents. The mosquito can be recognized by black and white markings on its l ...

''). The successful Georgia trials were known as "

Operation Big Buzz Operation Big Buzz was a U.S. military entomological warfare field test conducted in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1955. The tests involved dispersing over 300,000 mosquitoes from aircraft and through ground dispersal methods. Operation Operation B ...

Specifications

The E14 munition was a sub-munition that can be clustered in the E86 cluster bomb. It was a long, wide cardboard container. Internally the bomb contained an

actuator An actuator is a component of a machine that is responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism or system, for example by opening a valve. In simple terms, it is a "mover". An actuator requires a control device (controlled by control signal) a ...

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-t ...

that would expel the bomb's contents, and a small parachute, to be deployed when the weapon was dropped from the E86 cluster bomb. The weapons were designed to release their payload of

biological agent A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrori ...

, be it a

or anti-crop agent, at above the ground, after it was released from the cluster munition.Kirby, Reid.
Using the flea as weapon
,
Web version
via '' findarticles.com''), '' Army Chemical Review'', July 2005, accessed December 28, 2008.

Notes

References

*Trivedi, Janki. "
Xenopsylla cheopis
'",

Animal Diversity Web Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database that collects the natural history, classification, species characteristics, conservation biology, and distribution information on thousands of species of animals. The website includes thousands ...

, ''University of Michigan Museum of Zoology'', 2003, accessed December 28, 2008. *Russell, R.C., "
Aedes aegypti
''", from ''A colour photo atlas of mosquitoes of Southeastern Australia'', 1996, via the Department of Medical Entomology,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and

Westmead Hospital Westmead Hospital is a major tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia. Opened on 10 November 1978, the 975-bed hospital forms part of the Western Sydney Local Health District, and is a teaching hospital of Sydney Medical School at the University of ...

, accessed December 28, 2008. {{U.S. biological weapons Biological weapon delivery systems Submunitions Cold War weapons of the United States Biological anti-agriculture weapons

History

Specifications

See also

Notes

References