Was googling some infomation on 617 Squadron and came across some interesting information. Both the Yanks and the Nazis attempted to emulate the famed bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallace and used by 617 and 618 Squadrons of RAF Bomber Command.
During Op Chastise (the famous Dambusters Raid) one of the bouncing bombs failed to hit the dam and bounced over the top. The bombs only carried hydrostatic detonators which would set the bomb off at a certain depth, rather than impact or time, so the bomb was recovered intact.
The Nazis decided to make a bouncing bomb of their own. Their bomb, given the name Kurt, was built at the Luftwaffe Experimental Centre at Travemunde.
It was intended that it would skip along the surface of the water and explode when it hit a ship, similar in fact to the British “High Ball” which was a smaller version of the dambusting “Upkeep” bomb. Although credited with being derived from the unexploded “Upkeep” it was spherical not cylinderical, which was more in keeping with the “High Ball” bombs used by 618 against shipping.
Luckily for the allies though, early experiments showed it to be dangerous for the crew of the plane delivering it because it would explode when the plane was more or less over the ship. To increase the range at which it was dropped, a rocket tail unit was fitted. This too had its problems because it affected the consistency of the direction. In the end, it was abandoned and never became operational, and thus wasted the manpower, resources and time of the Third Reich on what was just one of many of abandoned projects.
The Americans also attempted to manufacture a bouncing bomb, although why is not mentioned, it was named “Baseball” and was similar to the “High Ball”. It bounced in to the launching aircraft and destroyed it on a test drop. The programme was cancelled.
Anyone else know of any information on either “Kurt” or “Baseball”?