If the US development of the Atomic bombs was ready approximately a year earlier what uses would it have seen?
If the US development of the Atomic bombs was ready approximately a year earlier what uses would it have seen?
You'd also need to accelarate the B29 program at the same time. Otherwise you're left with a weapon that you can't deliver.
I wonder if Saipan wouldn't be the chosen target--as a tactical weapon, to destroy the Japanese defenses (and defenders) and so accelerate the capture of the island to use as a base for attacks on the Home Islands. The battle in its later phases sank into caves (which would be not so vulnerable to damage from the bomb), but if it's dropped before the rest of the bombardment commences, Japanese forces caught in the open might suffer greatly.
Apparently a modified LNcaster could have carried an A-bomb
Too low an Altitude, too slow.Apparently a modified LNcaster could have carried an A-bomb
On a tangent it's fascinating to imagine the post-war legal situation if the atomic bomb had been used as a tactical weapon. Presumably soldiers stationed in the general area after the bomb had been used would have been affected by the fallout - I don't know how well fallout was understood in 1943 - and over time the consequences would have dwarfed the likes of Gulf War syndrome. Presumably the US government would find a way to legally absolve itself of paying compensation to US service personnel.
A Lanc could have carried one easily - physically, both Little Boy or Fat Man were toys compared with Grand Slam. The problem was that the Lanc's performance envelope was too low and slow to get clear of the blast radius in time, so any attack would be a one-way trip.
It could become an issue if the bomb is used as a ground-penetrating weapon. Air-burst weapons don't generate much fallout (witness the fact that Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain habitable). But if it pops into anyone's head to have the bombs penetrate the ground and use the blast to try and destroy the fortifications...
On a related note, maybe some of the targets the RAF hit with earthquake bombs would be on the atomic list ITTL.
A Lanc with a chute on the bomb, perhaps even a delay fuse? Doable. Though a groundburst would have a smaller blast area, and the chute would lower accuracy by quite a bit.The last time this was brought up a parachute was mentioned as a potential solution?
It took the USAF years to get drogue and chute combination for multi-ton bombs working. Almost longer than it took to get a bomb in the first placeA Lanc with a chute on the bomb, perhaps even a delay fuse? Doable. Though a groundburst would have a smaller blast area, and the chute would lower accuracy by quite a bit.