HELPING THE BOMB-DROPPER

New Zealand Tablet, 1 February 1917, Page 51

HELPING THE BOMB-DROPPER

n Fiance they are testing a naval bomb-dropping mechanism which makes it virtually impossible for the aviator to miss the object at which he launches a bomb. Ihe invention is intended for use in conjunction' with battleplanes, the aerial bombs being dropped through a cone of light. This powerful illuminant is composed ot a ring of high candle-power electric lights. Each lamp is supported in a separate reflector under the hood of the bomb-dropper. The light beams'from each amp cross the other beams, and in this manner a concentrated cone of light is produced. There are several poweiful electric lamps available for this purpose, and by means of a switch on the aeroplane the illumination can be cut off as desired. The bomb-dropper, with its ring of lamps, is suspended at the lower end of a steel cable, and the wires controlling the whole ou fit follow this cable also. When necessary the suspension cable is wound up by a power-driven winch, and the bomb-dropper can thus be raised right up into the plane. This scheme has several distinctive features. I or one thing the dropping of the bomb through a circle ot light is bound to increase the accuracy of the marksman Once the target lies in the centre or the circle of light, a missed shot becomes a rarity indeed.