Figure 18. — Bomb drop on 10 June 1959. Center of impart of the cluster of 57 bomb- 

 lets is the darkened crater on the right of the berg. 



1,000 ft. which was the minimum that the time of fall would allow the 

 fuze to open the cluster and assure detonation of the bomblets. All 

 bombing runs were to be into the wind on straight and level flight. The 

 10 Mk.35 bombs were scheduled to be dropped first. 



After a day of practice bombing using water and dye filled dummy 

 bombs, the bomb tests were commenced on the morning of 4 June with 

 fine and clear weather. The first bomb to be dropped opened at a planned 

 100 ft. above the berg and scored a direct hit. (See fig. 17.) About two- 

 thirds of the PIT bomblets detonated on the berg and the remainder 

 bounced and tumbled over the side of the berg. (This latter occurrence 

 became quite common and represented a serious defect in the use of the 

 cluster bomb on a berg. Any figure in excess of 50 percent detonations 

 was considered good.) From the time of detonation and lasting for about 

 7 minutes, there was a great amount of smoke and steam released which, 

 for a time, obscured the berg. The target was observed to be pockmarked 

 with dark discolored holes about a foot in diameter and depth. 



The second bomb drop S minutes after the first also opened 100 ft. 

 above the target but was short and most of the bomblets slid harmlessly 

 down the steep right side of the berg causing little effect. Bomb drops 

 Xos. 'A and I closely resembled the second. 



Poor weather on 5 .bine prevented a return bombing flight to the berg 

 under surveillance by the Androscoggin. Observers on that ship reported 



26 



