"Is the destructive power as much as the 22.000lb Grand Slam Bomb ?"
Checking the internet reveals the following. However remember that nothing on the internet can be trusted....
Grand Slam
Weight - variously quoted as 22,000 or 22,400 lb. The lesser seems to to be more likely
Charge / weight ratio 42% i.e.9408lb of explosive (Torpex) (edit - Wikidpaedia says 9,135 lb)
However there needs to be a caveat here as Paul Brickhill in his book "The Dam Busters" states the rough forgings weighed ten tons before machining i.e. 22400lb
That would mean 60% or so of the forging would have to be machined away before filling and fitting with fusing etc. Does that sound realistic?
MOP
weight 30,000lb
charge "more than 5,300lb" - actual explosive unstated
So the actual charge is only around 60% of that of the Grand Slam - but with newer explosive technology that could be totally irrelevant.. Modern explosives have come a long way since WWII
The actual bomb weighs around 40% more and so has a much lower charge/weight ratio of around 18%. i.e. it has a heavier stronger case which should enable it to be dropped from greater heights and take a heavier impact / terminal velocity. And in theory penetrate further
Last edited by jamesdevice; 30th Nov 2011 at 00:37.