What type of bomb is used for a training flight? Why carry a bomb?
A real, fully functional, bomb that used lead for the core instead of plutonium. Without a real bomb the support systems could not be tested. There were some dummy bombs made of concrete that were used for load testing, but we weren’t carrying one of those. This mission was to be as real as it gets short of war. 18. Was there a bomb core aboard? Yes. But it was a “dummy” core made of lead instead of plutonium. 19. With the bomb in the bomb bay, how can the core and/or detonators be removed or installed during flight? Did you have to enter the bomb bay for this? Installing the detonators is a ground-based job. They are not disturbed during flight. The spare detonators found in the wreck were probably just being flown back to Carswell. There were mechanical systems for handling the core, which were not installed for this flight. 20. What determines if a bomb is to be jettisoned in an emergency? There are no SOP’s for this. It is a judgement call at the time of need. I suggested to Capt.
