June 2006, Issue 71 [pdf 2.8mb, 40 - Royal New Zealand Air Force

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AK 06-0199-12 AK 06-0179-04
The Mk82 General Purpose 500lb bombs
dropped by No.5 Squadron’s Orions make
an impressive noise when they detonate
on land. As someone quipped, ‘you wouldn’t want
to be standing too close to that’. Even from a safe
distance the shock-wave can be felt on your body.
‘It’s like fi reworks going off, only a thousand times
more powerful - enough to make my camera shake,’
says photographer AC Rachel Main who was at the
Kaipara Air Range for No.5 Squadron’s high explosive
bombing trials over 15 to 19 May.
The isolated Kaipara Air Range, on a closed
beach west of Wellsford, was the site of land
target bombing – quite different from the previous
March exercise when the squadron was bombing
smoke markers at sea. The land drops, with solid
objects to aim for, provide a better reference point
for accuracy.
And, while the March bombings were aimed at
A P-K Orion drops a 500lb high explosive
bomb on the Kaipara Air Range.
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W AY
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pilot and crew currency the latest round was more
a trial of the weapons. Again, the high explosive
bombs are carefully prepared by No.5 Squadron
Armourers at Base Ohakea before being loaded onto
the Orion and fl own north to the range.
Three sorties were conducted with four bombs
dropped during multiple runs on each sortie for a
total of 12 bombs dropped. Of those there were
three unexploded bombs (UXBs) and one partial
UXB. The bombs have a .25 second delay between
detonation and the main charge with the Nose
Arming Vane (NAV) needing to spin up to 1800rpm
in order for the bomb to arm. It is thought the UXBs
were caused by the NAV not spinning up to the
required 1800rpm and subsequently not arming. As
a result the drop profi le was changed – higher and
faster – allowing for a smoother drop, better overall
results and less UXBs.
A bomb detonates on the target.
Personnel set up the targets for
bombing on Kaipara Air Range.
AFN71 JUNE 06 www.airforce.mil.nz