Prototype Bouncing Bomb, Abbotsbury Swannery, Dorset.

**HistoryMan** · 10-02-2015, 02:47 PM

I have been down in Dorset this week working and exploring, thought I would call in and have a look at this at the Abbotsbury Swannery near Weymouth, Dorset.

It was recovered from the fleet, the fleet being the areas of water adjacent to Chisel Beach near Weymouth in Dorset. The prototypes were tested here because the water is shallower than the sea which enabled the bombs to be recovered and analysed, obviously this one was not so easy to find as it was only recovered from the fleet in 1992 !

Thanks for looking
Cheers

**No1canuck** · 10-02-2015, 03:17 PM

Cool! Nice that they have set it out for display.

Steve

**big ned** · 10-02-2015, 03:37 PM

An interesting quote here from Wikipedia regarding the golf ball like appearance of the early prototypes:

"A distinctive feature of the weapon, added in the course of development, was back-spin, which improved the height and stability of its flight and its ability to bounce, and helped the weapon to remain in contact with, or at least close proximity to, its target on arrival. Back-spin is a normal feature in the flight of golf balls, owing to the manner in which they are struck by the club, and it is perhaps for this reason that all forms of the weapon which were developed were known generically as "Golf mines", and some of the spherical prototypes featured dimples".

Regards, Ned.

**HistoryMan** · 10-02-2015, 03:50 PM

by No1canuck

Cool! Nice that they have set it out for display.

Steve

After talking to the people there, it does bring in a lot of visitors alone, although the place itself is a lovely tranquil environment, a far cry from how it must have been 70 odd years ago when the bombs were being tested, its a real natural pleasure to be able to feed the swans also

**big ned** · 10-02-2015, 06:25 PM

by HistoryMan

After talking to the people there, it does bring in a lot of visitors alone, although the place itself is a lovely tranquil environment, a far cry from how it must have been 70 odd years ago when the bombs were being tested, its a real natural pleasure to be able to feed the swans also

They taste a little like beef you know....