Just like that a delicate backspin dropshot in tennis, which causes the ball to hover just over the net. Wallis worked out that a bomb with backspin would be levitated by what is known as the Magnus effect countering the downward pull of gravity and ensuring that it struck the surface of the water gently.
If the bomb hit the water too hard, it would detonate prematurely, causing damage to the aircraft above, but no damage to the dam. Spin therefore meant that the bombs could be delivered from a manageable height.
Flying at 60 feet was already dangerously low, but without backspin the Lancaster bombers would have to have flown even lower and faster. But because it was easier to manufacture cylindrical bombs, a spherical wooden casing was strapped to the cylinders to make them round.
However, when scaled up to full size, the casing on the spherical bombs would break apart on impact with the water.
Unlike a sphere however, cylinders will only bounce if they bounce straight. This is the second good reason for spinning the bomb, because spin keeps the axis of the cylinder horizontal so that it hits the water squarely. Just like for the spinning planet Earth, the gyroscopic effect of the spinning cylinder stabilizes the axis of spin. Wallis found yet another key benefit of backspin. View the discussion thread.
Website design by Headscape. In , we helped more than 71, current and former members of the RAF and their families. Menu Donate Request our help Helpline: Search form Search. Wallis had just eight weeks to get Upkeep ready. Fact 8: Who invented the Bouncing Bomb? The family lived their lives in Effingham, Surrey. Fact 9: Who invented the Bouncing Bomb? The outbreak of WW2 continued his career at Vickers focussing on the development of the fuselage and wing structure design of the Wellesley, Wellington and Warwick aircraft.
The outbreak of WW2 - led to his invention of the Bouncing Bomb. Fact Who invented the Bouncing Bomb? When WW2 erupted Barnes Wallis was appointed as the assistant chief designer in the Vickers aviation section.
He soon realized the need for accurate, strategic bombing, but the bombs that were being used made the task impossible. The dams surrounding the Ruhr Valley provided hydro-electric power to the Nazi factories. If the factories were disrupted, and this important industrial base was destroyed, there would be no German war supplies.
Barnes Wallis began working on his idea of bombing dams. The dams in the Ruhr Valley were protected by torpedo nets, so to counter this obstacle Barnes Wallis designed a ten tonne bomb which created an earthquake effect. However there were no airplanes capable of carrying the weapons at the height required.
The idea which led to the invention of the Bouncing Bomb was based on the "ducks and drakes" game of skimming stones across water. The stones spun in a series of hops over the water. Barnes Wallis came up with the initial idea of creating a 'bouncing bomb' that bounced over the water and the torpedo nets in His novel idea for developing a Bouncing Bomb received a mixed reaction, most believed it was totally mad.
Sir Arthur Harris, Chief of British Bomber Command, initially called the scheme "tripe of the wildest description" stating that "there is not the smallest chance of its working".
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