Did World War II-era bombs actually whistle?
score:71
It is true that bombs in World War II would make a whistling sound as they fell. This could be heard by both the pilot and the target, however due to the Doppler effect, they heard different things. The pilot would hear a high pitched whistle and as the bomb accelerated it lowered in pitch. The target would initially hear a higher pitched whistle than what the pilot heard because the target is in front of the bomb and the pilot is behind the bomb. The pitch would continue to increase until the bomb struck. This is assuming the bomb is going slower than the speed of sound. The bomb will not reach the speed of sound until it has fallen ≈19 500 ft.
The whistles were purposefully attached to the bombs. Their purpose was to weaken enemy morale and to enhance the intimidation of dive-bombing. Look at the Stuka dive-bomber, a similar case. What other purpose did it's sirens have? As far as warning the target, it's too late to get to safety once you hear the whistle if you're not there already (bombs fall fast). Not all bombs were equipped with whistles, but they still all made noise as they fell due to air displacement (just not the famous whistling sound). This Wikipedia page gives one example of bombs that were purposefully fitted with whistles.
Upvote:0
This is true. The whistles nomenclature was Bomb Whistle MK. 1, MOD. 1 BU. ORD. DR. NO 301047. They were made by The Ohio Art Company Bryan, Ohio
Upvote:12
Bombs (or anything metal with sharp edges) naturally tend to whistle as they fall, however, in many cases they were designed to enhance the whistle to make it louder and more intense, the purpose being to terrify anyone in the vicinity of the target zone. The patent diagram below shows a typical design:
The elliptical cutouts labeled I5 in the diagram are modifications to the tailfin designed to generate a loud, piercing whistle.
Upvote:27
Yes I can tell you from personal experience also I was six years old we lived in Haverton Hill, County Durham, England, there was a lot of heavy industry in that area including Dorman & long steel works, the ICI Imperial chemical industries, Furness ship building company, and Smith's dry dock, for ship repairs plus many smaller companies. They were after these targets however many of the bombs landed on nearby housing estates, we were in a shelter in our back garden and the whistling bombs always sounded as if they were going to land right on your head. When they were falling everyone tensed up then after they exploded everyone relaxed till the next ones came then it was the same all over again, our house and all our belongings were destroyed by these bombs and we had to go and live with an aunt. The bombing raids would last from about 11pm untill 5am They were frequent and over a long period of time.This is the north east part of England on the river Tees, they also dropped incendiary bombs, and fired V2 rockets into our area
Upvote:95
Yes, I can tell you from personal experience that they certainly did whistle. When I was a boy I lived in Nottingham, and until May 1941 we were lucky in that, although we heard (and sometimes saw) German aircraft, they usually passed over on their way to less fortunate cities like Sheffield, Coventry or Birmingham. But on the night of Thursday 8 May 1941, for the first (but not the last) time, Nottingham itself was the target. We were woken up by the sound of the warning sirens, but they were very quickly followed by the sound of falling bombs (including the terrifying whistling), and we were too scared to leave the house and go into our air raid shelter: we sat on the steps leading down to our cellar. There were a lot of people killed in Nottingham that night; luckily for us we escaped unhurt, and nobody we knew was killed. But I can tell you - nobody who has ever heard that whistling noise will ever forget it. I am nearly 81, and I was 8 at the time, and I can remember it all too well. So why did the bombs whistle? To warn people to take shelter? Don't make me laugh - there would be no time. There is only one reason that makes sense to me - it was to scare the hell out of those beneath them, and it certainly succeeded as far as I was concerned!
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