Science Art: Nomenclature and Operation (Norden Bombsight, Mar 1945)



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The Norden Bombsight, from the Bombardier’s Information File (BIF) describing the components and controls.

If you’ve read Slaughterhouse 5 or seen the footage from Hiroshima and Nagasaki or watched Slim Pickens’ crazy missile ride in Dr. Strangelove, this is how all of that happened. A gyro (which could tell what angle the plane was at) connected to a computer (which I’m guessing used the tachometer [#14 above] to get some kind of figure for windspeed and, possibly, changes in altitude) inside a drum with a lens in it so you could see your target. And then press the button.

It was found among the vintage aircraft on TwinBeech.com (which has the whole BIF, including more glorious government illustrations) by Wikipedia user Jason Palpatine.