Sword of Light: Humanoid Self-Propelled Artillery

Chapter 315 Grand Slam Aerial Bombs

The reason Wang Gensheng said "up to now" is because the United States has not yet developed that 13-ton bomb. The US military only began developing that kind of bomb, which is specifically designed to deal with underground targets, in 2004.

Then, in 2012, it began to be deployed. This super bunker buster bomb, called GBU-57, was developed to strike enemy underground facilities.

Equipped with an intelligent navigation module, this device can accurately hit the target's airspace without worrying about insufficient accuracy causing it to miss its target.

Its drilling capability allows it to penetrate concrete or rock layers to a depth of over 60 meters.

Of course, the most important thing is its guidance accuracy. The ultra-high precision guidance allows multiple of these guided bombs to enter from the same point.

In other words, after the first bomb penetrates to a depth of 60 meters and explodes, a second bomb can continue to penetrate deeper into the hole left by the first one, thus increasing the depth.

However, compared to the guided bunker buster bombs that only entered service in 2012, the Grand Slam developed by the Japanese army entered actual combat use in 1945.

On March 14, 1945, the Royal British Air Force dropped a 10-ton "Grand Slam" bomb on Germany for the first time.

The "Grand Slam" is equipped with a thick-walled steel warhead that, when dropped from a height of several thousand meters, can penetrate more than forty meters of soil or seven meters of reinforced concrete.

Such immense penetrating power could destroy even the best-defended underground bunkers. This was the heaviest and most destructive munition ever used in actual combat before the advent of nuclear weapons.

In the first combat operation of the "Grand Slam," Lancaster heavy bombers from No. 617 Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force executed their mission flawlessly, successfully destroying the strategically important Bielefeld railway viaduct. Previously, the Royal Air Force had attempted to attack the viaduct with conventional bombs on several occasions, but all attempts had failed.

The Grand Slam and its predecessor—the 5.4-ton Tallboy bomb—were put into combat in mid-1944, with a total of 854 produced.

Ninety-nine Grand Slam bombs were produced, one of which was used for experiments, and forty-one were used before the end of World War II.

Its primary targets were bridges, viaducts, and reinforced concrete submarine bases. The Grand Slam's outstanding performance on the battlefield became a major driving force for the development of heavy aerial bombs by the United States after World War II.

After World War II, the Slovakian Air Force used a bomb of similar yield—the nine-ton FAB-9000 M-54—to severely damage the hiding places of the Afghan guerrillas.

Over three months in 1988, Tu-16 medium bombers dropped 289 heavy bombs on targets within Afghan territory.

The U.S. military, on the other hand, developed the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator and carried out a bombing mission using a B-2 stealth bomber in June 2025.

The Grand Slam super bomb was carried and dropped by the Lancaster four-engine heavy bomber, which underwent significant modifications to carry it. All defensive armaments, except for the tail turret, were removed. Furthermore, because the Grand Slam could not be housed in a bomb bay, the bomb bay doors and part of the fuselage skin were removed, leaving the bombs exposed under the fuselage during flight. Royal Air Force Bomber No. 617 Squadron was the only unit equipped with this specially modified bomber.

The German submarine base destroyed by the "Grand Slam" bomb had a reinforced concrete roof 4.6 meters thick. Despite the immense power of the "Grand Slam," it did not completely destroy the base.

Of course, the reason why the Grand Slam's earth-penetrating capability is so much different from that of the GBU-57 is mainly due to the performance of the aircraft bomber.

Because it lacked turbofan engines and bombers during World War II had limited carrying capacity, the Lancaster bomber's maximum flight altitude was reduced to just over 7,000 meters after it was equipped with the Grand Slam engine.

The B-2 bomber responsible for dropping the GBU-57 bunker buster bomb was able to fly at an altitude of 15,000 meters. This altitude allowed the GBU-57 bunker buster bomb to reach the speed of sound upon impact, and the high speed greatly enhanced its penetration capability.

In addition, its high-strength alloy warhead casing allows it to penetrate to a depth of up to sixty meters into rock.

Of course, not to mention the GBU-57 bomb that shocked the world decades later, Wang Gensheng has now come up with a way to stop the US military from advancing further.

That is to continue laying high-yield landmines along the mountain road behind the Watergate Bridge.

Although Wang Gensheng no longer had any shells or explosives to lay landmines, it didn't matter; he could still call a transport plane to deliver them.

After all, it would be a waste if Wang Gensheng didn't use all those transport planes he brought back from Hagaru-ri Airport.

Of course, there are no 155mm howitzer shells in the country, but anti-tank mines don't actually need large-caliber howitzers; explosive charges can also be used.

It's important to know that after crossing the Water Gate Bridge, the plains don't immediately appear. There's still a three-kilometer stretch of mountain road before you can bypass the road and reach the plains.

Therefore, Wang Gensheng could continue to lay a three-kilometer-long minefield to block Smith's mechanized land-based Lion.

Thinking of this, Wang Gensheng immediately ordered the telegraph operator to send a telegram to the airport, telling them to prepare explosives and transport them to Hagaru-ri Airport that night.

That's right, it's Hagaru-ri Airport. Because when Wang Gensheng was blocking the US troops at the Water Gate Bridge, he occupied Hagaru-ri Airport. After repairs, Hagaru-ri Airport was able to resume the operation of transport planes.

So, nighttime was naturally the time to transport supplies to the aid-to-Chaozhou army. This method of transporting supplies was much more efficient than ground transport, especially considering that it was snowing heavily at the time.

Even ground transport teams faced immense difficulties, and during the day they were subjected to relentless bombing raids by US military aircraft.

With the Hagaru-ri Airport, transport planes no longer need to randomly airdrop cargo. Instead, they can land directly at the airport, unload their cargo, and then transport seriously wounded soldiers who are parked there back to the country for treatment.

Of course, the most important reason why the US military did not bomb Hagaru-ri Airport was that a large number of US wounded soldiers and prisoners were staying at Hagaru-ri Airport. If it were to be bombed rashly, it would naturally be a huge blow to the morale of the US military.

At Wang Gensheng's request, a large number of explosive packages were loaded into a transport plane and awaited transport that night.

There was no other way but to transport supplies at night. During the day, it was still the US military's domain. The captured transport planes were no match for the US military's fighter jets. So, the only option was to use transport planes to transport supplies at night when visibility was poor.

Of course, Wang Gensheng did not order the transport plane to airdrop explosive packs or other landmine-laying devices near Shuimen Bridge at night.

Instead, he planned to personally pilot the H5 helicopter to transport these supplies. There was no other way; besides cotton-padded clothes, if the explosives were airdropped, it might not be an airdrop but a bombing.

(End of this chapter)