JAP. "PEARDROPS"

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 123, 27 May 1942, Page 7

JAP. "PEARDROPS"

Latest "Secret Weapon" Used In Air Warfare SO FAR INEFFECTUAL Special Australian Correspondent. SYDNEY, May 2G. The Japanese have introduced -their first "secret weapon" into the sair war now being fought in the South-west Pacific. This is an aerial bomb called the "peardrop," which is being used by defending fighters against attacking bombers. So far the use of the "peardrop" has been ineffectual. Allied pilots describe the bomb as pear or cone shaped. It has been dropped by the new fast Zero fighters, which wait until attacking Allied bombers close on their formation and then drop the bomb, which bursts after falling about 1000 feet. A pearshaped shower of shrapnel is sent out, the explosion being of considerable force. So far the bombers have been able to avoid this new Japanese weapon, which is admitted to have potentialities. Fighters defending the important enemy southward bases at Rabaul and Lae have been employing the bomb. These bases are regular targets for Allied bombers. Defending fighters wait until the Allied bombers have completed their offensive mission and regained the customary close defensive formation. They then climb about 1000 feet above the bombers, some distance ahead, dropping their "peardrops" in the paths of the raiding planes. The bomb is described as something entirely new in aerial warfare. The Japanese Zero fighters employing this bomb are believed to be of the latest type, having improved speed and climbing power.