Somebody got really lucky! Gotta wonder how far the driver ran after he dropped it.
How far can you run with a load in your pants?
Time to get a new job!
Would it have gone off?
I know my adrenaline level would shoot up pretty high. However, the explosive in bombs like this is pretty insensitive and takes a hell of a jolt without detonating. Such accidents are not recommended but are not all that uncommon where lots of ordnance is loaded, moved and otherwise handled.
Now, if the fuzes had been installed that’s another story.
My first though was, “Photoshop!”
But, on the other hand, it was a photo of the week on the Naval Safety Center’s website.
On yet a third hand, no source is mentioned, and I don’t know how critical their submission guidelines are.
I wonder what was the driver’s last thought was. (or what he believed was his last thought…unless he knew it was ok…just…humor me!)
“Mmm…i cannot belive it’s not butter!”
Why you staring at me like that?
I’m thinking phtoshop as well.
Look at the blur along the top of the bomb.
The fork lift lifts the bomb from the end and not the center?
I think it’s a fake.
The blur along the top of the bomb may just be a jpeg artifact - what makes me a little suspicious is the perimeter fence in the background - doesn’t it look a little bit low-security for a munitions store? (although it may be that the compund pictured exists within another, higher-spec perimeter, of course).
If you look at the bomb’s fins, you’ll see that they each seem to be made of two perpendicular pieces. Then if you look at the left hand side of the photo, you’ll see that there are a stack of similar racks. In the bottom one, you can just make out something that looks consistent with the tail of another bomb.
The shadows look reasonable.
On the asphalt in front of the bomb is what looks like minor debris and a small crack that could have come from the impact of the ‘tines’ of the forklift.
And as for the blurriness of the top edge of the bomb, I think that’s just aliasing. Other sharp lines at a similar angle exhibit the effect as well, the fence in the background for example.
These things are at least consistent with a real photo, but not proof.
I was going to say it was probably fake, too, but…
http://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh/missiledrop.htm
:eek:
There’s a full side shot of the missile itself; any experts out there know what kind of missile it is?
Not a missile, it’s a bomb. Doesn’t have a booster and the vanes don’t appear to be movable in any way, so I’m guessing it’s some kind of dumb-fire device. Mark-82 or CBU-87, maybe.
It’s not a missile. It’s a gravity bomb, possibly a JDAM (smart bomb), judging from the lens on the tip. BIG. Probably a 2000 pounder. It kind of looks like a paveway without the tip. They are fairly safe to transport, and need to be armed before you get too nervous. Still, it’s a bomb. It has stuff inside that makes it go “BOOM”. So I wouldn’t want to drop one.
Jenaroph’s link shows it from better angles. The size puts it over 500 lbs. But I think you were right on the ‘Mark’. I’m ammending my guess to a Mark-84.
Isn’t the nose end heavier than the tail end? That would make the center of gravity closer to the nose, so the forklift couldn’t pick it up right in the middle without having it tip over. But he dropped it anyway. Just goes to show you. 
Actually, even if the pic isn’t a fake, I think it’s a setup. How could the truck have ended up at that angle against the wall just from tipping forward? Unless maybe he had it in reverse and then hit the accelerator?
A JDAM is not a bomb, despite what the media usually report; it’s a kit that’s put on a variety of dumb bombs to make them smart. The bombs themselves have their own designations. A JDAM does not have any lens on the front of the bomb; it uses GPS and internal instruments. I don’t think that’s lens in the picture anyway, though, but shiny black paint. That said, I don’t think that’s a JDAM because the tail looks different, and there would be more gear around the sides of the bomb. As for what kind of bomb it is, I dunno.
I didn’t see your second post, NurseCarmen. I thought maybe it was an MK-80-something also, but it doesn’t look quite like these pictures
Well Jenorph’s link gives some better photos so I guess it is real.
The first image looks like the bomb is being picked up at the very front, but that is just the angel. The side shot shows that the bomb is being picked up at its center of gravity.
The blur along the top of the bomb is really the blurry line that runs along where the loading ramp meets the ground. It just so happens to come in just above the bomb in the first image.
First off, welcome to the Boards Hokus Boy. Secondly, thank you for the link to the wonderful Navy Safety Center’s website. I particularly enjoyed this image from the site.
On the message board that I saw the pic on, one poster made the following comment
No idea where he got that information.