Why do falling bombs whistle?
I’ve heard lots of other things fall and nary a whistle. Wouldn’t developers try to ensure that bombs wouldn’t whistle?
Also, doesn’t the pitch RISE when heard from the ground?
I do not know if it was done this way…but the whistling of a bomb could be a very potent weapon against morale. The sound of the buzz-bombs (V1) in WWII was very much feared, as was the rumble of bombers overhead.
The Ju-97 was deliberately built with sirens on the wings (fuselage?) to make a scary screaming sound, as a morale weapon.
They (the Germans) did put whistles on bombs for added terror.
Real bombs are nearly silent or if their aerodynamics aren’t brilliant they sound a bit like a jet aircraft, e.g. Syrian Helicopter Bombs
(NB The bombs in the clip have fins and do the usual fall to ground nose first thing, so they are classified as normal bombs, rather than the media term ‘barrel bombs’ used by the clip uploader)
Do you have a cite for that?
I would have thought the whistling was just a byproduct of the aerodynamics of the bomb. Actually do we have a cite that states that bombs actually DO whistle? I’ve never heard a real bomb falling, thankfully!
This topic is a perennial on SD. It appears that at least some German bombs had a cardboard tube designed to whistle. For reference, but not cite see One of several SD questions on the topic
But no cite. As you mentioned.
ETA: I can’t imagine why any bomb manufacturer would purposely place a cardboard whistle (at an extra cost) into a bomb. What purpose would that serve? Scaring people with bomb noises is not on the same level as actually, silently surprising the bomb recipients with a stealth explosion. I might be wrong.
In the Great War, a lot of the “Poison Gas” used wasn’t poisonous at all. It just smelled nasty.
They found the “stinks” as they called them were just as effective as real gas and much easier to deal with afterwards.
The whistles on bombs served a purpose of demoralisation and terror far beyond the blast radius of the bomb. Exactly the same principle was used with klaxons on the Stuka dive-bombers.
They put whistles on bombs and bombers. It was to add terror to the Blitzkrieg style of hard fast attack.
It’s not rocket science to tack one on. There are thousands of small planes flying in the US with horn whistles built into the wing to alert the pilot of impending stalls.
Well, OK. Thanks. It still makes no sense to me though.
Not every bomb whistled but some bombs were modified to whistle in order to terrorize the intended victims.
Black cardboard tubes, shaped like organ pipes 14 inches long by 1 1/2 inches in diameter, were often attached to bomb fins. The wind entering these pipes created a screaming noise as the bomb dropped which increased stress & fear to those on the ground. These devices were called “Jericho” by the Luftwaffe, very few of these survice today, the RAF Museum in London has one original in its collection including a German bayonet scaboard used as a Jericho!
*SC 50 Grade II - JB, JC, J, J/2
The JB has a one-piece nose and body. The base is welded to the body. The JC has a pressed steel nose and drawn steel body. Here the nose and base are welded to the body. The J was the early model of the JB and they are identical in construction. The J/2 is very similar to the JC, the quality of the steel being the real difference. It was produced only in limited quatities. The sheet steel tail cone is riveted to a ring which is secured to the bomb body by eight screws. The small holes on the fins are used to attach screamers.*
*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.*
Once a whistling bomb passed the speed of sound (which varies according to temperature, etc), the victims would no longer hear the whistling. Assuming the 19,500 ft is accurate, it would take 34.91 sec to reach 19,499 ft, and be traveling 1117 fps.
Apparently, as long as you could hear the buzz-bomb, you were OK, it was still flying. When the buzz stopped, you knew it was coming down and would hit somewhere.
Cool!
I always wondered about the classic falling pitch of a dropped bomb–imagining that the rapidly accelerating device would cause a rising pitch rather than a falling pitch for the recipients. I guess the History Channel sound guy just slaps the bog-standard plane-perspective bomb drop on everything.
I am not sure I agree with the assertion that the victims would no longer hear the whistling of a supersonic bomb: wouldn’t the “victim experience” simply be a continually rising bomb drop pitch, with the weapon arriving before the whistle finished? At some point the bomb overtakes some of its older sound, but I don’t think there would be any noticeable audible discontinuity before the strike.
Yes, if it’s heading for you. If its net velocity is away from you then it will Doppler downwards. I have a vague memory of one character in All Quiet on the Western Front educating another about this (with artillery shells, not aerial bombs).
It’s said that you don’t hear the bullet that hits you. Of course, bullets travel faster than falling bombs but the noise is behind the supersonic projectile. And the bomb is only getting faster.
19,500 ft is a long bomb drop if the pilot actually intends to drop a single (dumb) bomb on a target smaller than Windsor Castle or the White House. Dive bombers released much closer to the ground.
TV, movies, and documentaries, etc. that are subject to editing are also subject to the knowledge and experience of the sound editor and the capabilities of the sound equipment.
A bullet starts out of the barrel at max speed and slows down, so if it is supersonic, it is supersonic for the whole trip.
A WWII iron bomb starts at a horizontal velocity of a few hundred MPH and a zero vertical velocity, so there is quite a bit of time before the bomb hits supersonic. That’s the distinction I’m talking about.
Well if you want to talk about failure to deliver silent death to the masses, during WWII, American planes would fly over Japanese cities and release thousands of flyers that gave a schedule of upcoming fire bombings.
I’ve often thought that probably the reason that gang-bangers hold their gun sideways is so that they’re less likely to actually hit anyone (or, in return, be hit by anyone else).
Despite expectations to the contrary, people tend not to approach war and violence with an eye towards total massacre and devastation.
Somewhat off topic but do you have a cite for the idea that a lot of the Poison Gas in the First World War was only “stinks”? I know some non-lethal agents (“tear” gases) were used before the Germans launched the first large scale attack with chlorine at Ypres on 22 April 1915 but I have not seen evidence of the deliberate use of harmless but smelly agents later in the war.
Rawson, Andrew (2006). British Army Handbook 1914–1918. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3745-9.
From Wikipedia (ptheuweee) on the LIvens Projector
The Livens Projector was also used to fire other substances. At one time or another the drums contained high explosive, oil and cotton-waste pellets, thermite, white phosphorus and “stinks”. Used as giant stink bombs to trick the enemy, “stinks” were malodorous but harmless substances such as bone oil and amyl acetate used to simulate a poison gas attack, thereby compelling the enemy to put on their cumbersome masks (which reduced the efficiency of German troops) on occasions when gas could not be safely employed.[17] Alternatively, “stinks” could be used to artificially prolong the scale, discomfort and duration of genuine gas-attacks i.e. alternating projectiles containing “stinks” with phosgene, adamsite or chloropicrin. There was even a design for ammunition containing a dozen Mills bombs in the manner of a cluster bomb.[18]
Many thanks! Ignorance fought 
Just wanted to add, the first time I ever heard snartillerysimulator, it whistled too. Was mildly amusing at 0130 in a snow defense. 