Few weapons have commanded as much awe and intrigue as the BLU-82 Daisy Cutter.
Its origins trace back to the Vietnam War when
it was conceived to level jungles and create makeshift landing zones.
With a staggering weight of 15,000 pounds,
comparable to a compact car, it stood as a monumental testament to raw destructive power.
Yet, its transformation from a jungle bulldozer to an instrument of
psychological warfare showcased the dark, adaptive brilliance of military minds.
The challenges of the Gulf War brought a new mission for the Daisy Cutter. Saddam Hussein's
forces, heavily fortified and defiant, prompted the Allied coalition to think differently.
Beyond the Daisy Cutter's brute force, its true value lay in the psychological shadows it cast.
Upon detonation, the explosion bore an eerie resemblance to a nuclear blast. The ensuing
mushroom cloud was simultaneously awe-inspiring and heart-stopping.
Such was the impact that it left even seasoned warriors in a state of shock and disbelief. As
evidenced by a British SAS commando team operating near the detonation point who
urgently radioed their base, exclaiming: [QUOTE]
"Sir, the blokes have just nuked Kuwait!"
During the Vietnam War, the dense jungles became both a sanctuary and an obstacle. Initial attempts
to clear these terrains with air strikes began in 1966 but were largely unsuccessful. In response,
the Air Force's Commando Vault program was initiated to devise a unique solution.
The concept was sparked in 1968 during a casual conversation aboard
a C-130 Hercules. Major Bob Archer, alongside two field grade officers,
proposed a daring idea: repurpose surplus 10,000-pound M121 bombs from World War 2,
initially designed for the massive B-36 bomber, to instantly create helicopter landing zones.
Archer posited that the C-130 Hercules, known for its adaptability,
was better suited than the CH-54 Skycrane for this role. The Hercules
could transport not just one but two of these gigantic bombs at a reduced cost.
By the spring of 1969, the skies over Vietnam frequently echoed with the
sound of modified Hercules planes releasing M-121
10,000-pound bombs. However, as the stock of these World War 2-era bombs diminished,
the Air Force Weapons Laboratory sought alternatives, exploring explosives beyond TNT.
BLU-82
The culmination of this effort led to the creation of 225 BLU-82 bombs,
marking them as the most potent non-nuclear weapons in the United States arsenal of that era.
Initially developed for commercial applications a decade prior,
each bomb stood as one of the heaviest conventional weapons ever employed, weighing
15,000 pounds, with 12,600 pounds constituting the explosive component.
The unique design of these new bombs, reminiscent of a propane tank topped
with a cone, sparked rumors about propane being the primary explosive.
However, this wasn't the case. The weapon was filled with a gelled slurry explosive primarily
composed of ammonium nitrate and powdered aluminum. This composition offered the Air Force a
significant edge; the components weren't explosive until mixed, allowing for separate shipping.
Compared to its predecessor, the M121, the BLU-82 created clearings 1.5 times larger. Yet, the drop
procedures remained consistent, with a C-130 able to transport two of these bombs simultaneously."
The Daisy Cutter
On March 22, 1970, the BLU-82 bomb made its debut.
A C-130 crew dropped it north of Long Tieng, Laos, during Campaign 139.
The bomb became an immediate sensation among the Army, Marines, and Air Force. Pilots in
the 463rd wing were especially impressed. The weapon earned the nickname "Daisy Cutter" due
to its ability to level a section of forest, creating an instant helicopter landing zone.
When U.S. and South Vietnamese troops entered Cambodia in May 1970,
their landing zones had been freshly carved by the detonation of four Daisy Cutters.
Similar strategies paved the way for the South Vietnamese invasion of Laos in early 1971.
Commando Vault showcased the C-130's versatility. For instance, a 463rd wing
crew could deploy two bombs in the morning and then shift to transport duties in the afternoon.
When the 463rd wing was disbanded in 1971,
the Commando Vault operations shifted to the 374th wing based in Taiwan. These pilots
continued deploying the bombs until the U.S. withdrew from the Vietnam conflict in 1973.
The Vietnamese air force effectively utilized these bombs against advancing
North Vietnamese troops. However, despite the BLU-82's potency,
it arrived too late in the war to stave off the North Vietnamese advance on Saigon.
Post-war, the BLU-82/B played a minor role in the Mayaguez rescue in 1975.
Afterward, the remaining bombs went into storage for over a decade.
What To Do
During the initial stages of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, a 39-country military
coalition led by the United States executed an intense aerial bombing campaign against Iraq.
One of their most formidable challenges was navigating the vast minefields the
Iraqi troops had strategically laid out in Kuwait.
Designed to impede and cripple the coalition's ground forces—particularly the U.S. Marines—these
minefields were complemented by trenches and fortified positions.
Lieutenant General Walter Boomer, who led the Marines in the Gulf, was acutely conscious of the
peril these defenses posed. His forces could be trapped in these minefields, making them sitting
ducks for Iraqi artillery and infantry onslaughts, which could lead to staggering casualties.
In response, the U.S. Air Force's Eighth Special Operations Squadron suggested a dramatic solution:
resurrect the BLU-82 bomb. Not only could it blast through the minefields, but it would also
serve as an excellent psychological warfare tool, possibly terrifying the Iraqis into defecting.
Though Lieutenant General Boomer harbored initial reservations,
he recognized the undeniable benefits of psychological warfare.
PsyOps
Less than two years before, psyops had played a key role during the invasion
of Panama when special teams managed to talk Panamanian soldiers out of their strongholds.
Even more recently, and also in the Gulf since 1990,
the Fourth Psychological Operations Group had been dropping leaflets on dug-in Iraqi forces.
They also set up a radio program to win over defectors, weaken the Iraqi resolve, spread
false information, and paint a clear picture of the coalition forces' inevitable victory.
The broadcast, named the "Voice of the Gulf," included prayers from the
Koran and stories from Iraqi prisoners who were being treated well by the coalition,
letting Iraqi soldiers know that they would be humanely treated if they surrendered.
The program also started giving out information about which military units
would be targeted and bombed daily. By listening, soldiers could get an
idea of which areas would be in danger and might act based on this information.
More and more, Iraqi soldiers began tuning in to the Voice of the Gulf.
The men of the Eighth Squadron believed that bringing the BLU-82 bomb to Kuwait
could send an even stronger message. Given this, Boomer agreed to bring back
the iconic Daisy Cutters to clear Iraqi mines and also as a psychological weapon.
Resurrection
In the darkest hours of February 7, 1991, Pilot Major Skip Davenport
climbed aboard his specially modified MC-130E Combat Talon cargo plane,
taking off immediately after his counterpart in a companion aircraft.
Inside the bellies of both planes rested the massive bomb,
resurrected after over a decade of storage.
The prior day, the designated target area had been inundated with leaflets,
cautioning the soldiers below: [QUOTE]
"Tomorrow if you don't surrender we're going to drop on you the
largest conventional weapon in the world."
The Iraqis were soon to discover that the Allies weren't exaggerating.
When the Daisy Cutter detonated, it birthed a gigantic mushroom cloud in the Kuwaiti
southwestern skies, eerily mirroring the explosion of an apocalyptic atomic bomb.
This bomb's thunderous roar reverberated for miles across the empty desert,
immediately seizing the attention of Iraqi radio channels throughout the border.
In the wake of this explosion, Colonel Jesse Johnson,
the nearby stationed special operations commander, transmitted a message back to
the United States Special Operations Command in Florida, noting: [QUOTE]
"We're not too sure how you say 'Jesus Christ' in Iraqi."
Similarly, on a covert reconnaissance operation close to the blast, a British Special Air
Service commando team urgently radioed its superiors, detailing the blast's magnitude.
America was about to witness the full extent of this bomb's psychological might.
The Goods
The day following the explosion, another aircraft cruised over the blast site,
dropping yet more leaflets. These read: [QUOTE]
"You have just been hit with the largest conventional bomb
in the world. More are on the way."
That very same day, in a state of urgency, an Iraqi battalion commander, alongside his staff,
made a dash across the border, choosing to surrender to the coalition forces.
Among those who defected was the battalion's intelligence officer,
clutching onto invaluable maps detailing the minefields along the Kuwaiti border.
These vital documents provided Central Command officers with insight into vulnerabilities
within the mine defenses. And when the ground offensive eventually launched,
both Marine and Allied forces were able to navigate and breach these defenses in mere hours.
Following this initial display of the Daisy Cutter bomb's capacity to clear
or breach minefields, eleven more BLU-82Bs were prepared and dispatched to the Gulf.
Over the five night missions, Special Operations MC-130 Combat Talons released
these bombs upon the desert, each time echoing a clear message of coalition dominance.
Desert Storm
While no detailed public records exist regarding the exact effectiveness of
these bombs in clearing mines, it's evident that they were deployed as
much for their psychological impact as for their ability to incapacitate personnel.
The sheer force of the explosions, spanning an area roughly the size of a football field,
produced a shockwave that was both felt and heard from miles away. On one occasion,
Sergeant Michael Adams, a special forces operative stationed near where Kuwait,
Iraq, and Saudi Arabia meet, recalled: [QUOTE]:
"I was about a mile away when it went off [...] Despite the B-52s shaking the earth endlessly,
that thing was absolutely stunning. Earth-shattering."
The towering mushroom cloud not only caused physical devastation but also significantly
undermined the morale of enemy troops. The sight and sound of the explosions instilled
immense fear in the Iraqis, diminishing their will to combat coalition forces.
Working in tandem with these bomb assaults, the 4th Psychological
Operations Group dedicated itself to creating and distributing over 29 million
copies of more than 100 distinct leaflets. These were dispersed between December 30,
1990, and February 28, 1991, across over 100 separate sorties.
According to collected data, nearly three-quarters of the defectors crossing the border cited these
leaflets and broadcasts as influential in their decision to abandon their posts.
After its impactful role in Desert Storm, the Daisy Cutter returned to storage,
waiting for over a decade before it would be called upon again, once again in the Middle East.
Later Years
The USAF also deployed these weapons against terrorist strongholds in Afghanistan during
the initial stages of Operation Enduring Freedom. The first BLU-82 in Afghanistan
was dropped on November 4, 2001, near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
As with Desert Storm, this deployment was intended both for physical destruction and to send a
message to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters about the capabilities of the United States military.
A month later, in December 2001, during the Battle of Tora Bora,
the US dropped at least two more Daisy Cutters. These targeted the cave complexes
in the mountains where Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda fighters were suspected of
hiding and their storage facilities, aiming to flush out the enemy from their hideouts.
The United States Air Force released several BLU-82s during the campaign,
but their usage in Afghanistan was limited, with only a few instances confirmed.
By 2008, the remaining stockpile of the BLU-82 bombs had reportedly
been decommissioned by the U.S. military.
On July 15, 2008, airmen from Duke Field's 711th Special Operations Squadron, 919th Special
Operations Wing, released the final operational BLU-82 at the Utah Test and Training Range,
marking the Daisy Cutter's retirement from active service in the U.S. arsenal.
Today, the BLU-82 Bomb is no longer the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the
United States' arsenal. In its place is the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb,
often referred to as “The Mother of all Bombs” by scientists and the community alike.
Notably, this cutting-edge marvel is designed based on the Daisy Cutter itself.