> The carrying power of a 10-11 gram
> bat is indeed amazing, some 15-18 grams; the incendiary bomb was in this
> range (17.5 grams). Bats can carry such loads for miles. And bats with
> dummy bombs released in housed areas dragged the loads into sites highly
> favorable for fire-starting. W e released bats successfully at various altitudes
> both from the B-2 S and from an open Attack Bomber, in which flying was
> great fun.
omg
> Then,
> suddenly, X-ray was cancelled. I never learned the reason, but can make a
> guess. The bats would be vectors for bombs, but they would be vectors also
> for germs. Our side might be accused of initiating biological warfare.
oh yeah because being accused of doing something horrible while doing something horrible would be horrible.
I believe that they perceived it in the numbers. Exploding bombs will kill a limited number of people. Imagine the nightmare scenario that a bat-bomb will explode in a school and kill 10? 20? toddlers. Now imagine some virus that can wipe hundreds/thousands.
This escalation would force the opponent's hand to respond appropriately, and if 'standard' war (bullets, artillery shells, missiles) is hell, chemical warfare is worse.
>A technical problem is that during winter, the temperature of buried devices can drop quickly, creating a possibility that the mechanisms of the mine will cease working due to low temperatures in the winter.[5] Various methods were studied to solve this problem, such as wrapping the bombs in insulating blankets.
One proposal suggested that live chickens would be sealed inside the casing, with a supply of food and water.[6] They would remain alive for approximately a week. Their body heat would apparently have been sufficient to keep the mine's components at a working temperature.