Original Item: Only One Available. This is an excellent example of a dummy bomb used in training the men being sent to fight during the Vietnam War. This is an INERT BDU-28B training cluster bomb and is in compliance per the current BATF regulations on Inert Ordnance. Not Available For Export.

Cluster bombs are designed as anti-personnel, anti-armor weapons, but the primary victims have been innocent civilians. Cluster bombs have a significant failure rate (up to 30% in Laos during the Vietnam War), which means that they often fail to explode upon hitting the ground but continue to pose a risk of detonation. In Laos, for instance, approximately 80 million of the cluster bombs dropped failed to detonate, leaving extensive contamination from unexploded ordnance (UXO). As a result, more than 98% of known cluster bomb victims are non military personnel.

Cluster bombs typically consist of a large outer canister that is designed to disperse hundreds of smaller bomblets.

The cluster bomb is dropped from a plane or launched from the ground into the air, where the casing automatically opens and releases hundreds of bomblets – the size of a soup can or orange – over wide areas, frequently missing intended military targets. Commonly used cluster bomblets are designed to explode into hundreds of pieces of razor-sharp shrapnel that rip through bodies.

Anywhere from 2% to 20% of modern cluster munitions do not detonate upon impact (this rate rises to 30% for older bombs in used Southeast Asia) leaving a deadly hazard for years to come.

The BDU-28/B dummy round was meant to mimic the BLU-3 “Pineapple” cluster bomblet for training and familiarization purposes. The BLU-3 Pineapple was a cluster bomblet, 360 were deployed from the CBU-2A cluster bomb. It was used extensively in the Vietnam War by American forces. It was named "Pineapple" because of its appearance. On some Arc Light missions, the B-52Ds carried two SUU-24 dispensers in the bomb bay, containing a total of 10,656 bomblets.

The BLU-3/B 'Pineapple' was a fragmentation bomblet for use against personnel and unarmored targets. After release from the aerial dispenser, the bomblet was stabilized by six pop-out drag vanes. It detonated on impact, and dispersed 250 high-velocity steel pellets.

This is a wonderful opportunity to add a beautiful example of the BLU-3/B training bomblet, the BDU-28/B. The condition is wonderful and has been repainted to give it a better “military” appearance. These were originally red in color to better distinguish the training bomblets to the live ones.

Comes more than ready for display!