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    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1926)",
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    "chunk_id": "1926:bombs:2bdf36dd1534",
    "title": "BOMBS",
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    "verified_text": "under this head are dealt with solelv the mechanical instruments which were evolved in 1915-6, as opposed to those used with an explosive propellent, which are described under the heading artillery. when contrary to all preparations the combatants on the western front settled down to trench warfare in 1914, a demand arose for short-range engines which could throw bombs to a greater distance than was possible by hand. eventually this need was met by trench mortars and trench guns, but the first inventions were merely improvements on the ancient idea of the catapult, and relied for their propulsive effort on the energy of springs. types of bomb.—the first british weapon of this kind used in france was the leach, nothing more nor less than a heavy catapult worked in a strong forked wooden frame, in which powerful rubbers were pulled back to tension by a winding handle. when the bomb was in position in the pouch a trigger broke the connection and the release of the rubbers propelled the bomb. the leach catapult with new rubbers was capable of throwing a 14 lb. grenade 200 yards. it possessed the advantage over trench mortars of silence in action, but its ranging power was unnecessarily great for grenade work, and not powerful enough for the work done eventually by the trench mortar. the catapult of the french army, known as the sauterelle, was smaller and more portable, but correspondingly less powerful than the leach. this catapult was a magnified crossbow, acting by the reassertion of springs bent in cocking. the hest spring gun, used by the british in rg1ts, was a very powerful weapon using an ingenious combination of springs, but was too cumbrous. it had 28 springs, and a variation in range was obtained by the number employed for each shot; using 24 springs it threw a 2-lb. bomb some 240 yards. it was an efhicient weapon, but was soon rendered obsolete for reasons already explained, as were many other ingenious types. 406 a type, which differs in principle from a gun, did remain. it used an explosive more on the rocket principle. the grenade had a sleeve tail, and the thrower consisted essentially of a peg over which this sleeve fitted, the propellent charge being loaded into the sleeve. the most enduring example of this principle was the german granatwerfer, used in large numbers up to 1918. it consisted of a thrower and base plate on which it could be trained for direction on the same principle as a gun, and could similarly be clamped for elevation against a graduated arc. when the sleeve of the grenade, with its propellent cartridge, was placed on the peg and the safety-pin of its fuse withdrawn, the trigger lanyard was pulled, the sear freed the striker rod which was impelled forward by a spring and fired the cartridge as in a rifle. until 10918 this weapon used only simple high-explosive bombs. in that year a second type of bomb was introduced in which a small repellent charge in the head of the bomb was fired on impact with the ground, causing it to rebound and so to burst in the air instead of burying itself. the ordinary (1915) grenades weighed about 4 lb. and had a range of some 300 yards. the bouncing bomb was heavier (54 lb.) and ranged only to 275 yards. in the british service this heavy class of bomb was entirely supplanted by the trench mortars, howitzers, stokes gun, etc., and by the light bomb thrown by hand. a bombing section of one n.c.o. and 30 men was attached to each battalion, and bomb-throwing became a part of every infantryman’s training. there were inventions by which a bomb could be projected from the ordinary rifle. (see grenade.) (j. ner) bondfield, margaret (1873- ), british politician, was born march 17 1873 at chard, somerset. her father was a lace designer and both parents were ardent radicals. at an early age she became an assistant in a draper’s shop at brighton, but soon she moved to london, and in 1898 became assistant secre- tary of the shop assistants’ union. at the trade union con- gress in 1899 she was the only woman delegate. she was a mem- ber of the administrative council of the independent labour party from 1913-21, and an active propagandist for trade boards, the minimum wage, adult suffrage, and peace. during the war she worked in the closest association with mary macarthur and on the latter’s death, in 1921, succeeded her as secretary of the national federation of women workers. this body was in- corporated the same year in the national union of general workers, of which organisation she was the chief woman oflicer. she was made chairman of the trade union congress in 1923 and in nov. of that year was elected m.p. for northampton. in the labour govt. of 1923-4 she was parliamentary secretary to the ministry of labour, but she was defeated at the general election of 1924. see m. a. hamilton, afargaret bondfcld (1924). bonesetting: see manipulative surgery. boni, giacomo (1859-1925), italian archaeologist, was born in venice april 25 1859. ile entered the venice academy of fine arts, where he graduated as an architect, after which he studied practical mechanics in england. on returning to venice he became assistant in the work of restoring the ducal palace, and in 1888 he was appointed inspector of fine arts in rome. ten years later he was given charge of the oflice for the preserva- tion of ancient monuments in the lazio, and it was then that he undertook the excavations in the forum and the palatine with which his name is chiefly associated (see 23.591). he also crectced the museo forense in the church of santa francisca romana. in ror4 he undertook excavations on the palatine, to which he thenceforth dedicated all his activity. besides being an eminent archaeologist he was a keen classical scholar. boni was made senator in 1923 by sig. mussolini. although he published no monumental work, he was the author of a large number of essays, pamphlets and articles on archaeological and kindred subjects and also on botany. he died in rome july 7 1925. bonnat, leon joseph florentin (1833-1922), french painter (see 4.21t0a), died at the chateau de monchy, oise, sept. 7 1922. bondfield— bookkeeping bonney, thomas george (1833-1923), british geologist, (see 4.212c), died at cambridge, eng., dec. 9 1923. book: see publishing.",
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