Ranken dart
The Ranken Dart was a weapon developed during World War I for the purpose of destroying or damaging the German Zeppelins which were attacking Britain at the time. It was an air-dropped 1 lb (450 g) explosive flechette-type of missile-shaped bomb which was usually carried in packs of 24; the darts could be dropped individually or all at once. Aircraft equipped with Ranken darts had to climb above their targets, before dropping them. It entered service in February 1916.[1]
Ranken Darts became obsolete with the advent of the combination of explosive and incendiary ammunition fired from .303 Vickers and Lewis guns mounted on fighter aircraft.
External links[]
Sectioned Ranken Dart in the Imperial War Museum collection
References[]
- ^ London 1914-1917 - The Zeppelin Menace. Ian Castle. Osprey Puplishing, 2008.
 | This article related to weaponry is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- Aerial bombs of the United Kingdom
- Incendiary weapons
- World War I weapons of the United Kingdom
- Anti-aircraft weapons
- Weapon stubs