Explosions 9781846804502, 9780857692252, 0857692259

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EXPLOSIONS Sue Graves

Rising Stars UK Ltd. 22 Grafton Street, London W1S 4EX www.risingstars-uk.com

NASEN House, 4/5 Amber Business Village, Amber Close, Amington, Tamworth, Staffordshire B77 4RP Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain their permission for the use of copyright materials. The publisher will gladly receive information enabling them to rectify any error or omission in subsequent editions. All facts are correct at time of going to press. The right of Sue Graves to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. Published 2008 Reprinted 2009 Text, design and layout © Rising Stars UK Ltd. Series Consultant: Lorraine Petersen Cover design: Neil Straker Creative Cover photograph: Alamy Design: Clive Sutherland Editorial: Frances Ridley Illustrations: Bill Greenhead for Illustration Ltd Photographs: AKG Images: 6, 7, 14, 17, 30 Alamy: 4, 8, 10, 46 The Art Archive: 6, 12-13, 20, 23, 24-25, 33, 36, 42 Getty Images: 40-41 Kobal Collection: 7, 10-11, 23 PA Photos: 26-27, 28-29, 33, 39, 44-45 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Rising Stars. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-84680-450-2 Printed by: Craftprint International Ltd, Singapore

Contents icture Explosions: The big p Zooming in… Cannons Hand grenades Bombs osal Close-up: Bomb disp Torpedoes Landmines Atom bombs Glossary/Index

5 6 9 15 21 26 31 37 43 48

EXPLOSIONS: THE BIG PICTURE An explosion happens when something bursts with great force. Explosions make a lot of noise. They can damage buildings and kill or injure people.

FOCUS Find the answers to these questions. 1. What do you do when you ‘cook off’ a hand grenade? 2.Why did the Chinese put cannons on a wall? 3.What is a tin fish?

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ZOOMING IN …

The deadliest bomb of all.

Watch out for booby traps!

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Torpedoes home in on their target.

Powerful pirates liked powerful guns. Take aim and throw!

This bomb bounced!

Defusing bombs – a dangerous job.

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CANNONS The Chinese were the first people to use cannons. They put about 3,000 small cannons on the Great Wall of China. They fired the cannons at their enemies. Later, people used huge cannons on land and at sea. Merchant ships had cannons – and so did pirate ships!

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th Monday 10 May 1718 This morning, the captain saw pirates coming towards us. Our ship is The Saint Anne. We’re carr ying nce . The ra F to a se e th s os cr a ia d In om fr silks to d te n a w es at ir p e th t a th ed rn a captain w closer. t go ip sh e at ir p e h T o. rg ca r ou steal e h T . ip sh r ou t a s on n n ca s it d re Then it fi the crew d pe el h I . ts as m r ou e ok br s on si explo irates. I to fire our cannons back at the p ether, we og T y. bo n bi ca er h ot n a h it w ed work nnons. ca e th to in n ow d s ll ba on n n ca rolled the s on si lo p ex e er w e er h T . k or w rd It was hot, ha going as w ip sh r ou if s a ed em se It e. ever ywher nnons. ca e th g n ri fi on t ep k e w t bu k n to si . k n sa it d n a ip sh e at ir p e th it h Then we d! re ee ch e n n A t in Sa e th rd a bo Everybody on

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Firing a cannon It took a team of soldiers to load and fire one cannon. It was a dangerous job and the soldiers followed step-by-step instructions.

f ir i n g d n a g n i d a lo for In s t r u c t i o n s a cannon ition and s o p o t in n o n n a 1) Wheel the c et sponge. w a h it w it n a cle u n p o w d e r. g e h t d d A ) 2 top of the n o g n i d d a w 3) Push gunpowder. cannon e h t o t in ll a b n nno 4) Put the ca n. and ram it dow cannon. e h t e r fi d n a 5) Aim ith a wet w in a g a n o n n a 6) Clean the c sponge.

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HAND GRENADES Hand grenades are small, hand-held bombs. Soldiers carry them as part of their kit. Hand grenades are packed with explosives. Soldiers throw them when the enemy is close by.

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Bilton News

May 18th 1940

SOLDIER HAS LUCKY ESCAPE! Jed Brown, 21, is a soldier fighting in France. He had a lucky escape last week. His mother, Mrs Coral Brown, said: ‘It’s all here in Jed’s last letter. There were some Germans in a dugout. Jed’s commanding officer told him to throw a hand grenade into the dugout. Jed threw a grenade but it didn’t explode. Suddenly, the Germans threw it back again! Jed kicked the grenade out of the way. It exploded but luckily nobody was hurt. Jed says he’ll remember to cook off the grenade next time!’

THROWING A HAND GRENADE 1. Pull the pin out. 2. Wait a few seconds. (This is called ‘cooking off’ the grenade.) 3. Throw the grenade at the enemy – they won’t have time to throw it back! 16

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Pulling the pin The first British hand grenade was used in World War One. Soldiers still use hand grenades today. This is what a British 36 grenade looks like inside:

KEY Safety pin and ring

Grenade can only explode if you pull the pin out.

2

Striker

Makes a spark when it hits the special cap – the spark lights the fuse

3

Five-second Fuse burns for five seconds fuse before the grenade explodes

4

Detonator

Sets off the explosives.

5

Explosives

The material that explodes

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1

2

5 4

3

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BOMBS Many different bombs were invented in World War Two. There were ‘hot’ bombs – these burned at a great heat when they exploded and set fire to buildings. There were also ‘bouncing bombs’. British pilots dropped these bombs to destroy enemy dams.

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The Dambusters Raid PILOT 1

I can see the dam. Over.

Sound of machine-gun fire PILOT 2

The Germans have seen us. They’re firing at us. Over.

PILOT 1

I’m dropping the bomb. Bomb away!

PILOT 2

(worried): You dropped it too soon. The bomb’s bounced over the dam. Over.

PILOT 1

Try to get closer with your bomb. Over.

PILOT 2

OK. I’m dropping it now. Bomb away!

PILOT 1

(excited): Good work – it’s bounced down the face of the dam and exploded.

PILOT 2

(pleased): The Germans will be short of water for a while. Over.

PILOT 1

And it will stop their factories working, too! Over.

PILOT 2

OK, let’s get out of here!

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The pilots get ready for action.

The dam explodes.

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Bouncing bombs The bouncing bomb was invented in Britain by Barnes Wallis. It was built to skip over water, slide down the face of a dam and explode. The Dambusters Raid took place at night on the 16th May 1943. Nineteen Lancaster bombers were sent to destroy three German dams. The dams made power for factories in Germany. The bouncing bombs damaged two of the dams.

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BOMB FACT The Germans invented a flying bomb in World War Two. It was called the V1. The ‘V’ stood for Vengeance!

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CLOSE-UP: BOMB DISPOSAL A bomb that hasn’t exploded is very dangerous. Special bomb disposal teams are called in to defuse bombs. Bomb disposal experts often defuse bombs by hand.

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Bomb disposal teams can also defuse bombs by remote control. This is safer for the team. They use a remote control vehicle.

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TORPEDOES Captain David Bushell invented the first torpedo in 1776. Torpedoes were widely used in the First World War. A torpedo is shot under the sea to hit a ship or a submarine. It explodes when it hits its target.

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Falklands War 1982 Report on the sinking of the General Belgrano – 2nd May 1982 Report by Dan Green – British submariner

I was on duty when an Argentine ship was spotted. It was the General Belgrano. We got orders to attack the ship. We attacked it with torpedoes from our submarine. Two of our tigerfish torpedoes hit the General Belgrano. I saw lots of explosions coming from the ship where the torpedoes had struck. The General Belgrano began to sink. I found out that there were about 1,000 people on board. I also found out that many people were killed. Some people escaped in lifeboats but the seas were cold and there were high waves. We saw five Argentine warships looking for survivors. I don’t know how many people survived.

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Tin fish The torpedo was named after an electric ray fish. Torpedoes are sometimes called tin fish. A torpedo is a large tube with a warhead inside. The tube carries the warhead to its target. When the tube hits the target the warhead explodes. The inside of a torpedo looks like this:

1

2

34

3

KEY 1

Control section

Directs the torpedo to its target

2

Rudder

Helps to steer the torpedo towards its target

3

Motor

Powers the torpedo through the water

4

Warhead

Explodes when the torpedo hits its target

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Detonator

Sets off the explosive in the warhead

1

5 4

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LANDMINES A landmine is a bomb that’s buried in the ground. It explodes when somebody or something moves over it. People lay landmines under big areas of ground called minefields. Many people want to ban landmines. They injure and kill innocent people long after a war is over.

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Angola , Africa 97 15th Januar y 19 er, h t a f d n a r G r a e D nd a l g n E m o r f a n ia Today Princess D d e b y m y b d o o t s . S he l a t i p s o h e h t o t ad h came I w o h e m d e he ask S . e m o t e k o p s s e n i and m d n a l e h t out b a r e h d l o t I . g e n e e b los t my l d a h I t a h t her d l o t I . y r t n u o in our c d. l e fi e h t n i s n i s y cou m h t i w g n i y a l p y m r e d n u n o i s o l exp g i b a t l fe I y l n e Sudd ir. I a e h t o t n i e m rew h t n o i s o l p x e e h feet . T ame c I n e h W . t u o ed and mus t have black g n i m a e r c s s n i s cou y m d r a e h I , d roun g. e l y m t s o l d a h cr ying because I

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Princess Diana s aid she was ver y sad about the landm ines. She said th at she wants to s top co untries laying la ndmines. I hope she can do this! Your loving gran ddaughter, Anna

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Clearing minefields There are many landmines buried all over the world. Clearing landmines is a slow and dangerous job. Some minefields have maps to show where the landmines are and these are easier to clear. But many minefields don’t have maps.

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This is a landmine clearing tank. It has metal rollers that beat the earth in front of it. If there is a landmine under the earth it will blow up.

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ATOM BOMBS Atom bombs make more powerful explosions than any other bombs. One atom bomb can kill thousands of people. An atom bomb explosion gives off radiation. The radiation harms people for years after the explosion.

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May 1960 Hi Mike , y last week . People ll ra b om B e th n a B I went to a of e protesting. Many er w ld or w e th er from all ov wanted to be y ll a re I e. m e k li them are students angerous atom d ow h le op pe ll te here. I want to atom bombs ge a m a d ch u m ow h bombs are . We saw ple in Japan are eo P o. w T r a W ld or did in Japan in W cts of those bombs. fe ef e th om fr g n yi d still the next Ban the to e m h it w e m co m Why don’t you at protest about ato th le op pe e or m e h Bomb rally? T bombs, the better. From Jenny

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Mr M Evans 3, Grove Street Boxton Boxshire BX7 2HP

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Atom bombs in World War Two In 1945, the Allies dropped atom bombs on Japan because they wanted Japan to surrender. The first atom bomb was called Little Boy. It was dropped on Hiroshima on 6th August. It killed 138,661 people but Japan didn’t surrender.

Nagasaki after the atom bomb

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ATOM BOMB FACT Little Boy was 2,000 times more powerful than any other bomb used in World War Two.

Little Boy Fat Man

The second atom bomb was called Fat Man. It was dropped on Nagasake on 9th August. It killed 73,884 people and this time Japan surrendered. World War Two was finally over.

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GLOSSARY

nuclear – this makes a s om at g n ti ks by split bombs. bomb that wor called nuclear so al e s) ar b( m bs m bo m bo Atom ebody explosion. Ato ll or harm som ki to en d id h bomb that is ) a ship carries Booby trap(s the goods that help ge Cargo by – dams can officer in char g e in th ow r fl ce er fi at of river to stop w Commanding wall built on a power Dam(s) g make electric ops it explodin s fuse – this st b’ m shelter in bo a d f n of to take the grou as in ig d g) n rs si ie u ld ef el that so Defuse (d a hole or tunn t: u Dugo a battle plodes easily aterial that ex m explosions ed for making us is Explosives at th ce n tries to sell substa s to other coun od go s ie rr Gunpowder ca l cargo from a ship that – pirates stea es ip at sh ir t p an to ch gs lon Mer a ship that be get too s Pirate ship ip eople if they p merchant sh m ar h or ll gy that can ki a form of ener ce away. R adiation a short distan much of it om fr k or w hing move or d won’t making somet ol tr n en defeated an co be e av h Remote u yo agree that e Surrender e done fight any mor cause they hav be y od eb m lling so harming or ki ce an ge d to you Ven or hay something ba g, like paper in h et m so of a thick pile plodes bomb that ex a of Wadding t ar p t on the fr Warhead

INDEX Bouncing bomb Dambuster Raid Falklands War General Belgrano Gunpowder Hot bomb r Lancaster Bombe e landmin Minefield Pilots

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21, 24 22-23, 24-25 32 32-33 12 21 24-25 38-39, 40-41 37, 40 22-23

Pirates Princess Diana Soldiers Submarine Tin fish V-1 bomb Warhead World War One World War Two

10 38-39 12, 15, 16, 18 31, 32 34 25 34 18 21, 25, 44, 46-47

Step inside and discover more about EXPLOSIONS.

ZOOM IN ON... grenades, bouncing bombs, torpedoes, landmines and the atom bomb.

FOCUS ON... bomb disposal.

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