Relay Unit RE-22/ARW-9 of AN/ARW-10A Airborne Remote Control Bomb Release System BOXED

The AN/ARW-10A Airborne Remote Control Bomb Release System was developed during WWII but did not see active use until the Korean War. The system was designed to release bombs simultaneously from all planes in a formation, usually twelve, by a single bombardier in the lead aircraft. Three pages in the photo gallery explain the system in greater detail.

During WWII, bombardiers often released their bombs manually upon observing the drop of the lead aircraft. The Airborne Remote Control Bomb Release System used radio signals between aircraft to remove the delay associated with observation and manual effort. This was intended for use in bombing targets requiring concentrated bombing patterns, such as rail yards and factories.  This reduced the effective bomb concentration diameter from 5,000 ft to 1,000 ft. Tests showed that bombs released by this equipment drop within one-half second of each other. The utility of the system was increased by using radar bombing equipment in the lead aircraft.

The device shown here, the RE-22/ARW-9 Relay Unit, was one of 16 components of the first subsystem, the AN/ARW-9 transmitting station, installed in the lead aircraft. Upon release by the lead bombardier, the radio signal was automatically sent to the receiving system installed in the aircraft in the rest of the formation tuned into the formation frequency.

The receiving subsystem was AN/AEW/10 (or 10A), consisting of 6 components. Upon receiving the signal from the transmitting lead aircraft, it would trigger the release of the bombs in each aircraft tuned into the same frequency. 

We have no documentation showing the system's use during WWII. However, the system was used in the Korean War to control VB-3 Razon guided bombs dropped from B-29 Superfortress bombers upon bridges in North Korea.  Razon bombs had flight control surfaces that could be adjusted from an aircraft using this system.

The Relay Unit measures ~4.5 x 3 x 2 inches. It is in its original box with the internal wrap unopened. The image of the unit is from an unpackaged example.