Aftermath of the bombing at the Bologna railway station in August 1980 which killed 85 people, the deadliest event during the Years of Lead.
Aftermath of the Grand Hotel bombing in Brighton (1984) which was targeted at British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the result of a time bomb which had been placed in the hotel nearly a month before it detonated. Thatcher wasn't harmed, five others were killed and 31 were injured.

A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use or attempted use of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They are a frequent plot device in thriller and action films as they offer a way of imparting a dramatic sense of urgency.

Construction

Diagram of a simple time bomb in the form of a pipe bomb

The explosive charge is the main component of any bomb, and makes up most of the size and weight of it. It is the damaging element of the bomb (along with any fragments or shrapnel the explosion might produce with its container or neighboring objects). The explosive charge is detonated by a detonator.

A time bomb's timing mechanism may be professionally manufactured either separately or as part of the device, or it may be improvised from an ordinary household timer such as a wind-up alarm clock, wrist watch, digital kitchen timer, or notebook computer. The timer can be programmed to count up or count down (usually the latter; as the bomb detonates when the time runs out).

Types

Types of time bombs include:

List of notable incidents involving time bombs

Year Event Location Perpetrator(s) Deaths Injuries Comments
1776 Turtle submarine attack on the Eagle New York Harbor, United States Ezra Lee and David Bushnell 0 0 David Bushnell designed the Turtle submarine using a clockwork time bomb crafted by Isaac Doolittle that would attach to the hull of the British ship the Eagle using a screw, but the screw failed to penetrate the hull. The time bomb was released and eventually exploded causing great noise but no harm to the British.
1864 Confederate sabotage of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's headquarters City Point, Virginia, US John Maxwell of the Confederate Secret Service 43 to 300 125 Maxwell called his device a "clockwork torpedo"; placed on an ammunition barge, it detonated 30,000 artillery shells[1]
1875 Attack on the Mosel (ship) Bremerhaven, Germany Alexander Keith, Jr. 80 or 83 200 Bomb set for insurance fraud purposes; detonated prematurely
1880 Winter Palace bombing Saint Petersburg, Russia Narodnaya Volya 11 30 Attempted assassination of Tsar Alexander II
1881-1885 Fenian dynamite campaign Great Britain Fenians 3 (bombers who died when bomb went off early) 100 Irish nationalist campaign led by Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa
1905 Yıldız assassination attempt Constantinople, Ottoman Empire Edward Joris 26 58 Failed assassination attempted on Abdul Hamid II
1910 Los Angeles Times bombing Los Angeles, US John J. McNamara and James B. McNamara 21 100 Union-related action
1915 Muenter attack spree Washington, D.C., New York City German nationalist Eric Muenter 0 1 Set time bombs in United States Capitol, SS Minnehaha, and shot J. P. Morgan, Jr. against selling arms to Germany's enemies
1915 Pencil bomb attacks New York City, Atlantic Ocean Abteilung III b, German intelligence 36 ships damaged or sunk Series of incendiary time bombs planted aboard ships transporting war materiel from New York to Europe
1916 Preparedness Day Bombing San Francisco, US Labor leaders 10 40 Isolationist political action
1920 Wall Street bombing New York City, US Anarchists (suspected) 38 400 Followed other bombings in 1919
1939 Bürgerbräukeller Munich, Germany Georg Elser 7 63 Assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler
1942 St Nazaire Raid St Nazaire, France (wartime) Royal Navy, British commandos 590 unknown To damage port facilities being used by enemy forces
1944 July Plot Wolf's Lair, Poland (wartime) German resistance to Nazism 4 ? Failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler
1949 Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108 Over Cap Tourmente, Canada Albert Guay 23 0 Murder; insurance fraud
1955 United Airlines Flight 629 Over Longmont, Colorado, US Jack Gilbert Graham 44 0 Murder; insurance fraud
1956 Milk Bar, Place Bugeaud,
Cafeteria, Rue Michelet,
Air France office (failed to detonate) 		Algiers, French Algeria Djamila Bouhired
Zohra Drif
Samia Lakhdari 		3 50 Reprisal bombings at start of the Algerian War, September 30, 1956[2] Part of the so-called Café Wars
1963-1971 FLQ bombings Canada Front de libération du Québec None 1 (Army officer Walter Leja) Series of politically motivated bombings (timed and non-timed devices) and other activities
1969-1976 Weatherman bombings United States Weather Underground 1 unconfirmed; 3 bombers (premature) 3 confirmed; 1 unconfirmed Series of politically motivated bombings (timed and non-timed devices) and other activities including jailbreaks and riots
1972 Aldershot bombing Aldershot, United Kingdom Official IRA 7 18 A 280 lb time bomb in a car
1972 - 1973 1972 and 1973 Dublin bombings Dublin, Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 3 185 Part of anti-Irish nationalism campaign
1972 Belturbet bombing Cavan, Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 2 8 Part of anti-Irish nationalism campaign
1973 1973 Old Bailey bombing London, UK IRA 1 220 Continuing anti-British campaign
1974 M62 coach bombing West Riding of Yorkshire Provisional IRA 12 38 Continuing anti-British campaign
1974 1974 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries bombing Tokyo, Japan East Asia Anti-Japan Armed Front 8 376 Targeted against "Japanese imperialism" and "its colonist"
1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 34 300 4 time bombs in car bombs Part of anti-Irish Nationalism campaign. Biggest loss of life from an attack during the Northern Ireland Troubles.
1974 Birmingham pub bombings Birmingham, UK IRA (suspected) 21 182 Continuing anti-British campaign
1974 Guildford pub bombings Guildford, UK IRA 5 65 Targeted against Army personnel
1975 Donnelly's Bar and Kay's Tavern attacks Dundalk, Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 2 21 Part of anti-Irish nationalism campaign (1st part of double attack)
1976 Hillcrest Bar bombing Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 4 50 Part of anti-Irish nationalism campaign
1976 Castleblayney bombing Monaghan, Ireland Ulster Volunteer Force 1 17 Part of anti-Irish nationalism campaign
1977 Lucona sinking Indian Ocean Udo Proksch 6 6 Attempted insurance fraud
1982 Droppin Well bombing Ballykelly, County Londonderry, NI Irish National Liberation Army INLA 17 30 Bombing against British soldiers
1984 Brighton hotel bombing Brighton, UK IRA 5 31 Attempt to assassinate PM Margaret Thatcher
1985 Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior Auckland, New Zealand French DGSE 1 0 Two limpet mines, set to detonate 10 minutes apart
1985 Air India Flight 182 and 1985 Narita International Airport bombing Atlantic Ocean, Tokyo Narita Airport Babbar Khalsa Khalistan separatists 331 4 Bombing of two 747 flights with alarm clock and dynamite hidden in radio tuner
1987 Korean Air Flight 858 Andaman Sea North Korea 115 (all) 0 State terrorism against South Korea
1987 Remembrance Day bombing Enniskillen, NI IRA 12 63 Continuing anti-British campaign
1988 Pan Am flight 103 Above Lockerbie, Scotland Libya 270 0 Reprisal against UK & US
1989 Deal barracks bombing Deal, Kent, UK IRA 11 21 Targeted against military personnel
1993 World Trade Center bombing New York City, US Ramzi Yousef 6 1,042 Truck bomb used 20 ft fuse for twelve-minute delay, intended to collapse both towers.
1994 Philippine Airlines Flight 434 Between Cebu and Tokyo, Japan Ramzi Yousef 1 10 Blast missed fuel tank, killed one passenger and damaged control systems but pilot was able to land. Yousef bombed World Trade Center in 1993
1995 Oklahoma City bombing Oklahoma City, US Timothy McVeigh 168 800 Deadliest domestic terrorist attack in the United States.
1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing Atlanta, Georgia, US Eric Rudolph 1 111 Politically motivated anti-abortionist; occurred during 1996 Summer Olympics.
1998 Omagh bombing Omagh, NI Real IRA 29 220 Worst single incident loss of life of the anti-British campaign.
1999 Columbine High School massacre Columbine, Colorado, US Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold 15 24 Bombs did not explode, and were not the cause of any of the deaths or injuries.[3]
1999 Russian apartment bombings Buynaksk
Moscow
Volgodonsk, Russia 		Chechen rebels led by Khattab (suspected) 293 651 4 bombs over 4 days; purpose unknown.[4][5][6][7]
2003 Murder of Brian Wells Erie, Pennsylvania, US Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong
Kenneth Barnes 		1 Silence witness to forced bank robbery; timed body bomb
2006 Moscow market bombing Moscow, Russia Racialist organization 13 46 Racially motivated attack

See also

References

Look up time bomb in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Time bombs.
  1. ^ Grady, John (August 15, 2014). "The Confederate Torpedo". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  2. ^ Gannon, James (2008). Military occupations in the age of self-determination: The history neocons neglected (PDF). Westport CT: Praeger Security International. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-313-35382-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. ^ "10 years later, the real story behind Columbine". April 14, 2009.
  4. ^ "Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909040001". START. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909090002". START. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909130003". START. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909160002". START. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
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