What is a Non-retarded Bomb?

• A. Used during high-level bombing, fins open to unimpeded descent
• B. Used during low-level bombing, fins open to slow the weapon
• C. Used during high-level bombing, fins remain open allowing weapon to fall unimpeded to target.
• D. Used during high-level bombing, fins remain closed allowing weapon to fall unimpeded to target.

Answer: (D)

Understanding how drag devices affect a bomb’s descent clarifies what a non-retarded bomb is. Some bombs carry a retardation system—fins or other devices—that deploy to create drag and slow the bomb as it falls. A non-retarded bomb, by contrast, has no such drag device deployed; the tail fins stay closed so the bomb falls with minimal aerodynamic slowing.

This is why the non-retarded type is associated with high-level bombing: you release it from a higher altitude and rely on its unimpeded fall to reach the target more quickly along a relatively direct ballistic path. Keeping the fins closed preserves a cleaner, faster descent, which is the defining characteristic here.

If fins were deployed to slow the bomb, that would be a retarded configuration, used in different planning scenarios to manage timing or ground safety. Opening fins at release would not fit the concept of a non-retarded bomb, since it introduces drag and alters the descent from what non-retarded means.