Definitions for azon
azon

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Azonnoun

   A World War II gliding bomb whose azimuth could be adjusted via radio.

2. Etymology: From the first letters of azimuth only

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Azon

   AZON (or Azon), from "azimuth only", was one of the world's first guided weapons, deployed by the Allies and contemporary with the German Fritz X. Officially designated VB-1 ("Vertical Bomb 1"), it was invented by Major Henry J. Rand and Thomas J. O'Donnell during the latter stages of World War II as the answer to the difficult problem of destroying the narrow wooden bridges that supported much of the Burma Railway. AZON was essentially a 1,000 lb (454 kg) general-purpose AN-M65 bomb with a quadrilateral 4-fin style radio controlled tail fin design as part of a "tail package" to give the desired guidance capability, allowing adjustment of the vertical trajectory in the yaw axis, giving the Azon unit a lateral steering capability (meaning it could only steer left and right, and could not alter its pitch or rate of fall). This lack of any pitch control meant that the bombardier still had to accurately release it with a bombsight to ensure it could not fall short of or beyond the target. The "tail package" bolted onto the standard bomb warhead, in place of the usual sheet-metal fixed fins; this concept was an early iteration of a now common method of making modern guided bombs (such as the JDAM, the Paveway family, the KAB-500L, etc.): making the guidance and control units as separate pieces that attach to the tail and/or nose of a standard "iron bomb", making it into a guided weapon. There were gyroscopes mounted in the bomb's added tail package that made it an Azon unit, to autonomously stabilize it in the roll axis via operating a pair of ailerons, and a radio control system to operate the proportional-control rudders, to directly control the bomb's direction of lateral aim, with the antennas for the tail-mounted receiver unit built into the diagonal support struts of the tail surface assembly. The bomb's receiver and control system were powered by a battery which had around three minutes of battery life. The entire setup in the added "tail package" was sufficient to guide the weapon from a 5,000-foot (1,500 m) drop height to the target. Situated on the tail of the bomb was a 600,000-candela flare which also left behind a noticeable smoke trail, to enable the bombardier to observe and control it from the control aircraft. When used in combat, it was dropped from a modified Consolidated B-24 Liberator, with earlier development test drops of the Azon in the United States sometimes using the B-17 Flying Fortress as the platform. Some ten crews, of the 458th Bombardment Group, based at RAF Horsham St Faith, were trained to drop the device for use in the European theater. The ability to only control the path of the bomb in the azimuth direction, made AZON bombs most suitable for long and narrow targets, such as bridges or railways. A disadvantage of using an AZON bomb was that after a bomb was dropped the bomber could not break way immediately because the bombardier had to keep the bomb in view so he could guide it. The bombardier used a BC-1156 joystick control to adjust the course left or right. The directional commands were sent to the guidance package via a special-purpose radio system.The 493rd Bomb Squadron also dropped Azon bombs in Burma in early 1945 from similarly-modified B-24s, based at Pandaveswar Airfield, India, with considerable success, fulfilling the designers' original purpose for the ordnance.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Azon

   AZON was one of the world's first smart bombs, deployed by the Allies and contemporary with the German Fritz X. Officially designated VB-1, it was invented by Major Henry J. Rand and Thomas J. O'Donnell during the latter stages of World War II, as the answer to the difficult problem of destroying the narrow wooden bridges that supported much of the Burma Railway. AZON was essentially a 1,000 lb General Purpose Bomb with a quadrilateral 4-fin style radio controlled tail fin design, allowing adjustment of the vertical trajectory in two planes, making basically a guided fall. There were gyroscopes mounted in the bomb to stabilise it, and a radio control system, which had around three minutes of battery life, which was sufficient to guide the weapon from a 5,000 foot drop height to the target. Situated on the tail of the bomb was a 600,000 candela flare, to enable the pilot to observe it from the control aircraft. It was dropped from a modified Consolidated B-24 Liberator. Some ten crews, of the 458th Bombardment Group, based at RAF Horsham St Faith, were trained to drop the device for use in the European theater. The 493rd Bomb Squadron also dropped Azon bombs in Burma in early 1945 from similarly-modified B-24s, based at Pandaveswar Airfield, India, with considerable success.

Anagrams for azon »

1. zona

2. onza

3. ozan

How to pronounce azon?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say azon in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of azon in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of azon in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Azon
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azon
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=azon