The RRAB-3 (, "rotationally dispersing aviation bomb"), nicknamed the Molotov bread basket (), was a Soviet-made droppable bomb dispenser that combined a large high-explosive charge with a cluster of incendiary bombs. It was used against the cities of Finland during the Winter War of 1939–1940. The bomb consisted of a cylinder long and in diameter.
Described by journalist John Langdon-Davies in 1940:
Other descriptions make no mention of a main charge and instead describe a large cylinder with vanes at the back that open out when the weapon is dropped. The vanes cause the bomb to spin and this has the effect of opening the sides and scattering the submunitions by centrifugal force.
The name came from the propaganda Vyacheslav Molotov produced during the Winter War, mainly his declaration on Soviet state radio that incendiary bombing missions over Finland were actually "airborne humanitarian food deliveries" for their "starving" neighbours.The Second Book of General Ignorance, Faber and Faber, 2011, p. 101, John Langdon-Davies, "The Lessons of Finland," Picture Post, June 1940. As a result, the Finns sarcastically dubbed the RRAB-3 incendiary cluster munitions "Molotov bread baskets" () in reference to Molotov's propaganda broadcasts. This also led to the improvised incendiary devices used by the Finns against Soviet tanks to be nicknamed Molotov cocktails, as "a drink to go with his food parcels".The Second Book of General Ignorance, Faber and Faber, 2011, p. 76,
This description seems to have become common currency among the British public in 1940. During the Bristol Blitz, the locals dubbed a similar German device "Goering's bread basket". The Japanese nickname for such devices was "Molotov flower basket" (); some survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima thought they had been hit by one.
The Soviets had several versions: RRAB-1, RRAB-2 and RRAB-3, with capacities of respectively, each capable of holding various types of submunitions including high explosive, incendiary, and chemical.
The bomb consisted of a cylinder that was long and in diameter.
See also Cluster bomb Bombing of Helsinki in World War II
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