M125 bomblet

The M125 bomblet was a sub-munition of the M34 cluster bomb, which was first brought into regular service by the United States Army in 1954.^[1] In development the M125 was known as the E54R6 bomblet (shortened to E54).^[2] The M34 and its payload of M125s was the first air-delivered nerve agent weapon in the U.S. chemical arsenal.^[2] Later, the Chemical Corps developed chemical-biological warheads for multiple missile systems including, Matador, Rascal, Snark, and Navaho missiles.^[2] These warheads incorporated the M125 bomblet and the M114 bomblet.^[2] Over 21,000 of the M125 containing M34 bombs were destroyed at Rocky Mountain Arsenal in 1976.^[3]

The M34 was designed to hold 76 M125 bomblets,^[1] arranged in four groups of 19.^[3] Each bomblet held 2.6 pounds (1.2 kg) of the nerve agent sarin, and 8.8 ounces (250 g) of the explosive tetryl.^[3] The ten pound cylindrical M125 bomblet also held an opening delay, fuze and parachute, as well as a burster, which contained the explosive.^[3] A M34 cluster bomb, fully loaded with M125 bomblets, had an agent weight to weapon weight ratio of 17 percent; the M34 and M125 were not the best delivery system.^[2] Eventually, cylindrical chemical bomblets, such as the M125, were supplanted by spherical models because they could obtain a greater coverage area.^[2]