time bomb

{{Short description|Explosive device whose detonation is triggered by a timer}}

File:Strage di bologna 002.jpg in August 1980 which killed 85 people, the deadliest event during the Years of Lead.]]

File:Grand-Hotel-Following-Bomb-Attack-1984-10-12.jpg 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, but 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

File:Pipe bomb 01.svg]]

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:

Delay-action bomb (bombs dropped by aircraft with a delay to increase damage/disruption)
Improvised explosive device ("home-made" bombs with a delay to allow the person placing the bomb to escape)
Limpet mine (attached to enemy ships by naval divers)

List of notable incidents involving time bombs

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;font-size: 9pt"
rowspan="1"\|Year !width="200" rowspan="1"\| Event !width="150" rowspan="1"\| Location !width="125" rowspan="1"\| Perpetrator(s) !width="75" rowspan="1"\| Deaths !width="75" rowspan="1"\| Injuries !width="250" rowspan="1"\|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{{cite news\|last1=Grady\|first1=John\|title=The Confederate Torpedo\|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/the-confederate-torpedo/?_r=0\|access-date=1 September 2015\|work=New York Times\|agency=New York Times\|date=August 15, 2014}}
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{{cite book\|last1=Gannon\|first1=James\|title=Military occupations in the age of self-determination: The history neocons neglected\|date=2008\|publisher=Praeger Security International\|location=Westport CT\|isbn=978-0-313-35382-6\|page=49\|url=http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/134069/8b5e07efcce5d46a41dde1a7bc08dfcd.pdf?sequence=1\|access-date=21 February 2015\|archive-date=21 February 2015\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221213546/http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/134069/8b5e07efcce5d46a41dde1a7bc08dfcd.pdf?sequence=1\|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite news \|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm \|title=10 years later, the real story behind Columbine \|date=April 14, 2009}}
1999 \| Russian apartment bombings \| Buynaksk Moscow Volgodonsk, Russia \| Chechen rebels led by Khattab (suspected) \| 293 \| 651 \| 4 bombs over 4 days; purpose unknown.{{cite web \|title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909040001\|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909040001\|publisher=START \| access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web \|title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909090002\|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909090002 \|publisher=START \| access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web \|title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909130003\|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909130003 \|publisher=START \| access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web \|title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909160002\|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909160002\|publisher=START \| access-date = 13 April 2020}}
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

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;font-size: 9pt"

rowspan="1"|Year

!width="200" rowspan="1"| Event

!width="150" rowspan="1"| Location

!width="125" rowspan="1"| Perpetrator(s)

!width="75" rowspan="1"| Deaths

!width="75" rowspan="1"| Injuries

!width="250" rowspan="1"|Comments

1776

| Turtle submarine attack on the Eagle

| New York Harbor, United States

| Ezra Lee and David Bushnell

| 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{{cite news|last1=Grady|first1=John|title=The Confederate Torpedo|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/15/the-confederate-torpedo/?_r=0|access-date=1 September 2015|work=New York Times|agency=New York Times|date=August 15, 2014}}

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{{cite book|last1=Gannon|first1=James|title=Military occupations in the age of self-determination: The history neocons neglected|date=2008|publisher=Praeger Security International|location=Westport CT|isbn=978-0-313-35382-6|page=49|url=http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/134069/8b5e07efcce5d46a41dde1a7bc08dfcd.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=21 February 2015|archive-date=21 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221213546/http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/134069/8b5e07efcce5d46a41dde1a7bc08dfcd.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=dead}} 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

| 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.{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-04-13-columbine-myths_N.htm |title=10 years later, the real story behind Columbine |date=April 14, 2009}}

1999

| Russian apartment bombings

| Buynaksk
Moscow
Volgodonsk, Russia

| Chechen rebels led by Khattab (suspected)

| 293

| 651

| 4 bombs over 4 days; purpose unknown.{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909040001|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909040001|publisher=START | access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909090002|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909090002 |publisher=START | access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909130003|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909130003 |publisher=START | access-date = 13 April 2020}}{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909160002|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909160002|publisher=START | access-date = 13 April 2020}}

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