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Ok, I’ve been gone for a couple days. As I mentioned the other day, my grandmother celebrated her birthday, the 95th of her life. It was pretty special to be able to travel up to see her, and to see my other grandmother as well. So needless to say, I’m a little behind, as it’s now the 15th. But there’s a topic from yesterday that I want to touch briefly.
Last month, Denny’s decided to give a free Grand Slam breakfast to everybody who came in for one. It was a tremendous success, with lines that were miles long (ok, not quite that long) and people who camped out overnight in February temperatures to claim a spot.
But grand slams go way back…they’ve been a part of baseball parlance since the 9-player sport was started more than a hundred years ago. And in World War II, the military had their version, and it’s our topic of conversation for today.
In 1942, the British Royal Air Force tested and used a series of large conventional bombs, designed to blow up underground or heavily reinforced structures. Starting at 8,000 pounds, the devices grew to 12,000 pounds the following year. But an even bigger, badder bomb was in developement.
Called the Grand Slam, it weighed 22,000 pounds, was more than 25 feet tall (note the guy to the left of the photo), and had to be dropped from a heavily modified Avro Lancaster bomber. And since these were extremely specialized missions, only one squadron would do. Known as “The Dambuster Squadron” (for their missions against German dams in 1943), No. 617 Squadron was the most experienced group of flyers for the job.
The first “Grand Slam” mission was carried out on March 14, 1945. The target was the strategically important railroad viaduct in Bielefeld, Germany. The size of the bomb and its explosion meant that a direct hit wasn’t necessary, and “close enough” was more than enough to knock down more than 300 feet of the viaduct, rendering it completely useless.
The Grand Slams would be used several times in the War’s final months on hard-to-penetrate targets like submarine pens or against targets like the Bielefeld viaduct where a strong proximity concussion was necessary.
But these devices cost way more than “free” at Denny’s.
Recommended Activity: Visit Denny’s and enjoy a “Slam” Breakfast in honor of the biggest of all slams.
Today's History Lesson 