This American designed bomb was used for night photography and developed so that planes engaged in night photography reconnaissance need not be limited to low altitude. In appearance the bomb resembled a conventional light case bomb. It used a M111A2 fuze in the nose but was issued unfuzed. It also had two suspension bands for rack and shackle suspension.
The bomb had a box type tail with a square drag plate closing off the tail vane assembly. When the bomb was dropped the arming wire was pulled, starting the mechanical time fuze. When the time set on the fuze had elapsed, the fuze booster ignited the flashlight powder. The resulting flash of light lasted for about 1/5th of a second and had a peak intensity of approximately 500,000,000 candlepower. Because of the brilliance of the flash it would have been detrimental to the vision to watch the explosion of a photoflash bomb. xtreme care needed to be exercised in handling these bombs as the charge was very sensitive to friction, shock and temperature
