Munitions

BL-755 cluster bomb

Also known as
  • BL755
  • BL 755
  • IBL755
  • RBL755
  • Hunting BL755

The BL-755 is a British air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb developed for very-low-level attacks against armored formations and built around a 600 lb dispenser carrying 147 bomblets. The family later included parachute-retarded bomblets and the radar-altimeter RBL755 variant, with direct conflict-use sourcing for British use in the Falklands, Gulf War and Kosovo, and Saudi-led coalition use in Yemen.

BL-755 cluster bomb, Air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb, Munitions
Image source: BL 755 cluster bomb image

Role in Conflicts

1982 Falklands War
Fire SupportInterdiction
Side
United Kingdom

RAF Museum material identifies BL755 as carried by RAF Harrier GR.3s during the Falklands Conflict and describes the display example as the type used against fuel dumps, aircraft on the ground, and infantry positions.

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United Kingdom
Type
Air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb
Service note
Introduced in the early 1970s; combat use documented from the 1982 Falklands War through Yemen in 2015-2016
Designer
Hunting Engineering Ltd
Designed
Early 1970s
Produced
1970s-1980s; RBL755 conversion work continued into the 1990s

Specifications

Munition class
Air-dropped cluster bomb
Payload
147 high-explosive dual-purpose bomblets
Primary role
Anti-armor area attack with secondary anti-personnel effects
Dispenser structure
600 lb body with frangible side petals, SAFU, and gas-ejected bomblets
Launch platform
Combat aircraft, including Harrier GR3, Jaguar GR1, Buccaneer S2, Tornado and Saudi Tornado strike aircraft in sourced service or carriage context
Guidance
Unguided dispenser munition
Nominal weight
About 600 lb / 272 kg
RBL755 release aid
Motorola radar altimeter delayed side-petal deployment until close to the ground for medium-altitude release
Design Evolution

The BL755 family evolved around the same dispenser concept: a low-level aircraft overflight released a 600 lb body whose frangible side petals opened to scatter 147 bomblets. Later changes focused on bomblet orientation and release height rather than turning the weapon into a guided munition.

Low-level requirement

RAF Historical Society material ties BL755 to SR(A)1197, a requirement for a very-low-level anti-armor weapon that avoided older pop-up or dive attack profiles.

Bomblet change

The No. 2 Mk 1 bomblet replaced the stabilising coronet with a mini-parachute to improve the shaped-charge strike angle against heavier armor.

RBL755 release aid

The RBL755 conversion added a Motorola radar altimeter so the dispenser could delay opening until close to the ground during medium-altitude release.

Variants

The public designations distinguish the baseline low-level dispenser, the improved bomblet configuration, and the radar-altimeter RBL755 release variant.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
BL755Baseline low-level dispenser

RAF Historical Society material identifies the initial in-service weapon as BL755 No. 1 Mk 4, with a 600 lb body, frangible side petals, SAFU, and 147 gas-ejected armor-piercing bomblets.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum)

IBL755Improved bomblet configuration

Cluster Munition Monitor stockpile material lists IBL755 No. 2 Mk. 1, while the RAF Historical Society account describes the No. 2 Mk 1 parachute-retarded bomblet change made to improve shaped-charge strike angle against heavier armor.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum), Cluster Munition Monitor Stockpile Destruction Factsheet

RBL755Radar-altimeter release variant

RAF Historical Society and Human Rights Watch material describe RBL755 as a BL755 modification with a radar altimeter for medium-altitude release, later used in Operation Allied Force.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum), Appendix A: Descriptions of Cluster Bomb Types

Carrier Aircraft

RAF Historical Society material identifies Harrier GR3, Jaguar GR1 and Buccaneer S2 as RAF aircraft that entered service with BL755 in 1973, while Tornado material documents later BL755 carriage in the Tornado GR1 attack role.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Buccaneer S2, Strike aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsBuccaneer S2Strike aircraft

The RAF Historical Society paper identifies the Buccaneer S2 as one of the RAF aircraft that entered service with BL755 in 1973.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum)

Harrier GR3, Strike aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsHarrier GR3Strike aircraft

The RAF Historical Society paper identifies the Harrier GR3 as one of the RAF aircraft that entered service with BL755 in 1973.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum)

SEPECAT Jaguar, Supersonic jet attack aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsSEPECAT JaguarStrike aircraft

RAF Historical Society material identifies the Jaguar GR1 as one of the RAF aircraft that entered service with BL755 in 1973; declassified Gulf War mission reports also document RAF Jaguar BL755 release on 31 January 1991.

Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum), Selected Tornado and Jaguar Mission Reports for the Period 16th January to 23rd February 1991

Panavia Tornado, Twin-engine variable-sweep wing multirole strike aircraft, Aircraft & UAVsPanavia TornadoStrike aircraft

The RAF Historical Society Tornado paper says the Tornado GR1 was initially declared using the BL755 cluster bomb in the attack role.

Sources: THE BIRTH OF TORNADO | RAF Museum

Timeline

BL-755 cluster bomb Key Events

  1. Initial RAF service

    RAF Historical Society material states that BL755 entered service in its initial form with the Harrier GR3, Jaguar GR1 and Buccaneer S2 in 1973.

    Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum)

  2. Falklands combat use

    RAF Museum material identifies BL755 as a cluster bomb carried by RAF Harrier GR.3s during the Falklands Conflict.

    Sources: RAF Museum BL755 Falklands Display Guide

  3. Operation Granby BL755 release

    A declassified RAF Jaguar report records eight CBU BL755 weapons expended against a ZSU-23-4 and truck target during the Gulf War.

    Sources: Selected Tornado and Jaguar Mission Reports for the Period 16th January to 23rd February 1991

  4. RBL755 in Operation Allied Force

    Human Rights Watch reported that RAF Harrier GR7s began dropping RBL755 cluster bombs in Operation Allied Force on 6 April 1999.

    Sources: Ticking Time Bombs: NATO's Use of Cluster Munitions in Yugoslavia

  5. UK withdrawal decision

    RAF Historical Society and UK Ministry of Defence material place BL755 withdrawal in the period after the United Kingdom accepted the 2007 Oslo cluster-munition principles.

    Sources: ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum), UK Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08

Media

BL-755 cluster bomb Images

BL-755 cluster bomb, Air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb, Munitions - view 1
Source: BL 755 DanielHP image
BL-755 cluster bomb, Air-dropped anti-armor cluster bomb, Munitions - view 2
Source: BL755 side view image
Related Weapon Systems
Mk 118 Rockeye submunition, HEAT cluster submunition, MunitionsMunitionsMk 118 Rockeye submunitionHEAT cluster submunitionThe Mk 118 Rockeye is a U.S. high-explosive anti-tank submunition carried in Rockeye-family cluster bombs, including Mk 20, CBU-99, and CBU-100 configurations that release 247 bomblets over an area target. Its shaped-charge warhead and folding fins made it an anti-armor bomblet, while failed functioning creates unexploded-ordnance hazards after a strike. The submunition is documented through Rockeye use in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Kosovo, the 2003 Iraq War, and North Sinai, where Amnesty International linked an unexploded Mk 118 to Egyptian Air Force cluster-munition use during Operation Sinai 2018.
140mm BL 5.5-inch gun, Towed medium gun-howitzer, ArtilleryArtillery140mm BL 5.5-inch gunTowed medium gun-howitzerThe 140mm BL 5.5-inch gun was a British towed medium artillery piece built around a split-trail carriage, separate-loading ammunition, and a 10-person detachment. British units received the gun in 1941, Australian War Memorial and Royal Artillery sources place its first operational service in May 1942, and the type served with British and Commonwealth forces in North Africa, Italy, and northwest Europe before later South African G2 use in the Border War.

Sources

Bomb Cluster HE 600lb No 1 Mk 1 and 2 (BL755)Publisher: Imperial War Museums | Note: Supports BL-755 background as a 600 lb airborne cluster munition and describes development, manufacture, testing, and bomblet release. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BL755 British Cluster BombPublisher: OE Data Integration Network | Note: Supports general BL-755 background, target set, and classification as a cluster bomb. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Appendix A: Descriptions of Cluster Bomb TypesPublisher: Human Rights Watch | Note: Supports manufacturer attribution to Hunting Engineering, technical background on BL-755 bomblet functioning, and 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force direct use by noting that NATO used RBL755 in Operation Allied Force. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Saudi Arabia-led coalition has used UK-manufactured cluster bombs in YemenPublisher: Amnesty International UK | Note: Supports 2014 Yemen Civil War direct use: BL-755 cluster bombs used by Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces in Yemen and recovered near Al Khadra in Hajjah governorate. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Saudi Arabia: Immediately abandon all use of cluster munitionsPublisher: Amnesty International | Note: Supports 2014 Yemen Civil War direct use: Saudi-led coalition spokesperson said BL-755 cluster munitions were used by coalition forces in Yemen and would no longer be used. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Saudi Arabia admits it used UK-made cluster bombs in YemenPublisher: The Guardian | Note: Supports 2014 Yemen Civil War direct use: Saudi officials acknowledged BL755 cluster munitions were used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen between December 2015 and January 2016. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BL 755 cluster bomb imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a RAF Museum BL-755 cutaway photograph licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BL 755 DanielHP imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a BL-755 photograph licensed CC BY-SA 2.0 and reviewed from Flickr. | Accessed: 2026-07-04BL755 side view imagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a BL-755 side-view photograph licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. | Accessed: 2026-07-04ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 45 (RAF Museum)Publisher: RAF Museum | Note: Supports BL-755 design history, initial RAF service with Harrier GR3, Jaguar GR1 and Buccaneer S2 aircraft in 1973, No. 2 Mk 1 bomblet changes, RBL755 radar-altimeter conversion, Falklands reliability context, and UK withdrawal background. | Accessed: 2026-07-04THE BIRTH OF TORNADO | RAF MuseumPublisher: RAF Museum | Note: Supports BL-755 carriage by the Tornado GR1 by describing the aircraft's initial attack-role fit with BL755. | Accessed: 2026-07-04RAF Museum BL755 Falklands Display GuidePublisher: Royal Air Force Museum | Note: Supports 1982 Falklands War direct use: identifies BL755 as carried by RAF Harrier GR.3s during the Falklands Conflict and describes use against fuel dumps, grounded aircraft, and infantry positions. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Selected Tornado and Jaguar Mission Reports for the Period 16th January to 23rd February 1991Publisher: Royal Air Force Centre for Air and Space Power Studies | Note: Supports 1990 Gulf War direct use: a declassified RAF Jaguar report records eight CBU BL755 expended on 31 January 1991 against a ZSU-23-4 and truck target. | Accessed: 2026-07-04House of Commons Kosovo Air Campaign ReportPublisher: UK Parliament | Note: Supports 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force direct use: states that the RAF dropped 531 BL755 cluster bombs during the Kosovo air campaign and discusses their anti-armor role and limitations. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Ticking Time Bombs: NATO's Use of Cluster Munitions in YugoslaviaPublisher: Human Rights Watch / Refworld | Note: Supports 1999 Kosovo War / Operation Allied Force direct use: identifies British RAF Harrier GR7 RBL755 drops from 6 April 1999 and describes RBL755 targets and bomblet count. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Cluster Munition Monitor Stockpile Destruction FactsheetPublisher: Cluster Munition Monitor | Note: Supports variant designation context by listing BL755, IBL755 and RBL755 No. 2 Mk. 1 stockpile entries with 147 submunitions. | Accessed: 2026-07-04UK Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08Publisher: UK Ministry of Defence | Note: Supports UK withdrawal context after the 2007 Oslo cluster-munition policy commitment. | Accessed: 2026-07-04