KhAB-500

The KhAB-500 is the provisional naming of a series of World War II-era aerial bombs developed by the Soviet Air Force to deliver chemical weapons.

History and Design
KhAB-500s were typically filled with yperite (R-5) or phosgene (R-10). It was 17.7 in in diameter and about 94 in long. Its loaded weight was about 650 lb including roughly 375 lb of chemical agent and a 2.5-3.6 lb impact-fused burst charge.

Upon detonation, the KhAB-500 R-10 would create a hemispherical cloud of gas with a radius of 20-25 m. In ideal weather conditions, the phosgene cloud could produce serious medical effects up to 500 m downwind.

The KhAB-500 was carried by Soviet Union era aircraft.

The bomb was removed from service as a result of the Chemical Weapons Convention in the early 1990s.