Editing Time bomb

{{Short description|Explosive device whose detonation is triggered by a timer}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Strage di bologna 002.jpg|thumb|500x500px|Aftermath of the [[Bologna massacre|bombing at the Bologna railway station]] in August 1980 which killed 85 people, the deadliest event during the [[Years of Lead (Italy)|Years of Lead]].]]
[[File:Grand-Hotel-Following-Bomb-Attack-1984-10-12.jpg|thumb|500px|Aftermath of the [[Brighton hotel bombing|Grand Hotel bombing]] 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 [[war]]fare. They are a frequent plot device in [[thriller film|thriller]] and [[action film]]s as they offer a way of imparting a dramatic sense of urgency.

==Construction==
[[File:Pipe bomb 01.svg|thumb|left|Diagram of a simple time bomb in the form of a [[pipe bomb]]]]
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 [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|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 [[improvise]]d from an ordinary household timer such as a wind-up [[alarm clock]], [[wrist watch]], digital kitchen timer, or [[laptop|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 [[Frogman|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 (submersible)#Attack on Eagle|Turtle submarine attack on the Eagle]]
| [[New York Harbor]], United States
| Ezra Lee and [[David Bushnell (inventor)|David Bushnell]]
| 0
| 0
| [[David Bushnell (inventor)|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
| [[City Point, Virginia#Confederate sabotage|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<ref>{{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}}</ref> 
|-
| 1875 
| [[Alexander Keith, Jr.#Bremerhaven: Attack on the Mosel|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
| [[Fenian]]s 
| 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 
| [[Eric Muenter|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
| [[Anarchist]]s (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 National Wildlife Area|Cap Tourmente]], [[Canada]]
| Albert Guay
| 23
| 0
| [[Uxoricide|Murder]]; [[insurance fraud]]
|-
| 1955 
| [[United Airlines Flight 629]] 
| Over [[Longmont, Colorado]], US
| [[Jack Gilbert Graham]] 
| 44
| 0
| [[Matricide|Murder]]; insurance fraud
|-
| 1956 
| Milk Bar, Place Bugeaud,<br>Cafeteria, Rue Michelet,<br>[[Air France]] office (failed to detonate)
| [[Algiers]], [[French Algeria]]
| [[Djamila Bouhired]]<br>[[Zohra Drif]]<br>Samia Lakhdari 
| 3
| 50
| Reprisal bombings at start of the [[Algerian War]], September 30, 1956<ref>{{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}}</ref> Part of the so-called [[Café Wars]] 
|-
| 1963-1971
| [[Timeline of the Front de libération du Québec|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
| [[List of Weatherman actions|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 
| [[1972 Aldershot bombing|Aldershot bombing]] 
| [[Aldershot]], United Kingdom
| [[Official Irish Republican Army|Official IRA]] 
| 7
| 18
| A 280&nbsp;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 bomb]]s Part of anti-[[Irish Nationalism]] campaign. Biggest loss of life from an attack during the [[Northern Ireland]] [[the Troubles|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|Sinking of the ''Rainbow Warrior'']]
| [[Auckland]], [[New Zealand]]
| French [[Directorate-General for External Security|DGSE]] 
| 1
| 0
| Two [[limpet mine]]s, 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 movement|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 
| [[1993 World Trade Center bombing|World Trade Center bombing]] 
| [[New York City]], US
| [[Ramzi Yousef]]
| 6
| 1,042
| Truck bomb used 20&nbsp;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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 
|-
|1999 
| [[Russian apartment bombings]] 
| [[Buynaksk]]<br>[[Moscow]]<br>[[Volgodonsk]], Russia
| Chechen rebels led by [[Ibn al-Khattab|Khattab]] (suspected)

| 293 
| 651
| 4 bombs over 4 days; purpose unknown.<ref>{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909040001|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909040001|publisher=[[National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism|START]] | access-date = 13 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909090002|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909090002 |publisher=[[National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism|START]] | access-date = 13 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909130003|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909130003 |publisher=[[National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism|START]] | access-date = 13 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Incident summary for GDT ID: 199909160002|url=https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/IncidentSummary.aspx?gtdid=199909160002|publisher=[[National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism|START]] | access-date = 13 April 2020}}</ref>
|-
| 2003 
| [[Murder of Brian Wells]] 
| [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], US
| Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong<br>Kenneth Barnes
| 1 
| 
| Silence witness to forced bank robbery; timed body bomb
|-
| 2006 
| [[2006 Moscow market bombing|Moscow market bombing]] 
| Moscow, Russia
| Racialist organization
| 13
| 46
| Racially motivated attack
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[Fuse (explosives)]]
* [[Ticking time bomb scenario]] (hypothetical justification of torture)
* [[Time bomb (software)|Software time bomb]]

==References==
{{wiktionary|time bomb}}
{{commons category|Time bombs}}
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bombs]]
[[Category:Improvised explosive devices]]