`Daisy Cutter': U.S. Hopes Biggest Conventional Bomb Will Blast Morale

WASHINGTON - Use of the largest conventional bomb in the U.S. arsenal - the 15,000-pound ``BLU-82'' - in recent allied air attacks on Iraq is part of an intensified effort to shake enemy troop morale before a ground offensive, officials say.

Warplanes began dropping the massive bomb, also known as a ``daisy cutter,'' last week and are expected to continue during the phase of softening up Iraqi troops for the anticipated U.S. ground assault. ``There are a lot more to come'' in the next several days, one senior military officer said.

Military officials said yesterday that the huge bombs were being used for their ``shock value,'' in hopes of shattering Iraqi morale and inducing large-scale defections.

The dropping of the bombs last week was followed by a rain of leaflets promising more bombardment and warning that the only way Iraqi soldiers could escape the punishment was to turn themselves in as prisoners.

The name ``daisy cutter'' derives from the fact that the weapon is detonated above ground and flattens everything in its large blast radius. The concussion at the point of detonation is equivalent to that of a small nuclear weapon, although the device does not use or release radiation, according to published descriptions.

Its explosive yield varies from 12,600 pounds to 15,000 pounds, according to Air Force documents, compared with the next largest munitions used - 2,000-pound bombs dropped from aircraft and

1,900-pound shells fired from 16-inch guns aboard battleships in the Persian Gulf.

The BLU-82, also known as Big Blue 82, is dropped from C-130 transport planes, because it cannot be fitted under any U.S. fighter or tactical bomber, Air Force officials said.

Last used in Vietnam to clear helicopter landing zones in the jungle, the BLU-82 detonates 3 to 6 feet above the ground to maximize the shock wave, clearing an area with a diameter of 300 to 600 yards.

In open desert, the ear-shattering shock waves would ``ripple off into infinity,'' an Air Force official said yesterday.