On this day 18 December 1915
Published: 18 Dec 2012
During the Dardanelles Campaign, Wing Commander Charles R Samson drops the first 500lb bomb.
On 18 December, Samson took off from Imbros with a 226.8 kilogram (500 pound) bomb fitted to his Henry Farman F27. "This was by far the biggest bomb that up to that date had been dropped by an aeroplane in the War" , wrote Samson. "The Henri took it up like a bird, much to my delight. I searched around for over half an hour between Anzac and Kilia Liman looking for a suitable target." He eventually dropped the bomb on a large building and scored a direct hit which entirely demolished the occupied quarters.