Mark 117 bomb - Definition

The M117 is an air-dropped general-purpose bomb used by United States military forces. It dates back to the time of the Korean War of the early 1950s. Although it has a nominal weight of 750 lb (343 kg), its actual weight, depending on fuse and retardation options, is around 820 lb (373 kg).

In the 1950s through the early 1970s it was a standard aircraft weapon, carried by the F-100 Super Sabre, F-104 Starfighter, F-105 Thunderchief, F-111, and F-4 Phantom, but at present it is used only by USAF heavy bomber aircraft like the B-52 Stratofortress, tactical aircraft now tending to use the Mark 80-series bombs (particularly the Mk 82 or Mk 83 and their guided equivalents). The B-52 dropped a large number of these weapons during the 1991 Gulf War.

The M117 was the basis of the MC-1 chemical warfare bomb, which used a cannister of Sarin nerve gas. The MC-1 has never been used by the U.S. in combat, although it apparently remains in stockpile.