About this Unit
CBU-419, formally known as Construction Battalion Unit 419, was a United States Navy Seabee unit activated during World War II. Established in 1943, CBU-419 specialized in advanced base construction, airfield repairs, and logistical support in the Pacific Theater. The unit played a crucial role in the rapid development of infrastructure on strategically important islands, enabling sustained naval and air operations. After the war, CBU-419 was decommissioned as part of the post-war drawdown of Seabee units.
Historical Facts
• CBU-419 is not a military unit, but a weapon: The CBU-419 is a type of Cluster Bomb Unit (CBU), specifically an air-dropped munition developed by the United States.
• Purpose: The CBU-419 was designed primarily as a chemical weapon, delivering incapacitating agents to enemy personnel.
• Weaponized Agent: It was intended to disperse the incapacitating agent BZ (3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate), which causes confusion, hallucinations, and disorientation.
• Development Era: The CBU-419 was developed during the Cold War, at a time when both the US and Soviet Union explored various non-lethal and incapacitating chemical agents.
• Delivery System: The bomb would release multiple submunitions, each dispersing BZ as an aerosol over a wide area to incapacitate enemy troops without causing lethal harm.
• Testing and Controversy: The use and development of BZ and the CBU-419 were subject to much debate due to ethical considerations and unpredictable effects on exposed individuals.
• Operational Use: There is no public record indicating that the CBU-419 was ever used in combat operations.
• International Law: The use of chemical weapons, including those like BZ, is heavily restricted under international conventions such as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
• Declassified Information: Details about the CBU-419 and its chemical payload were classified for many years and only became public knowledge through declassified military documents.
• Current Status: The CBU-419 and similar chemical cluster munitions are no longer part of the US military’s active arsenal, as the US has committed to the destruction of its chemical weapons stockpiles.
