Albert Lee Weimorts Jr., 67, a former Mobile-area resident who is credited with conceiving and designing the non-nuclear "Mother of All Bombs" and other powerful explosive devices, died Wednesday at his home in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after an illness.
Weimorts was for some 37 years a civilian engineer for the Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before retiring in late 2003 as chief engineer.
The DeFuniak Springs, Fla., native grew up in Eight Mile and graduated from Vigor High School in Prichard. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University, family members said.
Just prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, "Al conceived and led the development of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)," according to the program from his retirement ceremony held at Eglin on Dec. 4, 2003. The 21,500-pound bomb garnered the nickname "Mother of All Bombs."
The bomb was tested by the Air Force in early March 2003 at Eglin. However, according to a March 18, 2003, Los Angeles Times article, "The only real use for this kind of indiscriminate terror weapon is to scare the bejesus out of Saddam Hussein." Its drawbacks, the article states, are that it "is so huge it can be dropped only from a military cargo aircraft that flies slowly and at low altitudes. Those conditions make it vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons." The article contended that its use could cause large civilian casualties.
MOAB, which has never been used in combat, remains the largest and most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, officials said.
The "Mother of All Bombs" nickname was derived from a swaggering Saddam Hussein's threat at the start of the first Gulf War that he would wage the "Mother of All Battles" against U.S. military forces.
Among other bomb projects Weimorts managed at Eglin was the GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to attack multilayered, hardened underground targets in Iraq. He also was the project engineer for the BLU-26 Magnus lift cluster bomb used in the Vietnam War.
Weimorts, according to the program, also served two tours with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq as a weapons inspector.
"I considered him to be a national asset," said Larry Pitts of Crestview, Fla., who said he had worked with Weimorts at the Munitions Directorate for many years. In a telephone interview with the Mobile Register on Monday, Pitts said, "He's done a lot for the country in different capacities." He added, "Al was a good man; a family man. He helped out a lot of people."
Weimorts is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy Weimorts of Fort Walton Beach; his mother, Versie Weimorts of Tillman's Corner; three sons, Michael Weimorts, Todd Weimorts and Paul Weimorts, all of Fort Walton Beach; two sisters, Joyce Myrick of Tillman's Corner and Audrey Schaeffer of Knoxville, Tenn.; and four grandchildren.
Services will begin at 1 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach. Interment will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery. Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach is in charge of arrangements.
The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, Gideons International or a favorite charity. CUTLINES Weimorts
(Mobile Register (AL) - December 27, 2005)
Weimorts was for some 37 years a civilian engineer for the Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before retiring in late 2003 as chief engineer.
The DeFuniak Springs, Fla., native grew up in Eight Mile and graduated from Vigor High School in Prichard. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University, family members said.
Just prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, "Al conceived and led the development of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)," according to the program from his retirement ceremony held at Eglin on Dec. 4, 2003. The 21,500-pound bomb garnered the nickname "Mother of All Bombs."
The bomb was tested by the Air Force in early March 2003 at Eglin. However, according to a March 18, 2003, Los Angeles Times article, "The only real use for this kind of indiscriminate terror weapon is to scare the bejesus out of Saddam Hussein." Its drawbacks, the article states, are that it "is so huge it can be dropped only from a military cargo aircraft that flies slowly and at low altitudes. Those conditions make it vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons." The article contended that its use could cause large civilian casualties.
MOAB, which has never been used in combat, remains the largest and most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, officials said.
The "Mother of All Bombs" nickname was derived from a swaggering Saddam Hussein's threat at the start of the first Gulf War that he would wage the "Mother of All Battles" against U.S. military forces.
Among other bomb projects Weimorts managed at Eglin was the GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to attack multilayered, hardened underground targets in Iraq. He also was the project engineer for the BLU-26 Magnus lift cluster bomb used in the Vietnam War.
Weimorts, according to the program, also served two tours with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq as a weapons inspector.
"I considered him to be a national asset," said Larry Pitts of Crestview, Fla., who said he had worked with Weimorts at the Munitions Directorate for many years. In a telephone interview with the Mobile Register on Monday, Pitts said, "He's done a lot for the country in different capacities." He added, "Al was a good man; a family man. He helped out a lot of people."
Weimorts is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy Weimorts of Fort Walton Beach; his mother, Versie Weimorts of Tillman's Corner; three sons, Michael Weimorts, Todd Weimorts and Paul Weimorts, all of Fort Walton Beach; two sisters, Joyce Myrick of Tillman's Corner and Audrey Schaeffer of Knoxville, Tenn.; and four grandchildren.
Services will begin at 1 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach. Interment will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery. Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach is in charge of arrangements.
The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, Gideons International or a favorite charity. CUTLINES Weimorts
(Mobile Register (AL) - December 27, 2005)
Albert Lee Weimorts Jr., 67, a former Mobile-area resident who is credited with conceiving and designing the non-nuclear "Mother of All Bombs" and other powerful explosive devices, died Wednesday at his home in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., after an illness.
Weimorts was for some 37 years a civilian engineer for the Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before retiring in late 2003 as chief engineer.
The DeFuniak Springs, Fla., native grew up in Eight Mile and graduated from Vigor High School in Prichard. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University, family members said.
Just prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, "Al conceived and led the development of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)," according to the program from his retirement ceremony held at Eglin on Dec. 4, 2003. The 21,500-pound bomb garnered the nickname "Mother of All Bombs."
The bomb was tested by the Air Force in early March 2003 at Eglin. However, according to a March 18, 2003, Los Angeles Times article, "The only real use for this kind of indiscriminate terror weapon is to scare the bejesus out of Saddam Hussein." Its drawbacks, the article states, are that it "is so huge it can be dropped only from a military cargo aircraft that flies slowly and at low altitudes. Those conditions make it vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons." The article contended that its use could cause large civilian casualties.
MOAB, which has never been used in combat, remains the largest and most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, officials said.
The "Mother of All Bombs" nickname was derived from a swaggering Saddam Hussein's threat at the start of the first Gulf War that he would wage the "Mother of All Battles" against U.S. military forces.
Among other bomb projects Weimorts managed at Eglin was the GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to attack multilayered, hardened underground targets in Iraq. He also was the project engineer for the BLU-26 Magnus lift cluster bomb used in the Vietnam War.
Weimorts, according to the program, also served two tours with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq as a weapons inspector.
"I considered him to be a national asset," said Larry Pitts of Crestview, Fla., who said he had worked with Weimorts at the Munitions Directorate for many years. In a telephone interview with the Mobile Register on Monday, Pitts said, "He's done a lot for the country in different capacities." He added, "Al was a good man; a family man. He helped out a lot of people."
Weimorts is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy Weimorts of Fort Walton Beach; his mother, Versie Weimorts of Tillman's Corner; three sons, Michael Weimorts, Todd Weimorts and Paul Weimorts, all of Fort Walton Beach; two sisters, Joyce Myrick of Tillman's Corner and Audrey Schaeffer of Knoxville, Tenn.; and four grandchildren.
Services will begin at 1 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach. Interment will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery. Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach is in charge of arrangements.
The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, Gideons International or a favorite charity. CUTLINES Weimorts
(Mobile Register (AL) - December 27, 2005)
Weimorts was for some 37 years a civilian engineer for the Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before retiring in late 2003 as chief engineer.
The DeFuniak Springs, Fla., native grew up in Eight Mile and graduated from Vigor High School in Prichard. He obtained bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Mississippi State University, family members said.
Just prior to the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, "Al conceived and led the development of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB)," according to the program from his retirement ceremony held at Eglin on Dec. 4, 2003. The 21,500-pound bomb garnered the nickname "Mother of All Bombs."
The bomb was tested by the Air Force in early March 2003 at Eglin. However, according to a March 18, 2003, Los Angeles Times article, "The only real use for this kind of indiscriminate terror weapon is to scare the bejesus out of Saddam Hussein." Its drawbacks, the article states, are that it "is so huge it can be dropped only from a military cargo aircraft that flies slowly and at low altitudes. Those conditions make it vulnerable to anti-aircraft weapons." The article contended that its use could cause large civilian casualties.
MOAB, which has never been used in combat, remains the largest and most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. arsenal, officials said.
The "Mother of All Bombs" nickname was derived from a swaggering Saddam Hussein's threat at the start of the first Gulf War that he would wage the "Mother of All Battles" against U.S. military forces.
Among other bomb projects Weimorts managed at Eglin was the GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" used in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 to attack multilayered, hardened underground targets in Iraq. He also was the project engineer for the BLU-26 Magnus lift cluster bomb used in the Vietnam War.
Weimorts, according to the program, also served two tours with the United Nations Special Commission in Iraq as a weapons inspector.
"I considered him to be a national asset," said Larry Pitts of Crestview, Fla., who said he had worked with Weimorts at the Munitions Directorate for many years. In a telephone interview with the Mobile Register on Monday, Pitts said, "He's done a lot for the country in different capacities." He added, "Al was a good man; a family man. He helped out a lot of people."
Weimorts is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy Weimorts of Fort Walton Beach; his mother, Versie Weimorts of Tillman's Corner; three sons, Michael Weimorts, Todd Weimorts and Paul Weimorts, all of Fort Walton Beach; two sisters, Joyce Myrick of Tillman's Corner and Audrey Schaeffer of Knoxville, Tenn.; and four grandchildren.
Services will begin at 1 p.m. today at the First Baptist Church in Fort Walton Beach. Interment will follow in Beal Memorial Cemetery. Emerald Coast Funeral Home in Fort Walton Beach is in charge of arrangements.
The family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, Gideons International or a favorite charity. CUTLINES Weimorts
(Mobile Register (AL) - December 27, 2005)
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