Thread: Range of Bombs Used By The Allies

R.A.F. range of bombs from the 500-lb to the largest, the 12,000-pounder: the enormous size of the latter can be gauged from the R.A.F. men standing behind it; the 8,000-lb. bomb is not shown. The bomb in front of the 12,000-pounder is a 4,000-pounder

Record bombing attack on Duisburg, largest inland port in Europe, about 150 miles from the mouth of the Rhine, was carried out on October 15th 1944. This, the R.A.F.’s biggest single night operation, followed a similar attack the previous day, when over 1,000 Lancaster’s and Halifaxes dropped nearly 5,000 tons of bombs for the loss of 14 bombers. This picture shows a Lancaster dropping a 4,000.lb bomb and a shower of incendiaries in the said attack.

Hi Jim

I'm afraid you're a couple of pound short.

The largest British bomb during WW2 was the "Grand Slam" at 22,000 pounds. This was the big brother to the 12,000 pound "Tallboy".

Both bombs were designed by Barnes Wallace, and both were of an aerodynamic cofiguration with the fuse set in the tail section, allowing the bomb to penetrate deeper before exploding.

They were designed as "Earthquake" bombs, meaning that a near miss could be even more damaging than a direct hit, either by shaking to destruction the foundations of the target, by creating a huge void underground into which the target would fall or by exploding underneath the target, as the Tallboy did in the final attack on the Tirpitz, snapping the keel of the ship.

The Grand Slam was designed to be released from above 20,000 feet, allowing it to achieve supersonic speeds on impact, but even the mighty Lancaster couldn't lift it above 18,000 feet. Even from that height it did some awsome damage to viaducts and tunnels.

Brian.