Standard Bombs Used By The British Thru WWII

[Jim]

Although there existed in 1918 not only the 816.5-kg (1,800-lb) GP high explosive bomb used principally by No. 207 Squadron RAF, together with the 1496.9-kg (3,300-lb) HE bomb intended to be delivered by the Handley Page V/1500, these were comparatively crude weapons. The art of bomb design was concentrated on the lighter types, so that at the outbreak of World War II offensive loads consisted in the main of bombs weighing 113.4 kg (250 lb) or 226.8 kg (500 lb).

The 54-kg (120-lb) GP HE bomb was one of a series of new, improved bombs of better aerodynamic shape than those used since World War I. This weapon replaced the old 50-kg (112-lb) GP bomb.

Certainly there was still scope for the use of smaller free-fall bombs, and these particularly came into their own with the advent of the Hawker ‘Hurribomber equipped to take four 22.68-kg (50-lb) bombs under each wing. Nevertheless, British bombs did present some variations of shape, and while the ones carried by fighters soon assumed near-conical noses with flattened fronts, the majority were of conventional appearance with ‘egg-like contours until the introduction of the ‘thousand-pounder, the 453.6-kg type designed for the external racks of the Hawker Typhoon, all illustrations of the advancing state of the art in refining the shape of bombs for the RAF.

The 227-kg (500-lb) MC, Mk III HE bomb was much more effective than the earlier 500-lb GP bomb, due to a higher filling-to-overall Weight ratio. The cropped annular vane permitted four of these bombs to be carried by the Mosquito bomber. It did not affect stability.

A degree of agreement was certainly evident concerning the design of that vital part of a bomb, the tail, and almost throughout the design of British standard bombs, the assembly here consisted of four sheet fins with a broad ring containing their trailing edges. These facts were in part dictated by the British practice of stowing bombs horizontally, the resultant release being the most aerodynamic that could be achieved, since a bomb dropping away from an aeroplane of the time inevitably spun or otherwise became unstable when struck by the slipstream; it was the tail that finally straightened its flight as the forward momentum imparted by the launch aircraft was lost and the downward path commenced in an arc towards the target as gravity exerted a pull, All these factors were common to the standard bombs of the day which were all of pre-1940 design and included the largely-forgotten HE type of 54 kg (120 lb); there were different versions of all types, some of these variants being readily identified from their casing that might have strengthening bands as on some ‘500-pounders’.

Specification:
MkltoMkSGP
Type: General-Purpose High Explosive Bomb
Weight: 119.4 kg (263 lb)
Dimensions:
Length 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in);
Diameter 0.26 m (10.3 in)
Filling: TNT or Amatol 80/20

The bombs of the RAF, From the top: 9979-kg (22,000-lb) MC;5443-kg (12,000-Ib) HC; nose of 5443-kg (l 2,000-lb) MC; 3629-kg (8,000-lb) HC; 1814-kg (4,000-lb) HC; (right) 862-kg (l,900-lb) GP; 907-kg (2,000-lb) AP; (front) 454-kg (1,000-lb) and 227-kg (500-lb) GPs. The small bomb is 18 kg (40-lb).