US Bombs

[David Thompson]

Over in the H&WC section of the forum, there is a controversy on whether or not the US dropped booby-trapped toy bombs over Italy in WWII. The discussion is at:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=44157

(1) Is anyone here familiar with the "pen bombs" illustrated in the thread, and reproduced below?

(2) Is there a site on US bombs used during WWII? (My Google searches produced either nothing at all or 53,000 "hits").

[Daniel L]

There's a famous photo of a Waffen-SS soldier holding a "pen-bomb" captured from partisans.

Best regards/ Daniel

[David Thompson]

Thanks, Daniel! If you happen to run across the photo, would you please scan and post it for our readers?

[bonzen]

I can recall reading about these. They were dropped with infiltrators or to partisans. An assasination tool. Short range, highly inaccurate. Here is a US made pen gun Pen Gun

[Mark V]

(2) Is there a site on US bombs used during WWII? (My Google searches produced either nothing at all or 53,000 "hits").

Hi, Here is something that i pulled from my hat (not just US equipment though) and sorry, no info about pen-bomb:

This is an area where services itself are still very shy about. The actual characteristics of weapons they dropped on cities, military targets, naval vessels.

http://www.vectorsite.net/twbomb.html
- something about WW2 ordnance at the start of larger article

http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/bombs.html
- Luftwaffe air-droppable weapons

http://www.luftarchiv.info/bordgerate/abwurf.htm
- nice info, in german language

http://home.aol.com/nukeinfo2/
- very good compilation about the development of bombs that spanned from Barnes Wallis original idea of earthquake creating bomb, WW2 and after war...

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz/mi ... llboy.html
- more about Tallboy earthquake bomb

http://www.ww2guide.com/bombs.shtml
- summary of equipment

http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/
- warhips1.com is excellent (and propably well known for most of you) source of information about naval weapons - also sections about torpedoes, ASW weapons and Mines

http://chat.carleton.ca/~jnoakes/ram/cc/ccti41.html
- Coastal Command instructions for use of aerial DC

http://www.nucleus.com/~ltwright/bombs.htm
- info about composition of Lanc bombload in missions over Germany

http://www.users.bigpond.com/clardo/ble ... ament.html
- Blenheim ordnance, and a pic of small version of SBC (bomblet dispenser ***)

http://www.btinternet.com/~paul.steele/new_page_6.htm
- some pictures of German SD 2 "butterfly" bombs, that were used to harass the firefighters, and actually were kinda like air-droppable mines - when equipped with antidisturbance or time fuze

http://www.303rdbga.com/bombs2.jpg
- a bomb chart of US Air Force Pilot's Manual - late series bombs

http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs ... igure4.jpg
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs ... igure5.jpg
http://history.amedd.army.mil/booksdocs ... endixg.htm
- extensive info about 20lb US M41 frag

http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/ANM64.htm
http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/TI250Skymarker.htm
http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/ANM17A1.htm
http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/4.5Skymarker.htm
http://www.harringtonmuseum.org.uk/M46Photoflash.htm
- USAAF ordnance (also target markers)

http://www.battlefield.ru/library/books ... 2_7_r.html
- Soviet PTAB hollow-charge bomblet, dispersed by Il-2 ground attack planes (in russian)

*** Cluster bombs, and bomblet dispensers are not Vietnam -era inventions like many think.


Regards, Mark V

[Juha Hujanen]

I belive Daniel is refering to this pic.

From Michulec & Volstad-Waffen-SS.From glory To Defeat 1943-1945.

Cheers/Juha

[David Thompson]

Thanks, Juha, Mark V and Bonzen for your fast and informative posts. I appreciate it, and I'll post the url of this thread over in the H&WC section of the forum.