British bombs

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Sturm78
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British bombs

#1

Post by Sturm78 » 27 Sep 2022, 21:23

Hi all,

Can somebody identify the exact model of these bombs ?

Image from Alamy website
Sturm78
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Richard Sands
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Re: British bombs

#2

Post by Richard Sands » 28 Sep 2022, 12:18

Looks like tail fins being fitted to a 250lb General Purpose Bomb.


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TISO
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Re: British bombs

#3

Post by TISO » 02 Oct 2022, 13:46

I'm just going to poste this here:
RAF re-arming a bomber

Sturm78
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Re: British bombs

#4

Post by Sturm78 » 02 Oct 2022, 15:29

Richard Sands wrote
Looks like tail fins being fitted to a 250lb General Purpose Bomb.
Thanks, Richard. Do you know if there was an only model of 250lb GP bomb or more than one?
TISO wrote
I'm just going to poste this here:
RAF re-arming a bomber
Thanks, TISO. Very interesting

Sturm78

jbroshot
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Re: British bombs

#5

Post by jbroshot » 03 Oct 2022, 03:54

According to this 1946 U S Navy manual on British explosive ordnance [reprinted in 1970!] there were six different marks of the 250lb General Purpose Bomb: Mark I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The Mark VI was made in the US


British Explosive Ordnance

https://archive.org/details/BritishExpl ... e/mode/1up

Knouterer
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Re: British bombs

#6

Post by Knouterer » 15 Oct 2022, 09:35

Here's a handy overview of British bombs of WWII, from Bombs Gone by MacBean and Hogben. The bombs of the “General Purpose” (G.P.) range used in the early part of the war were poorly designed, with a low explosive to weight ratio, and the explosive itself (Amatol) was not very powerful. Static tests carried out in 1941 showed that weight for weight German bombs were twice as destructive. There was also a rather high percentage of duds.
They were replaced by the Medium Capacity (M.C.) range. The Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs were used against "hard" targets such as the U-boat bunkers.
The High Capacity (H.C.) bombs or "cookies" were designed for maximum blast effect, particularly against buildings. Before they became available, the RAF sometimes dropped naval mines on targets on land, just as the Luftwaffe did during the Blitz.
The picture further shows flares to illuminate targets, incendiary bombs, and anti-submarine bombs and depth charges as used by Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm.
At times, when production could not keep up, American bombs were used, but as those did not fit properly, bomb loads had to be reduced.
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"The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man's observation, not overturning it." Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

Sturm78
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Re: British bombs

#7

Post by Sturm78 » 20 Oct 2022, 22:00

Thank you jbroshot and Knouterer.

Is there any way to differentiate between the different models of 250lbs GP bombs?

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jbroshot
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Re: British bombs

#8

Post by jbroshot » 22 Oct 2022, 07:12

The G.P. 250lb bombs are described at pages 18 and 19 of the manual cited above, with a full page diagram of the Mk I at page 17 and smaller diagram of the Mk V at page 18. Best I can tell the Mks I, II, and III were painted overall yellow and were slightly smaller and slightly heavier than the Mks IV, IV, and VI, which were painted dark green overall.

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