British Aircraft Ordnance - Technical Data and Discussion

Machinery of War Discussion
1

A discussion area for all guns, bombs, and missiles dropped or fired by aircraft in the British Tech Tree in War Thunder.


image
Fig. 1 Bombs.

Timeline (from SD 719)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Interwar;

  • 250-500 lb GP Mk I-III
  • 250-500 lb SAP Mk I-III

1938

  • 250-500 lb GP Mk IV
    1942
    1944
Overview


image
Fig. 2 Also bombs.

The following bombs are described in AP 1661B Volume 1, BOMBS (1949);

SECTION 1 - GP Bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 40 lb, Mks I, II, III
  2. Bomb, Parachute, HE, Aircraft, GP, 40 lb, Mks I, II, III
  3. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 120 lb, Mks I & II
  4. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 250 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  5. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 500 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  6. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 1000 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  7. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 1900 lb, Mk I
  8. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, GP, 4000 lb, Mks I & II

SECTION 2 - AP bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, AP, 2000 lb, Mks I, II, III, II**, III*, IV

SECTION 3 - SAP bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, SAP, 250 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV, V
  2. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, SAP, 500 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV, V

SECTION 4 - RL bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, RL, 112 lb, Mks VII & VIIC

SECTION 5 - AS bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, AS, 100 lb, Mk IV
  2. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, AS, 250 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  3. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, AS, 500 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV

SECTION 6 - F bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, F, 20 lb, Mks I, II, III
  2. Bomb, Parachute, HE, Aircraft, F, 20 lb, Mks I, II, III

SECTION 7 - Incendiary bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, Incendiary, 4 lb, Mks I, IE, II, IIE, III, IIIE, IV, IVE, V, VE
  2. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, Incendiary, 25 lb, Mks I
  3. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, Incendiary, 30 lb, Mks I, II, IIM, III, IIIM

SECTION 8 - Practice bombs

  1. Not relevant to War Thunder

SECTION 9 - HC bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, HC, 2000 lb, Mks I, II, III
  2. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, HC, 4000 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  3. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, HC, Sectional, 8000 lb, Mks I & II
  4. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, HC, Sectional, 12000 lb, Mk II

SECTION 10 - MC bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 250 lb, Mks I & II
  2. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 500 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV
  3. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 1000 lb, Mks I, II, III, IV
  4. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 4000 lb, Mks I & II
  5. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 12000 lb, Mks I & II
  6. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, MC, 22000 lb, Mks I & II

SECTION 11 - AT bombs

  1. Bomb, HE, Aircraft, AT, 9 lb, Mk I

SECTION 16 - Miscellaneous bombs

  1. Not relevant to War Thunder

SECTION 17 - American bombs

  1. Bombs, GP, 250 lb, AN-M57 & AN-M57A1
  2. Bombs, GP, 500 lb, AN-M43, AN-M64, AN-M64A1
  3. Bombs, GP, 1000 lb, AN-M44, AN-M65, AN-M65A1
  4. Bombs, SAP, 500 lb, AN-M58, AN-M58A1, AN-M58A2
  5. Bombs, SAP, 1000 lb, AN-M59 & AN-M59A1
  6. Bomb, Incendiary, 500 lb, AN-M76
Bug Reports

SECTION 1 - GP bombs

  1. Early GP 250 lb bomb incorrect [accepted]
  2. Late GP 250 lb bomb incorrect [accepted]
  3. Early GP 500 lb bomb incorrect [accepted]
  4. Late GP 500 lb bomb incorrect [accepted]
  5. GP 1000 lb bomb incorrect [accepted]
  6. GP 1900 lb bomb missing [not a bug, suggestion needed]
  7. GP 4000 lb bomb missing [not a bug, suggestion needed]

SECTION 2 - AP bombs

  1. Late AP 2000 lb bomb missing [not a bug, suggestion needed]

SECTION 3 - SAP bombs

  1. SAP 250 lb bomb missing [suggestion needed]

SECTION 10 - MC bombs

  1. MC 250 lb Mk I bomb wrong designation
  2. The M.C. 500 lb Mk. I is completely wrong [accepted]
Sources
  1. A.P. 1661B Volume 1, BOMBS, Air Ministry 1943 (w/ amendments to 1948)
  2. S.D. 719 ARMAMENT Volume 1, BOMBS AND BOMBING EQUIPMENT, Air Ministry, 1952
  3. TM 9-1985-1 BRITISH EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE, July 1952
  4. Imperial War Museums
2 Likes
2

Added SAP 250 lb bomb missing, rearranged bug report list order to match source document.

3

Added list of bombs featured in AP 1661B Vol 1 Bombs (1949).

4

Added miscellaneous and American bombs in British service to list.

5

According to the Official Munitions Production of the United States (1947), over 180,000 250 lb AN-M57 bombs were purchased between 1940 and 1941, prior to the introduction of Lend-Lease. While the data is sourced from both the British (BPC) and Netherlands Purchasing Comissions (NPC), the NPC was only established in 1941 and it can be safely assumed that all purchases made in 1940 were by the BPC.

image
Fig.1 An AN-M57A1 bomb, the single suspension lug is visible at the bottom of the bomb body. Note that the Tritonal filler was only introduced in 1944 (from my own estimates), and the early bombs of this type received by the British would have either an Amatol 50/50 or TNT filler.

US AN-series bombs were fitted with both dual and single suspension lugs, enabling their carriage by British bomb carriers without additional modification. This source confirms the use of the 250 lb AN-M57 bomb by British aircraft in the early war period, and limited use of the 100 lb AN-M30.

image
Fig.2 Figures from the document show that 100 lb, 250 lb, and 500 lb bombs of various service and obsolete types were purchased by the British and Dutch over 1940-41. The presence of AN-M46 is a typo of AN-M64; AN-M46 was a 50 lb photo-flash bomb.

Cover

image

Page 263

image

6

An alternative 4000 lb bomb for late British bombers, especially the upcoming Washington B.1 aka. the B-29A in British service;

The 4000 lb HC Mk V (or Mk VI) are British-designed bombs of US manufacture and filling. Approximately 38,000 were produced in the United States, being filled with either 2903 lb TNT or 3144 lb Tritonal.

A Tritonal-filled 4000 lb HC bomb would have a TNTe of 1682.79 kg, surpassing the 1,339 kg TNTe of the 4000 lb HC Mk II by over 25%.

AP1661B Vol 1 S9 C5, May 1945

image

7

Feedback from the CBR;

image

So the currently missing British bombs (250 lb SAP, 1900 lb GP, 4000 lb GP, 2000 lb HC, 4000 lb MC, etc) are going to require a Suggestion in order to be added to the game, and cannot simply be bug reported as missing. This lines up with my intention to submit a general overhaul Suggestion for British bombs in game.

Having also researched US bombs, they are in a similar situation and are implemented ahistorically.