SBe 250

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SBe 250
Sbe 250.jpg
Type Fragmentation bomb
Place of originFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by Luftwaffe
Wars World War II
Specifications
Mass250 kg (550 lb)
Length1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Diameter14 in (36 cm)
Warhead Ammonal
Warhead weight46 kg (101 lb)
Detonation
mechanism
 TNT [1]

The SBe 250 (Splitter Beton) or concrete fragmentation in English was a fragmentation bomb used by the Luftwaffe during World War II.

<i>Luftwaffe</i> Aerial warfare branch of the German military forces during World War II

The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the Luftstreitkräfte of the Army and the Marine-Fliegerabteilung of the Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which stated that Germany was forbidden to have any air force.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Contents

History

The SBe series of bombs were designed to be semi-armor piercing fragmentation bombs that could act as an adjunct to the SD series of bombs. There were two bombs in this series the SBe 50, and the SBe 250. The number in the bombs designation corresponded to the approximate weight of the bomb. The SBe series was an effort to balance low cost, good fragmentation, and effective explosives. The SBe series achieved its fragmentation by embedding scrap metal in a layer of concrete instead of having a thick steel casing like the SD series. This concept had already been used successfully on the SD 10 A Type II and the SD 10 DW. [2]

Design

The body of the SBe 250 consisted of thin inner and outer steel cases with scrap metal embedded in a 51 mm (2 in) layer of concrete between the cases. The nose was formed from a 5 mm (3/16 in) steel dome and there was a single transverse fuze in the rear 1/3 of the bomb. There was also a central TNT exploder which ran through the ammonal explosive filler. The tail was sheet steel with four single braces and there was a removable trunnion band which was used to horizontally suspend the bomb. Due to its heavy construction its charge to weight ratio was only 18%. The bomb was painted blue green. [1]

TNT chemical compound

Trinitrotoluene (; TNT), or more specifically 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. This yellow solid is sometimes used as a reagent in chemical synthesis, but it is best known as an explosive material with convenient handling properties. The explosive yield of TNT is considered to be the standard measure of bombs and the power of explosives. In chemistry, TNT is used to generate charge transfer salts.

Ammonal chemical compound

Ammonal is an explosive made up of ammonium nitrate and aluminium powder, not to be confused with T-ammonal which contains trinitrotoluene as well to increase properties such as brisance.

Trunnion

A trunnion is a cylindrical protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 United States War Office (1953). German explosive ordnance : (bombs, fuzes, rockets, land mines, grenades and igniters). United States Government Printing Office. OCLC   713755660.
  2. ↑ Visingr, Lukáš. "Německé letecké bomby: Smrticí arzenál Luftwaffe". Vojsko.net (in Czech). Retrieved 2019-03-07.
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