SD 50 (bomb)

Last updated
SD 50
SD 50.jpg
Type Fragmentation bomb
Place of originFlag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by Luftwaffe
Wars World War II
Production history
VariantsType I
Type II
Specifications
Mass55 kg (121 lb)
Length1.09 m (3 ft 7 in)
Diameter203 mm (8 in)
Warhead TNT
Warhead weight16.4 kg (36 lb) [1]

The SD 50 (Sprengbombe Dickwandig 50) or thick walled explosive bomb 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 second most used category of bombs was the SD series which were high-explosive bombs but with thicker casings which meant their charge to weight ratio was only 30 to 40% of their total weight. At first glance, they were difficult to distinguish from the SC series of bombs, but the two series were color-coded the SC series having yellow tail stripes, while the SD series had red tail stripes. Bombs in this series were the SD 1, SD 1 FRZ, SD 2, SD 10 A, SD 10 FRZ, SD 10 C, SD 15, SD 50, SD 70, SD 250, SD 500, SD 1400, and SD 1700. The number in the bombs designation corresponded to the approximate weight of the bomb. [2]

The SD series was used primarily in two roles that were determined by the type of fuze and accessories fitted to the bomb. The first was as a fragmentation bomb with instantaneous fuze and when the bombs exploded above ground the case created large fragments which would kill enemy personnel and destroy unarmored vehicles. The second role was as a general-purpose or armor-piercing role. In this role, the bombs were fitted with a time delay fuze which detonated the bomb after it had pierced a target destroying it with a combination of its blast and fragments. [2]

General-purpose bomb type of air-dropped bomb

A general-purpose bomb is an air-dropped bomb intended as a compromise between blast damage, penetration, and fragmentation in explosive effect. They are designed to be effective against enemy troops, vehicles, and buildings.

Armor-piercing shell type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor

An armor-piercing shell, AP for short, is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate armor. From the 1860s to 1950s, a major application of armor-piercing projectiles was to defeat the thick armor carried on many warships. From the 1920s onwards, armor-piercing weapons were required for anti-tank missions. AP rounds smaller than 20 mm are typically known as "armor-piercing ammunition", and are intended for lightly-armored targets such as body armor, bulletproof glass and light armored vehicles. The classic AP shell is now seldom used in naval warfare, as modern warships have little or no armor protection, and newer technologies have displaced the classic AP design in the anti-tank role.

Design

The body of the SD 50 was of one piece cast and machined steel construction. The body had one transverse fuze pocket just forward of the horizontal carrying lug. Around the nose of the bomb there was often a kopfring - a metal ring, triangular in cross section, designed to prevent ground penetration. In addition to the kopfring an anti-ricochet adapter for anti-ship use or a 61 cm (2 ft)dinort rod could be added to obtain pre-penetration detonation for anti-personnel use. The SD 50 was filled through the base and was fitted with either a Type 1 or Type 2 tail assembly. The Type 1 had a cast alloy adapter with sheet steel fins while the Type 2 was a one-piece assembly made of cast magnesium alloy. It could be vertically or horizontally suspended in a bomb bay or horizontally mounted on a wing or fuselage hardpoint. The SD 50 was painted dark green and the tail cone was striped with red. [1]

Anti-personnel weapon

An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gave rise to weapons designed specifically to attack them, and thus a need to distinguish between those systems and ones intended to attack people. For instance, an anti-personnel landmine will explode into small and sharp splinters that tear flesh but have little effect on metal surfaces, while anti-tank mines have considerably different design, using much more explosive to effect damage to armored fighting vehicles, or use explosively formed penetrators to punch through armor plating. Note that while the stereotypical tank is effectively invulnerable to anti-personnel, a lightly armored vehicle will still take damage. Take humvees for example. They have light armor and will take severe damage from say, a claymore. The issue has been patched by the add-on armor, but it can still be pierced by this type in some areas

Bomb bay

The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the target or at a specified launching point.

Hardpoint location on an airframe designed to carry an external or internal load

A hardpoint is a location on an airframe designed to carry an external or internal load. This includes a station on the wing or fuselage of a civilian aircraft or military aircraft where external jet engine, ordnance, countermeasures, gun pods, targeting pods or drop tanks can be mounted.

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. 1 2 Visingr, Lukáš. "Německé letecké bomby: Smrticí arzenál Luftwaffe". Vojsko.net (in Czech). Retrieved 2019-03-07.
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