Zeus 40 fuse

An excellent source of info on all the German bombs and fuzes is here http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-1985-2-German.pdf

Just down loaded and scanned through. Great stuff thanks for posting.

Another site with lots of info which may be of interest. http://bombfuzecollectorsnet.com/page13.htm

To answer the original question, the Type 17 fuze and ZUS 40 would have been removed normally as the ZUS didn’t arm until the bomb hit the ground. The ZUS 40 striker was locked in place by spring loaded arming pin retained by a ball bearing. When the bomb hit the ground the ball bearing was released by the impact which caused the arming pin to be withdrawn and the ZUS was then armed. As for the Type 17, it was an electric fuze as it was armed the same way as most German impact fuzes as the bomb left the aircraft and it was the operation of the electrical part of the fuze on impact that allowed the clock to start. Just got my hands on Danger UXB and was wondering how the ZUS 40 was made safe as well.

An excellent source of info on all the German bombs and fuzes is here http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-1985-2-German.pdf

that’s an excellent reference to German ordanance , thank you for posting, just contemplating printing off all 350+ pages at work !

As a number of us will agree, I’m sure, the 1970’s Danger UXB series was very accurate in its detail and a very good reference to the subject.
I have not long read a very good and informative book called ‘A lonely war’ google it, its by a Wartime BD Officer and goings into great detail their everyday events.

Jules

AS shown in Danger UXB The Z40 They drilled the Bomb casing and steamed out the filling leaving the gaine then applied the clock stopper to remove the bomb, which if the gaine did go off would only do minimal damage.

There are a number of good books of personal accounts and some training videos WW2 UXB’s on the Amazon website.

AS shown in Danger UXB The Z40 They drilled the Bomb casing and steamed out the filling leaving the gaine then applied the clock stopper to remove the bomb, which if the gaine did go off would only do minimal damage.

There are a number of good books of personal accounts and some training videos WW2 UXB’s on the Amazon website.

Apart from the Danger UXB series, are there any books which deal with Bomb Disposal during the Second World War?

Either from a personal point of view or of a more technical nature, if that makes sense!

To answer the original question, the Type 17 fuze and ZUS 40 would have been removed normally as the ZUS didn’t arm until the bomb hit the ground. The ZUS 40 striker was locked in place by spring loaded arming pin retained by a ball bearing. When the bomb hit the ground the ball bearing was released by the impact which caused the arming pin to be withdrawn and the ZUS was then armed. As for the Type 17, it was an electric fuze as it was armed the same way as most German impact fuzes as the bomb left the aircraft and it was the operation of the electrical part of the fuze on impact that allowed the clock to start. Just got my hands on Danger UXB and was wondering how the ZUS 40 was made safe as well.

An excellent source of info on all the German bombs and fuzes is here http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-1985-2-German.pdf

According to MSN They are still trying to defuse it.

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/army-tries-to-defuse-wartime-bomb-keeping-east-londoners-out-of-homes/ar-BBlDwv9?ocid=DELLDHP

SC50 or perhaps SC70.

here’s a recent photo on the web, still a ‘distorted’ photo, looks too long for a 50 but not fat enough for a 500 or even a 250 ?
I have emailed a contact at DEMS Bicester who would have probably dealt with it or know more info……………..

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Looking at google images the same photo comes up which is uncropped and it does appear to be down in a basement so I think it is the bomb in question. Makes you wonder how it ended up there without being noticed at the time, also laying horizontal in the ground so maybe it hit the house next door and went off sideways underground, I know this happened quite a lot making the bomb more difficult to locate. Another point of interest is that the Bomb Recognition units in WW2 were also pretty good at identifying the size of bomb from the damage and size of the entrace hole of the UXB and remains of tail fins etc. It is possible that having identified it as a 50kg and thus likely to be fuzed with a standard fuze (no clockwork fuze or trembler present) the wartime BD unit could well have decided to leave it well alone considering it less of a threat than a larger bomb like a 250, especially if locating the bomb in question was difficult or maybe even impossible.

Could be a library picture – “Here’s a bomb the MoD showed us earlier”.

Adrian

Could be a library picture – “Here’s a bomb the MoD showed us earlier”.

Adrian

Yes I would agree with you. If you use the man’s arm standing over it as a scale looks to small for a 500kg. The media always blow things out of proportion makes more explosive news. They could of called it a Herman or Satan. Though I Don’t think a clock stopper or the liquid discharger would be required here.

Yes, I saw that photo, certainly looks more like a 50kg, nowhere big enough for a 500 !
i’ll try and find out more.

jules

Just heard on the radio that a German WW2 bomb has indeed been found in Bethnal Green (see original post).

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33851081

Doesn’t look like a 500kg to me, more like a 50kg in which case it won’t have a Zus-40 fitted as the fuze pocket is too shallow, also unlikely to have a 17 clockwork fuze, more likely a 15 or 25.

These seem to be making the news more and more.

Just heard on the radio that a German WW2 bomb has indeed been found in Bethnal Green (see original post).

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33851081

Doesn’t look like a 500kg to me, more like a 50kg in which case it won’t have a Zus-40 fitted as the fuze pocket is too shallow, also unlikely to have a 17 clockwork fuze, more likely a 15 or 25.

These seem to be making the news more and more.

A 50kg was dug up in Cornwall a couple of years ago it looked in mint condition with the green paint still on it and the fuse looked in good condition could have been a type 15. Would have made a fantastic garden ornament. Should of got Brian Ash Danger UXB to defuse it. However they still blew it up on site. Even after all these years it still made a hell of a bang.

Think Ill wait for a Herman or Satan to turn up on EBay. 😀

Very risky these days as I understand after speaking to an ex BD man at our Bomb Disposal talk in June he explained that the explosive filling inside the bomb case can over time travel up the screw thread of the filler plate meaning that extraction and any associated friction caused by the removal of the filler plate could detonate the bomb. I too would love a 500 but not worth risk of life etc. I under stand in the case of the recent 250 discovered in London they were able to immunise the fuze and transport it to blow it up. I believe trepanning is still possible but for whatever reason they prefer to blow them up. Interesting to note the bombs found on the Fernhurst Do217 were very carefully defused with the cases being saved.

If they could remove the rear filler plate, they could steam the explosive out, then drill the fuse and make that safe……..

Only because I want a 500kg !

If they could remove the rear filler plate, they could steam the explosive out, then drill the fuse and make that safe……..

Only because I want a 500kg !

Very interesting point. The z40 add on was fitted to a type 17 fuse designed purely to kill the bomb disposal guy trying to disarm it. The liquid discharger invention was used to discharge the condensers before removal. Come to think of it I wonder if British or American WW2 Bombs used a similar idea.

Haven’t heard about the one found in London yet will stay tuned. The fuse body made from aluminium would be very corroded by now difficult to do anything with. One of ours blew up in Germany last year after being hit by a digger bucket on a building site sadly killing the digger driver.

I wonder if they tried or just very carefully unloaded it and took it away to be blown up.
Presumably it would have Been ‘armed’ when the others were dropped, an interesting thought.

Just heard that a 500kg bomb has been found in London this afternoon, shame it will have to be destroyed, and not carefully deactivated”…………..but that’s easy to say when I’m not stood over it !

Jules