In connection with the Biaggi thread I was surprised at the number of bomb hang ups experienced by 356 Squadron between June and the end of September. It was a hung up bomb which caused the death of Dominique Biaggi and five of his colleagues. I have no idea of the frequency of hang ups within other Squadrons and aircraft other than the Halifax.
As far as I can ascertain, the majority of British manufactured bombs, at least up to 2,000 lbs., were suspended by a single lug from a single shackle mounted in the bomb bay of the aircraft. I have found references to the fact that Britain, from 1943 or 44 onwards, used large quantities of American made munitions, sometimes, but not always, referred to as AMN. The American system of bomb suspension was to have two lugs on the bomb casing and two shackles in the aircraft. The differences were further exaggerated by the different layouts of the bomb bays. Vertical racks, in which bombs were suspended at an angle of 45 degrees or so in US aircraft compared to the horizontal bomb bays in British aircraft. So for British aircraft to have been able to use American bombs there must have been an adaptation or modification to allow bomb racks in British aircraft fitted with a single shackle to accept American bombs with two lugs.
Question is, what form did this adaptation take? It must have been readily interchangeable as I have seen references to Halifax aircraft carrying mixed loads. And might this adaptation have led to an increase in the number of hang up’s? Or was the problem more likely to have been electrical?
Regards,
kev35
By: Deryck - 8th August 2009 at 12:49
The Halifax has small access panels in the floor at each bomb shackle location and it was possible to manually release a hung up bomb that failed to release for electrical reasons.
By: kev35 - 8th August 2009 at 12:47
Paul.
As far as I know several checks were made.
Firstly, the Air Bomber tried to count the number of bombs as they fell but I suspect this was almost impossible to do due to poor rearward visibility, especially on a night operation.
On the journey back across the North Sea or the Channel the Air Bomber would open the bomb doors and press the bomb release again. At the same time he would check whether any indicator lamps illuminated to indicate that any bombs remained aboard. The pilot would also be encouraged ‘shake the aircraft in order to dislodge any bomb that might have got stuck.’ (Jean Calmel – Night Pilot.)
Depending on the particular aircraft I believe there was an inspection window in the bomb bay and perhaps a grid through which the Flight Engineer could examine the bay.
I know of at least three instances in which hung up bombs were brought back home, with disastrous results in one case, that of Sergent Chef Biaggi. Calmel had a similar incident and when opening the bomb doors after landing a 500 pounder dropped to the floor and rolled harmlessly away. Ken Wallis also related an incident to me in which he returned from an operation completely unaware that the extended nose fuse of a rodded bomb was protruding through the bomb doors. Only the speedy reactions of an Airman prevented a tragedy.
Despite all that, and the myriad reasons why a crew might not have noticed the hang up, I would still be interested to know why bombs became hung up in the first place.
Regards,
kev35
By: ozjag - 8th August 2009 at 12:17
Were there any procedures in place that once an aircraft had dropped its bombs and was returning to base that a check was carried out in the bomb bay to determine that all bombs had in fact left the aircraft? I do not know much about bomber design but surely even a glass peep hole into the bomb bay would give the crew the knowledge that all was OK, and if there was still a bomb there they could take appropriate action such as trying to free it or even abandoning the aircraft over friendly territory.
Just my thoughts Paul
By: kev35 - 8th August 2009 at 11:08
Creaking Door.
Thanks for that. Thinking about it, I expect the problem causing hang up’s is more likely to be with the electrical part of the system rather than the mechanical.
Thanks again for the help.
Regards,
kev35
By: Creaking Door - 7th August 2009 at 20:43
After a bit of googling it seems that some bombs carried both; a single British lug welded on one side of the bomb and two US lugs welded on the other.
In terms of ‘hang-ups’ I’d say any problem would be likely to be with the complicated bit (that stays with the aircraft) rather than with the simple bit (that goes with the bomb)!
By: kev35 - 7th August 2009 at 20:24
That’s a good point, and one of the reasons why I asked the question as it is something I have little (or no) knowledge of. I’ll have a google for some pictures see if it sheds any light.
Regards,
kev35
By: Creaking Door - 7th August 2009 at 20:18
Wouldn’t the adaption of the bombs have been limited to appropriately threaded (blind) holes in the bomb casing to allow either one (British) or two (US) lugs to be bolted into place depending on the need?
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August 7, 2009 at 8:05 pm