German aerial bomb from WWII era butterfly. Red Army bombs

1-incendiary bomb; 2-fragmentation 10-kg bomb; 3-high-explosive 50-kg armored vehicle

German aviation was armed with a fairly wide range of aerial bombs - fragmentation, high-explosive fragmentation, high-explosive, incendiary, chemical, etc.

High-explosive bombs were divided by caliber (weight) and wall thickness. Main calibers: 50, 250, 500, 1000, 1800 and 2500 kg. The thickness of the hull walls was divided into thin-walled SC with a cylindrical middle part, a welded nose spinner and a screwed-on tail fairing with a stabilizer (the bomb was loaded through the bottom) and thick-walled SD - solid cast, the tail fairing was screwed on after loading the bomb.

Armor-piercing and high-explosive rocket bombs (with a rocket engine to destroy armored and reinforced concrete targets) were made on the basis of thick-walled bombs. They were designated PC and PS.

The bombs were equipped with side fuses. The suspension system was in the form of one eye or block (for heavy bombs). To reduce the depth of penetration of bombs into the ground and increase the effect of the shock wave, a ring or cast iron tips in the form of a ploughshare were welded to the head of some bombs.

High-explosive bombs with a caliber of up to 1000 kg were painted in gray, and with a caliber over 1000 kg - in light blue.

High explosive, high explosive and fragmentation bombs; 1 - SC 50; 2 - SC - 100; 3 - SD 250; 4 - SC 250; 5 - SD 500; 6 - SD 1000; 7 - SC 1000; 8 - SC 2500

Fragmentation bombs were designated by the letters SD and BdC. Bomb bodies were made of cast steel from two steel pipes of different diameters, inserted into one another, the space between the pipes was filled with steel fragments or concrete (concrete SBe-1). These bombs were painted mainly dark gray (SD-2 - green, SD-1 - lemon yellow). Small caliber fragmentation bombs were placed in containers, including AB type containers.

The SD-2 fragmentation bomb had an unusual design solution. The bomb itself was in a cylindrical casing. The casing consisted of two spring-loaded halves. The bomb was cocked using a cable, one end of which was attached to the fuse, and the other, with a limiter, was brought out through a hole in the body.

An incendiary bomb assembled from several parts. It was ignited by two small incendiary bombs attached to the side.

Incendiary aerial bombs were produced in casings of thin-walled high-explosive aerial bombs corresponding in caliber. There were purely incendiary bombs designated Bg C - (50, 250 kg, etc.), Flam C - (50, 250 kg, etc.) and high-explosive incendiary bombs Spre C - (50, 250 kg, etc.) .d.). Some bombs, in addition to thermite cartridges, contained steel fragments and a TNT charge. Incendiary bombs were painted dark gray.

Composite incendiary bombs of large caliber were also used, which were manufactured in front-line conditions. The nose and tail (with stabilizer) fairings from heavy high-explosive bombs, a suspension system and a fuse in the form of two small-caliber incendiary bombs were attached to the incendiary tank.

NC smoke bombs were made in housings corresponding to SD caliber. They were dark gray with stripes the color of the smoke the bomb produced.

The Germans welded “whistles” onto the stabilizers of some high-explosive and fragmentation bombs. The fall of such bombs was accompanied by a piercing whistle, which caused panic among the morally unstable infantry. For the units under fire, it served as a warning of danger.

To hit the sides surface ships The Germans designed so-called gliding 800 kg bombs with a small jet engine, the SB-800RS. These bombs had a spherical warhead with a diameter of 750 mm and a ring stabilizer. The total length of the bomb is 1910 mm. The bombs were dropped at a low altitude, about 20 m, from a distance of 4.0-4.5 km from the target. After the release, the solid fuel motor fired, and the bomb flew horizontally and then touched the water at a low angle. The tail section and stabilizer fell off, and the warhead made several ricochets and hit the side of the enemy ship. During testing, the lateral deviation from the target was up to 55 m with a release range of 4.5 km. However, the accuracy of the planing bomb was highly dependent on sea conditions and wind strength, so work on it was stopped in 1944.

Conventional armor-piercing bombs weighing from 500 to 1800 kg were put into service in 1940. They combat use showed that when bombing from low altitudes (700-1500 m), the speed of the bombs did not ensure penetration of all the armored decks of battleships or heavy cruisers. Increasing the bombing altitude to 5-7 km sharply reduced the likelihood of hitting the ship.

In 1942, the Luftwaffe adopted 3 jet armor-piercing bombs: PC500RS “Paulina”, PC1000RS “Paul” and PC1800RS “Panther” weighing 500, 100 and 1800 kg, respectively. A small solid-fuel engine installed in the rear of the bombs gave them an additional vertical speed of about 160 m/s, thereby significantly increasing their armor penetration.

1 - torpedo bomb BT 200; 2 - PC 1000; 3 - SB 800R-5 250; 4 - X-1.

Let us present data from several German conventional bombs. The smallest incendiary bombs weighed only 1 kg. Their length is 350 mm and diameter is 50 mm. There were the same small fragmentation bombs, some of them made from 50-mm mortar shells.

• The 10 kg fragmentation bombs had a length of 585 mm and a diameter of 86 mm.
• The 50 kg fragmentation bombs had a length of 1100 mm and a diameter of 200 mm.
• The 250-kg high-explosive fragmentation bombs had a length of 1630-1651 mm and a diameter of 368-370 mm. Weight BB-112.5 kg.
• The 500 kg SC-500 high-explosive fragmentation bombs had a length of 2022 mm and a diameter of 470 mm.
• The 1000 kg SC-1000 high-explosive bombs had a length of 2660 kg and a diameter of 660 mm.
• The 1800 kg SC-1800 high-explosive bombs had a length of 3500 mm and a diameter of 660 mm.
• The 2500 kg SC-2500 high-explosive bombs had a length of 3900 mm and a diameter of 820 mm.

Sources

• "History of aviation weapons" / A.B. Shirokorad /

The Germans had the most powerful bomb, weighing 2.5 tons, at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. But they had practically no means of delivering it. The power of the bombs of the Soviet Union, Americans and British did not exceed 2 tons. In 1942, Professor Nison Ilyich Gelperin was tasked with creating a five-ton bomb as soon as possible.

August 5, 1943. The noise of the battle had barely died down when a headquarters vehicle appeared on the outskirts of liberated Orel. At the crossing, four generals left it: Air Force Commander A. Novikov, chief engineer Air Force A. Repin, A. Mezinov, who was in charge of supplying Soviet aviation, and P. Mataev, who was responsible for its armament.

An extraordinary picture opened up to their eyes: on an area of ​​a good hundred meters railway tracks They looked as if they had been cut off by the bucket of a giant excavator. The mound no longer existed. The Pullman cars were thrown aside as if matchboxes, and crumpled. And at the station dozens of fascist trains loaded with military equipment froze.

That evening, Moscow saluted the valiant warriors who liberated Orel and Belgorod. This was the first fireworks display in the history of the Great Patriotic War. For the team of young engineers who created the largest aerial bomb of that time (it was our pilots who dropped it on the railway junction), that firework also meant recognition by the Motherland of their contribution to the cause of Victory.

In military manuals, the bomb was called FAB-5000HG - a high-explosive aerial bomb weighing 5000 kg. NG are the initials of its chief designer Nison Ilyich Gelperin. A chemical technologist by profession, a high school personnel worker, before the war he was at the same time the chief engineer of Khimstroy, and then Glavazot of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry, built our first chemical plants- Bereznikovsky, Stalinogorsky and others. And shortly before the war, Doctor of Technical Sciences Gelperin was assigned to organize a design bureau for aircraft bombs.

At that time, the Air Force command was looking for opportunities to replace steel bomb casings with others made from less scarce material. The young design bureau chose reinforced concrete for this purpose. This decision was radical. Previously, it was believed that without a high-strength shell there would not be a sufficient high-explosive effect. The hulls were made solidly forged with thick walls. Weight explosive made up only about a third of the total weight of the bomb - the rest was metal.

After calculations and experiments at the test site, it became clear: the main purpose of the body of a high-explosive bomb is to prevent the charge from deforming before the fuse goes off. A sharp decrease in the strength of the outer shell has almost no effect on the force of the explosion.

This conclusion had far-reaching consequences. For short term managed to develop a technology for the production of reinforced concrete bombs weighing 100, 250, 500 and 1000 kg. Soon, an experimental batch of new ammunition appeared (the engineers made the first of them with their own hands). And again the testing ground - now state tests. The exam was passed brilliantly. The new design was transferred to mass production, and it was decided to put the letters HG next to the abbreviated name of the products. It was June 12, 1941.

The words “saving metal” had a magical effect on the heads of the defense industry. And the young design bureau continued to work to reduce the metal consumption of aircraft bombs.

Again a chain of calculations and experiments. Field testing again. Welded thin-walled casings were created for the bombs; the weight of the metal shell was almost halved and amounted to only 35% of the weight of the bomb. The year was 1942. New, faster aircraft have appeared in the army's arsenal. The once formidable TB-3 heavy bombers remained out of service. Due to their low flight speed, they became easy prey for fighters.

Just at this time, the need began to be felt for weapons that could destroy large enemy military installations - airfields, factories, fortifications, etc. with one air strike. The simultaneous dropping of several medium-caliber bombs did not lead to the desired result due to their inevitable dispersion. A powerful, concentrated impact on the target was required.

The original idea was put forward by engineer-colonel V. Kravets. According to his plan, the spent TB-3s should be turned into projectile aircraft and guided to the target by radio from another aircraft. The aviation command was interested in the proposal long range, and the creation of a combat “filling” weighing up to 6.5 tons was entrusted to the design bureau.

The external suspension of a huge bomb over 6 m long and 1 m in diameter under the TB-3 fuselage was excluded for aerodynamic and camouflage reasons. But it was impossible to load it into the fuselage due to the insufficient size of the bomb bay and the design of the power elements, which were not designed for such use of the aircraft. And so the chief designer of the design bureau came to a conclusion that, despite the apparent surprise, directly followed from previous work: the bomb should be thin-walled and... collapsible. After considering various options, the engineers settled on very simple solution- assemble the bomb directly in the fuselage of the aircraft from 6 cylindrical compartments, equip the compartments around the circumference with flanges, and tighten the flanges with ordinary bolts and nuts. Attach the conical covers at the ends in the same way. At the equipment plant, fill each compartment separately with an explosive mixture.

One more problem remained to be solved: to achieve simultaneous activation of the entire multi-ton mass of explosives. When initiated at one point, it could simply fragment and fly in all directions without a complete explosion. And here we managed to avoid complications. In each of the compartments, when pouring the mixture, an axial and diametrical channel was left, which were then filled with reliably detonating blocks. And instantaneous fuses were installed at the ends of the channels. The total weight of the bomb reached 6.2 tons, with explosives accounting for 4.8 tons.

Assembled inside the aircraft and tightly attached with guy wires to the power frames and fuselage spars, the bomb resembled a tank. And then, when everything was ready, an unexpected obstacle arose. Radio engineers were unable to cope with the difficulties of controlling a projectile aircraft on takeoff.

It turned out that to solve this problem it was necessary to significantly complicate the equipment. Bomb designers find a way out of the impasse into which telemechanics specialists have reached. The pilot must lift the projectile into the air, switch control to the radio equipment, and then jump with a parachute.

However, the selected control system provided for visual tracking of the projectile aircraft. During the first flight experiment, the aircraft tandem fell into continuous clouds, and the pilot-operator lost sight of the TB-3.

While working on a prefabricated superbomb, young design engineers acquired unique experience. But the command’s task at the first attempt, alas, remained unfulfilled. It was urgent to create a targeted multi-ton high-explosive bomb. The only aircraft suitable for this purpose was the Pe-8 heavy bomber.

Pre-draft design work has begun. The approximate parameters of the bomb were found out: length with stabilizer 5.2 m, diameter about 1 m, weight about 5.4 tons, of which 3.2 were explosives. (The principle was followed - only 30% of the total weight was allocated to the body together with the stabilizer.)

The Pe-8 was an excellent aircraft for that time, with four powerful engines and well armed. But it was not intended by its creator to transport a five-ton truck. The estimated payload of the Pe-8 was only 4 tons. The height of the compartment was small: after the bomb was suspended, the hatch flaps did not close completely, and there was a half-meter gap between them.

Overloading the car, and even if its aerodynamics were disrupted, seemed extremely risky, B peacetime aircraft designers would reject such a project without a second thought. But there was a war going on, and they understood well what invaluable benefits the new super-powerful landmine would bring to the army. The flight characteristics of the Pe-8, its potential capabilities were subjected to careful analysis. Finally, the conclusion was made: the plane must survive.

Based on the solutions found in the process of working on thin-walled FABs and a land mine for an aircraft projectile, the design bureau began technical design. Now there was no need to make the body prefabricated. Its parts were connected by welding. The design of the stabilizer was no different from the usual one, only its gigantic size was striking.

To save time, Gelperin refused to blow the model in a wind tunnel. He was confident that the calculations for longitudinal stability were correct. The model, made on a 1:1 scale, was filled with a mixture of sand and sawdust and brought to a military airfield. One of the Pe-8 units was based there, which was tasked with testing in case positive results the first to use a five-ton gun against the Nazis.

By the time the bomb was placed in place, much more time had passed than expected. The tests, which were supposed to decide the fate of the new design, had to be postponed until the next day.

No one tried to sleep. At first, the engineers shared their last doubts, which they immediately dispelled with counterarguments. Then, when it got completely dark, we went to the start to see off combat work long-range bomber crews. Then, with the permission of the formation commander, we sat on command post, glaring at the scoreboard, where the coordinates and combat operations of each aircraft were noted. Happy that everyone returned that night, they met the bombed cars in the parking lots.

And then the morning came. The designers had to worry twice that day. First for the plane - will it get off the ground? All the participants in the work and the command staff of the unit gathered at the start. The pilots also came, having not slept, and it was their turn to “cheer” for the engineers. After flare The Pe-8 began its takeoff run, which seemed endlessly long to everyone. He was, in fact, almost twice his normal size. Finally, everyone breathed a sigh of relief - the plane was in the air! Slowly, in circles, the Pe-8 gained altitude.

Now it's time to worry a second time - is the bomb tumbling? But here too everything went well. The pilot dropped it not far, beyond the edge of the airfield. Everyone saw the stable flight of the five-ton aircraft very well.

The creators of the five-ton had to overcome another formidable obstacle. There was no apparatus for preparing 4 tons of explosive mixture at once. It was necessary to melt it in several small installations, but keeping so much powerful explosive in a molten state is extremely dangerous! Therefore, we decided to adhere to a strict schedule of gradual filling. Accurate to the minute, the end of the preparation of the mixture in each subsequent apparatus had to coincide with the emptying of the previous one. Caution, caution and caution again!

The very next day after equipping the experimental batch of bombs, the first of them was hung under the Pe-8, at the helm of which the most experienced pilot, regiment commander V. Abramov sat down. Chief designer He made sure that the suspension was correct, agreed on the exact time of departure and got into the car standing ready, where the closest employees were waiting for him. After two hours of frantic driving, the designers were at the training ground.

Meanwhile, at the airfield, all the fuses were screwed into the bomb for the first time. Having received permission to take off, the pilot confidently soared upward at the appointed time. The journey from the airfield to the training ground took him a few minutes. However, the pilot managed to gain only 2500 m of altitude instead of the calculated 3000 m. The situation was critical. Above there are clouds, and below, just a kilometer from the target, there are designers and military personnel. Sitting down with such a “stuffing” is certain death. And throwing it is dangerous - the blast wave can reach the plane. The commander decides: to abandon and immediately gain altitude. The plane still shook, although slightly. Neither people nor the car were injured.

The bomb landed right on specified place, to the forest. As soon as the echo of the explosion died down, people rushed into the thicket. It was an old forest, even during the day it was gloomy. Then the darkness thickened - impassable rubble began to fall. But when Air Marshal A. Golovanov, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General M. Shevelev, designers and test site workers reached the site where the bomb fell, it became light. At first everyone thought that they were lost and went out to the edge of the forest again. Then we realized that this was not so. An unprecedented picture appeared before their eyes: in the forest there yawned a vast shallow bowl, a hundred meters in diameter, surrounded by fallen trees. To assess the effectiveness of the bomb, they agreed to count only barrels with a diameter of more than 20 cm. There were over 600 of them.

On February 15, 1943, the five-ton tank was accepted for service and put into production. On the night of April 28, 1943, a detachment of aircraft dropped the first production FAB-5000 on the coastal fortifications of Koenigsberg.

The five-ton truck terrified the Nazis. She provided indispensable assistance to ground troops in many battles, in particular in the Battle of Kursk. It was used to storm fortresses, coastal fortifications, and to destroy factories and airfields. One day, our intelligence delivered to the designers a photograph taken after a superbomb hit a cluster of fascist heavy tanks. "Tigers" and "Panthers" were turned over and thrown around like children's toys.

Aviation bomb or - one of the types of aviation ammunition dropped from an airplane or other aircraft and separated from the holders under the influence of gravity or with a low speed of forced separation.

Story

WWI British Air Force pilot flying bombs

By the beginning of the First World War, not a single country in the world had serial, more or less effective aircraft bombs. At that time, hand grenades and rifle (gun) grenades were also commonly called bombs or bombs. Moreover, the expression “airplane bomb” originally meant, in fact, heavy hand grenade, which was dropped from airplanes by pilots. Artillery shells of 75 mm caliber and higher were often used as aerial bombs. But by the end of the war in 1918, quite effective fragmentation, high-explosive, armor-piercing, chemical and smoke bombs had been created in England, France and Germany. These bombs were equipped with wing or ring stabilizers and had a completely modern appearance.

Classification of aerial bombs

Illuminating aviation bombs (light) SAB-100-55 and SAB-100-75

According to their purpose, aerial bombs are divided into

• main (intended directly to destroy targets)
• and auxiliary, creating situations that contribute to the solution of combat missions and combat training tasks for troops.

The latter include smoke, lighting, photo aircraft bombs (lighting for night photography), daytime (colored smoke) and night (colored fire) orientation-signal, orientation-sea (create a colored fluorescent spot on the water and colored fire; in NATO countries, orientation-signal and naval-targeting aerial bombs have the general name of marker bombs), propaganda (equipped with propaganda materials), practical (for training bombing - do not contain explosives or contain a very small charge; non-charged practical aerial bombs are most often made of cement) and imitation (imitate nuclear bomb);

• According to the type of active material - conventional, nuclear, chemical, toxin, bacteriological (traditionally, bombs loaded with pathogenic viruses or their carriers also belong to the category of bacteriological, although, strictly speaking, viruses are not bacteria);
• By the nature of the damaging effect: fragmentation ( lethal effect mainly fragments);

high-explosive fragmentation (fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive action; in the West such ammunition is called general purpose bombs);

• • high-explosive (high-explosive and blasting action);
  • penetrating high-explosive - they are also high-explosive thick-walled, they are also (Western designation) “seismic bombs” (with high explosive action);
  • concrete-piercing (in the West such ammunition is called semi-armor-piercing) inert (does not contain an explosive charge, hitting the target only due to kinetic energy);
  • concrete-breaking explosives (kinetic energy and blasting action);
  • armor-piercing explosive (also with kinetic energy and blasting action, but having a more durable body);

Managed aerial bomb, dropped by a Luftwaffe plane, penetrated 6 decks British cruiser HMS Uganda. Salerno 13, September 1943

• • armor-piercing cumulative (cumulative jet);
  • armor-piercing fragmentation / cumulative fragmentation (cumulative jet and fragments);
  • armor-piercing based on the “shock core” principle;
  • incendiary (flame and temperature);
  • high-explosive incendiary (high-explosive and blasting action, flame and temperature);
  • high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary (fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive action, flame and temperature);
  • incendiary-smoke (damaging effects of flame and temperature; in addition, such a bomb produces smoke in the area);
  • poisonous/chemical and toxin (poisonous substance);
  • poisonous smoke bombs (officially these bombs were called “smoking aviation poisonous smoke bombs”);
  • fragmentation-poisonous/fragmentation-chemical (with fragments and toxic substance);
  • infectious action/bacteriological (directly by pathogenic microorganisms or their carriers from insects and small rodents);
  • Nuclear (at first called atomic) and thermonuclear bombs(initially in the USSR they were called atomic-hydrogen) are traditionally distinguished in separate category not only in terms of the active material, but also in terms of the damaging effect, although, strictly speaking, they should be considered high-explosive incendiary (adjusted for additional damaging factors of a nuclear explosion - radioactive radiation and radioactive fallout) of ultra-high power. However, there are also “nuclear bombs of enhanced radiation” - their main damaging factor is radioactive radiation, specifically the neutron flux formed during the explosion (in connection with which such nuclear bombs received the common name “neutron”).

The Tallboy bomb was used to attack the battleship Tirpitz.

• By the nature of the target - for example, “anti-bunker” (Bunker Buster), anti-submarine, anti-tank and bridge bombs (the latter were intended to operate on bridges and viaducts);

Tirpitz attacked by British bombers on April 3, 1944

• By mass, expressed in kilograms or pounds (for non-nuclear bombs) or power, expressed in kilotons or megatons) of TNT equivalent (for nuclear bombs). It should be noted that the caliber of a non-nuclear bomb is not its actual mass, but its correspondence to the dimensions of a certain standard ammunition (which is usually a high-explosive bomb of the same caliber). The discrepancy between caliber and mass can be quite large - for example, the SAB-50-15 illumination bomb had a caliber of 50 kg and a mass of only 14.4-14.8 kg. On the other hand, the FAB-1500-2600TS aerial bomb (TS - “thick-walled”) has a caliber of 1500 kg with an actual weight of 2600 kg;
• According to the design of the warhead - monoblock, modular and cluster (initially the latter were called “rotational dispersal aircraft bombs”/RRAB in the USSR).
• In terms of controllability - uncontrollable (free-falling, in Western terminology - gravitational - and gliding) and controlled (adjustable).

Main characteristics of aerial bombs

Caliber - nominal mass bombs, expressed in kilograms with established geometric dimensions. For aerial bombs of the USSR and Russia, the caliber is indicated in the bomb symbol after the type name.

Filling factor- ratio of the mass of equipment (explosives) to gross weight bombs. It varies in the range from 0.1 to 0.7. The highest filling coefficient is for high-explosive bombs, the lowest for concrete-piercing, seismic and fragmentation bombs.

Aerodynamic characteristics of an aerial bomb, are determined by its ballistic coefficient. In the USSR and Russia, the standard characteristic that determines this coefficient is the value of the characteristic time of the fall of an aerial bomb - the time of fall of an aerial bomb dropped in horizontal flight by a carrier at a speed of 40 m/s and an altitude of 2000 meters.

Indicators effectiveness of defeat air bombs:

• Particulars - determining the specific nature of the damage to the target: the radius and depth of the explosion crater, the thickness of the armor penetrated by the bomb, the radius of fragmentation damage, the area of ​​​​the affected area for high-explosive bombs, etc.
• Generalized - defining required quantity hits the target to destroy it or disable it for specified time, reduced affected area, etc.

Performance characteristics- range of conditions for using aerial bombs: minimum and maximum values speed, altitude, dive angle and flight time; conditions of storage, transportation, scope of preparation for combat use, etc.

Aircraft bomb suspension

Initially aviation ammunition taken by the pilot or other crew members into the cockpit, and simply thrown out by hand while flying over the target. Subsequently, various remote devices for suspending bombs on holders and bringing them into active state before the reset and the reset itself.

Lancaster bomb bay. "Avro Lancaster" - a four-engine bomber of the British Air Force during the Second World War.

When ammunition is located inside the fuselage (this is called “internal suspension”), special weapons compartments are structurally provided ( cargo compartments), closed in flight by flaps. Inside such a compartment, as a rule, there are cluster bomb holders (CD), which are a frame with guides, electric locks, load lifting mechanisms, blocking and release chains, etc. Each cassette can hang several aerial bombs in a row. Various containers are also widely used, which are loaded with ammunition on the ground by specially trained people and lifted into the cargo compartment completely ready for use. The cargo compartment may contain other types of holders and various devices for the transportation and use of various cargoes - beam holders, ejection devices, etc.

When ammunition is located externally on the aircraft structure ("external sling"), universal multi-lock beam holders (MBDs) are often used. For example, the design of the MBD3-U9 beam holder allows up to nine 250 kg caliber bombs to be hung on it. in groups of three. Also, specialized beam holders are used for suspending missile weapons.

The process of suspending bombs and cargo is often mechanized. Winches with manual or electric drive are widely used - in the latter case For centralized control of standard Bl-56 electric winches, a mobile control panel based on the TSUL-56 trolley is used.

It should be noted that the larger the aircraft, the more flexible and versatile its combat use, allowing many combinations (loading options) various types aviation weapons (AW). In domestic aviation, there are machines that provide up to 300 different loading options, depending on the characteristics of each specific task.

Samples of weapons

Conventional bombs

• PTAB-2.5-1.5 is the most popular aerial bomb of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
• OFAB-250-270 is the most popular aerial bomb in military aviation of the modern Russian Federation.
• FAB-5000NG is the most powerful and heaviest aerial bomb of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
• FAB-9000 is the heaviest (together with the armor-piercing BrAB-9000) and powerful non-nuclear aerial bomb in the USSR.
• Grand Slam is the most powerful (non-nuclear) and heaviest aerial bomb of World War II (Great Britain).
• GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is the most powerful and heaviest serial non-nuclear aerial bomb. It is also the most powerful and heaviest serial controlled aerial bomb in the world (USA).
• Massive Ordnance Penetrator is the most powerful and heaviest (13600 kg) guided aerial bomb in the world (USA).
• The T-12 Cloudmaker is the heaviest (caliber - 43,600 pounds or 19,777 kg) non-nuclear (high explosive) aerial bomb in history. For the manufacture of the thermonuclear Mk.17, its own body (USA) was used.
• ODAB-9000 (RF) - high-power volumetric detonating aerial bomb. It is considered the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the world (44,000 kg of TNT equivalent).
• KhB-2000 is the heaviest chemical aerial bomb in history (USSR).
• GBU-44/B Viper Strike (Russian) "Viper Strike") - the smallest (19 kg) guided aerial bomb in the world.
• AO-8sv-fs is the smallest high-explosive aerial bomb in history (USSR).
• BLU-39 (chemical) is the smallest (about 82 grams) aerial bomb brought into service (USA).
• Bat bomb (“Mouse bomb”, incendiary) is the smallest (17 grams) aerial bomb in history (it was produced in an experimental series, but did not enter service). It was assumed that the carriers of these bombs would be bats dropped from airplanes in special self-unpacking containers (USA).

The aircraft bomb was produced in two versions with a cast or forged body. It had 4 stabilizers made of sheet steel, which were attached to the ribs welded to the body with screws or rivets. The filler is steel balls filled with concrete. The fuse was screwed onto the nose of the bomb. Suspension – vertical in bundles of 5 units. The body and tail are painted dark gray. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 12 kg; explosive mass - 0.9 kg; length – 585 mm; diameter – 86 mm.

The bomb body was made of cast steel with subsequent machining. The body and tail are painted dark gray or green. The four stabilizers are made of sheet steel and welded together. The tail is attached to the bomb body with eight screws. To influence the enemy’s psyche, devices were mounted in the tail of the bomb that emitted a loud whistle when falling. Suspension – vertical. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight - 55.5 kg; explosive mass – 24.4 kg; total length – 1100 mm; case length – 715 mm; diameter – 201 mm.

The bomb was the most common among those used by the German Air Force and could be delivered to the target by almost any bomber. It consisted of three parts: a nose cone, a body and a base plate with four stabilizers. Depending on the body materials and methods of its manufacture, the aerial bomb was divided into three types. The bomb was equipped with various types of fuses, both electrical and mechanical. The fuses could have mechanisms to slow down and prevent the bomb from being disarmed. To influence the enemy’s psyche, devices were mounted in the tail of the bomb that emitted a loud whistle when falling. Suspension – vertical. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 250 kg; explosive mass – 130 kg; length – 1630 – 1651 mm; diameter – 368 – 370 mm.

The bomb was produced in three modifications SC1000C, SC1000L and SC1000L2, differing in weight and size. It had a thin-walled cylindrical middle section, a welded nose spinner and a screwed-on magnesium tail fairing with stabilizer. The bomb was equipped with a side fuse. To reduce the depth of penetration of the bomb into the ground and increase the effect of the shock wave, a ring was welded to the head of the bomb. The bomb was equipped with various fuses. The body was painted light blue with a yellow stripe on the stabilizer, both electric instant detonation and mechanical with time delays for more than 2 hours. The bomb was also used against unarmored ships and submarines. The suspension is horizontal. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 1002-1090 kg; explosive mass – 530 – 620 kg; total length – 2527 – 2781 mm; body length -1742 - 1905 mm; stabilizer length – 1181 mm; tail span – 610 – 643 mm; diameter – 600 – 660 mm; wall thickness – 10 mm; damage radius - 120 m. There is a known modification of the SC-1200 bomb, which was similar in design to the SC-1000 (weight - 1117 kg, explosive mass - 631 k).

The design of the aerial bomb is similar to the SC-1000. The suspension is horizontal. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 1832 kg; explosive mass – 1000-1100 kg; total length – 3498 – 3759 mm; case length – 2692 – 2718 mm diameter – 660 mm; damage radius – 180 m.

The design of the aerial bomb is similar to the SC-1000. The suspension is horizontal. The avibomb is painted black, the inscriptions are the same, and there is a yellow stripe on the stabilizer. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 2000 kg; explosive mass – 1200 kg; total length – 3467 mm; case length – 2692 mm; stabilizer length – 1137 mm; diameter – 660 mm; tail span – 622 mm; wall thickness – 13 mm; damage radius – 250 m.

The bomb had an aluminum body with a welded head and tail. The fuse was located longitudinally inside the bomb. Only a few aircraft models could deliver this bomb to its target. It was mainly used to bomb large ships. The bomb was painted sky blue with two yellow stripes above the stabilizers. The suspension is horizontal. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 2450 kg; explosive mass – 1700 kg; total length – 3912 mm; case length – 2408 mm; diameter – 820 mm.

The SD-1 bomb was a modified 50 mm mortar mine. In the mine, the standard fuse is replaced with a bomb fuse shock action, the tail cartridge with gunpowder was removed and the tail unit was replaced. It had a steel body and tail made of eight aluminum stabilizers. The outer surface of the bomb is painted lemon yellow. The bomb was equipped with a head mechanical instantaneous fuse simplest design. The bomb was a submunition of a cluster bomb. Depending on the container, it contained from 50 to 392 bombs. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 760 g; explosive mass – 110 g; length – 150 mm; case length – 108 mm; diameter – 50 mm.

The SD-1 FRZ bomb was a converted version of the 50 mm French mortar mine, designated GrWr 203(f) in Germany. In the mine, the standard fuse was replaced with a bomb impact fuse, the tail cartridge with gunpowder was removed, and the tail unit was replaced. The bomb was a submunition of a cluster bomb. Depending on the container, it contained from 50 to 392 bombs. It had a steel body and tail made of eight aluminum stabilizers. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 520 g; explosive mass – 60 g; length – 160 mm; case length – 95 mm; diameter – 50 mm.

The SD-2B anti-personnel fragmentation bomb-mine was a submunition of cluster bombs designed to destroy personnel with fragments. Depending on the type and installation of the fuse, the bomb was detonated (explosion) either in the air, at the moment of descent, or on the ground at the moment it hit the ground, or on the ground after a certain time, or on the ground when exposed to it (change of position, shifting from places). The latter property gives the bomb the characteristics of an anti-personnel fragmentation remotely deployed mine. SD-2 bombs were placed in containers (cassettes) from 6 to 360 pieces, depending on the type of container. The SD-2 fragmentation bomb consisted of a body, an external drop-down casing, a fuse and a connecting cable. The bomb body was a thick-walled cast iron cylinder filled with explosive. There was a hole in the side wall into which the fuse was embedded. A short metal cable came out of the fuse, with a windmill at the end, consisting of either two disks and two half-barrels, or two blades. After the cassette opened and the bomb, which was not held back by anything, was released, then under the action of springs and the oncoming air flow, the elements of the windmill opened, moved up the cable and became like a propeller in the flow, rotating the cable, which unscrewed the safety rod from the fuse, thereby driving the bomb into a fighting state. The bomb clusters were carried by bomber aircraft Ju-87, Ju-88, He-111. A total of 2.3 million bombs were fired. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 2 kg; explosive mass – 213 g; length – 90 mm; diameter – 76 mm; wall thickness – 9.5 mm; damage radius – 4-6 m.

The cumulative anti-tank bomb was a submunition of a cluster bomb. Depending on the type of container, it contained 40 or 60 bombs. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 4 kg; explosive mass – 350 g; length – 310 mm; diameter – 92 mm; armor penetration - 60 mm.

The fragmentation bomb was made of cast steel. The body of the aerial bomb consisted of two steel cups inserted into one another. The space between the glasses was filled with metal fragments in cement mortar. The fuse was installed in the bow. The tail unit is made of four stabilizers made of sheet steel, secured with rivets. Depending on the type of container, a cluster bomb contained 17 - 28 bombs. The bombs were painted dark gray or olive green. A total of 1.2 million bombs were fired. The performance characteristics of the main types of bombs are given in the table.

A series of 50 kg bombs were used both as anti-personnel and semi-armor-piercing bombs. It was put into service in 1940 and had a reinforced concrete casing 31 mm thick. Inside the case there was a steel glass 2 mm thick, which was filled with TNT. The explosion produced 300-400 fragments. The bomb had a tail cast from magnesium alloy. Painted black. Damage radius 80-100 m. Suspension – horizontal or vertical. If the bomb was used as an anti-submarine bomb, the plumage was removed from it, and the fuse was set with a delay of 5 seconds. This made it possible to hit underwater targets at a depth of 12 - 18 m. The performance characteristics of the main types of bombs are given in the table.

The bomb body was made of solid forged steel. The tail was made of sheet steel. The bomb was equipped with an electric or instantaneous impact fuse. For an explosion above the ground, a special parachute and a delayed fuse were used. Suspension – horizontal or vertical. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 66 kg; explosive mass – 24 kg; length – 1090 mm; diameter – 240 mm; wall thickness – 10.2 mm.

Structurally, the bomb consisted of three parts. The nose and tail were welded to the main body. The sheet steel tail had four stabilizers with steel rod struts. The bomb body was made of two steel pipes of different diameters, inserted into one another; the space between the pipes was filled with steel fragments or concrete. The bomb was equipped with an electric or impact instantaneous fuse. The bomb was painted dark green. Suspension – horizontal or vertical. The performance characteristics of the main types of bombs are given in the table.

The bomb was produced in five versions: SD-500 and SD-500 A/B/C/E. The central fuse was located along the entire body of the bomb. The tail unit was made of sheet steel and had ring struts. The suspension is horizontal using a special fastening. The bomb was painted gray with two red stripes on the nose. The performance characteristics of the main types of bombs are given in the table.

The largest thick-walled fragmentation bombs were the SD-1400 Esau and SD-1700 Sigismund. They were intended to destroy large ships and industrial buildings. The bomb body was made of forged steel. A ring was welded to the nose of the bomb to prevent the bomb from penetrating too much into the ground or water. The tail is made of light alloy with a ring post. The stabilizers are fastened to the ribs with rivets. The suspension is horizontal using a special fastening. TTX SD-1400/SD-1700: weight – 1400/1704 kg; explosive mass – 325/705 kg; length – 2840/3300 mm; case length – 1691/2315 mm; diameter – 563/660 mm.

Armor-piercing rocket bomb PC-500 RS (Paulina)

In 1942, rocket-propelled armor-piercing bombs were adopted: PC-500 RS, PC-1000-RS and PC-1800-RS. The solid propellant engine installed in the tail section of the bombs gave them an additional vertical speed of 160 m/s, thereby increasing armor penetration to 180-350 mm. The engine was equipped with a tail unit and could operate for up to 3 s. The bombs were of thick-walled one-piece construction with a specially hardened tip. An electric impact type fuse was located in the head part. Bombs were used to destroy armored ships. The performance characteristics of the bombs are given in the table.

The class of armor-piercing bombs included armor-piercing high-explosive (thick-walled) and armor-piercing fragmentation (thin-walled) bombs. Thick-walled bombs had a one-piece forged steel body. The main fuse was located in the tail section. The tail was made of magnesium alloy or sheet steel and was reinforced with a ring strut. The suspension is horizontal. The bomb was painted sky blue, with red or blue stripes on the tail. Bombs were dropped from a height of 4000-6000 m. Armor penetration - up to 180 mm of armor or 2.5 m of reinforced concrete. The performance characteristics of the bombs are given in the table.

In Germany, three main types of smoke bombs were produced: NC-50, NC-50 WC NC D/SEE (for setting up smoke screens on water) and NC-250S. The bomb body was made of seamless steel pipes with four tail stabilizers. Impact-type fuse, instant action. Suspension – vertical or horizontal. Smoke emission time is 20 - 30 minutes. The performance characteristics of some bombs are given in the table.

Produced in Germany large number containers (cluster bombs) for equipping them with submunitions. The most common were: AB-23 SD-2, AB-24T SD-2, AB-36 and BSK-36, AB-42, AB-70, AB-250, AB-250, AB-500, AB-1000 . The cassettes were loaded with fragmentation and incendiary bombs. According to the technical documentation, the following options for equipping containers were provided: AB 250 - 96 B1 or 64 B2 or 28 B4 or 13 B10 + 6 B1 or 224 SD1 or 144 SD2 or 17 SD4; AB 500 - 184 B1 or 116 B2 or 46 B4 or 28 B10 or 21 B10 + 35 B1 or 392 SD1 or 118 SD4; AB 1000 - 610 B1 or 238 B2 or 78 B10 or 66 B10 + 60 B1 or 204 SD4.

The bomb had a cylindrical body made of magnesium alloy. It was filled with thermite shavings. A three-feather tail was attached to the body. The bombs did not have an instantaneous fuse and, when dropped, spontaneously ignited after some time. As a rule, bombs were dropped in containers, the largest of which could hold 700 units. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 1 kg; mass of incendiary substance – 0.7 kg; length – 345 mm; diameter – 50 mm.

During the war, Germany produced a large range of incendiary bombs, which were distinguished by various “surprises” that prevented fire suppression or additional explosions that expanded the source of destruction. Incendiary aerial bombs were produced in casings of thin-walled high-explosive aerial bombs corresponding in caliber. Some bombs, in addition to thermite cartridges, contained steel fragments and a TNT charge. Incendiary bombs were painted dark gray. Composite incendiary bombs of large caliber were also used, which were manufactured in front-line conditions. The nose and tail (with stabilizer) fairings from heavy high-explosive bombs, a suspension system and a fuse in the form of two small-caliber incendiary bombs were attached to the incendiary tank. The B-2 EZ/B-2.2 EZ bombs had 60 g of explosives, which, after falling, exploded after 2-6 minutes, thereby hitting firefighters. The B-4 bombs were produced in four versions, differing in their filling, which prevented fire extinguishing. And when extinguishing with water, an explosive explosion was formed. They had a body made of perforated steel sheet with a cast iron head and tail. Their burning time was 4-5 minutes. The “Brand C 50 A” and “Brand C 250 A” bombs contained a liquid incendiary mixture (in bottles or ampoules) and burned for 10-20 minutes, forming a fireplace with an area of ​​15 or 40 m in diameter. The Spreng-Brand C-50 bomb, in addition to the incendiary mixture, had an explosive charge, which exploded 3-4 seconds after ignition, scattering burning parts around. The Flam C-250 and Flam C-500 bombs contained a liquid incendiary composition consisting of 30% gasoline and 70% crude oil. Performance characteristics of some incendiary bombs.

The R-4/M unguided rocket was put into service in 1944. Structurally, it consisted of three parts: the warhead; solid propellant rocket engine and stabilizer with tail that opens in flight. The high-explosive warhead of the rocket was designed for a direct hit, in contrast to fragmentation shells of anti-aircraft artillery, which hit the target with fragments if there were misses. The rocket was kept on course by 8 drop-down stabilizers with a span of 242 mm. The missile was intended to destroy enemy heavy bombers. Me-262 and Fw-190 aircraft were equipped with missiles. Missiles are launched from underwing hardpoints. The Me-262 fighter managed to deploy up to 24 missiles. The most common tactic was to launch a salvo of all missiles from a distance of about 1 km. At such a distance, the missiles covered a fairly large volume of space, approximately 15 by 30 m, significantly increasing the likelihood of hitting at least one enemy bomber. A total of 12 thousand missiles were fired. Performance characteristics of the rocket: weight - 3.9 kg; case diameter - 55 mm; rocket length - 812 mm; explosive mass – 520 g; mass of the accelerating charge – 815 g; launch range – 1500 m; effective range - 600 - 1000 m; maximum engine thrust - 245 kgf; speed – 525 m/s. Based on the R-4/M, two missiles were developed to destroy armored ground targets Panzerblitz-2 (armor penetration - 180 mm; speed - 370 m/s) and Panzerblitz-3 (armor penetration - 160 mm; speed up to 570 m/s) .

Guides for RZ.65/73 projectiles. On the left - under the wing of a Bf-109. On the right - under the wing of the Fw-190

The RZ.65 unguided rocket was put into service in 1942. The missiles were launched using a tubular launcher built into the wing. Later, the upgraded RZ.73 missile was put into production. When using an armor-piercing warhead, the missile penetrated 80 mm armor. Performance characteristics of the RZ.65 projectile: weight – 2.8 kg; length – 262 mm; diameter – 73 mm; mass of the accelerating charge – 685 g; explosive mass – 130 g; speed – 260 m/s. Performance characteristics of the RZ.73 projectile: weight – 3.2 kg; length – 330 mm; diameter – 73 mm; mass of the accelerating charge – 583 g; explosive mass – 200 g; speed – 360 m/s; flight range – 400 m.

Since 1943, the German Air Force began to use air battles with heavy bombers 21-cm W.Gr.42 rockets. These shells (missiles) were created for the five-barreled 210 mm NbW.42 mortar on a wheeled carriage. Launch tubes were also taken from this mortar, which were mounted in the places where the outboard tanks were attached. 21 cm W.Gr.42 shells were launched from an FW-190 fighter. Their use was quite effective in repelling daytime raids by American B-17 flying fortresses, of course, when they operated without fighter cover. Two 210-mm W.Gr.42 shells were suspended under the wings of the FW-190 and Me-109G fighters, and two or four shells were suspended on the Me-110. The remote fuse was set at 600-1200 m. A total of 403 thousand shells were fired. Projectile performance characteristics: diameter – 210 mm; length – 1260 mm; weight – 110 kg; mass of the booster charge – 18.6 kg; explosive mass – 10.2 kg; projectile speed – 320 m/s; firing range –1.2 km; the radius of damage from fragments is 40 m.

The FX-1400 "Fritz-X" bomb, sometimes referred to as the "Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-1", was used in 1943-1944. It was developed on the basis of the SD-1400 high-explosive bomb, equipped with engines and guided to the target by radio during free fall. The bomb was controlled using electromagnetic mechanisms that moved special aerodynamic surfaces - spoilers. After dropping the bomb, the plane reduced its flight speed in such a way that by the time the bomb fell it would be over the target; the operator monitored the bomb using a conventional bomb sight. The bomb was equipped with an impact fuse that delayed the initiation of the explosive charge while the bomb penetrated the target. The bomb had a tail tracer light, which served to indicate its course in low visibility conditions. However, the bomb could not be used in low cloud conditions. The Do-217 carrier aircraft dropped a bomb at an altitude of 4 - 8 km at a distance of up to 3.5 km to the target. As a rule, the bomb pierced the ship right through and exploded only in the water below it. A total of 1,400 bombs were fired. Performance characteristics of the bomb: speed – 1035 km/h; weight – 1570 kg; explosive mass – 320 kg; wingspan – 1352 mm; tail diameter – 840 mm; length – 3262 mm; case diameter – 562 mm; wall thickness – 150 mm; armor penetration from a height of 6000 m – 130 mm.

The air-to-air missile had a cigar-shaped body with four small cross-shaped rudders at the tail and four large wings. The rocket body is made of aluminum alloys, aerodynamic surfaces are made of bakelite plywood. Liquid jet engine in 20 seconds of operation it provided the rocket with a flight speed of about 900 km/h. Later, the rocket was equipped with a solid fuel engine, which allowed the rocket to develop a thrust of 150 kg within 8 seconds of flight. The rocket was controlled by wires placed in two coils at the ends of the wing. Such control reduced the target’s maneuverability, but the control channel was completely protected from interference. The length of the wires was 4.5 km. Tracers were used to control the flight, and even an electric light in the tail for twilight. The missile carried a fragmentation warhead with a guaranteed destruction radius of 8 m. The detonation was carried out using an acoustic proximity fuse, which responded to the sound of the engine of the target aircraft. A total of 1,300 missiles were fired. Performance characteristics of the rocket: weight - 60 kg; warhead weight - 20 kg; length – 2010 mm; diameter – 220 mm; wingspan - 780 mm; speed – 893 km/h; flight range – 4 km; effective range of application – 2 km.

The radio-controlled short-range air-to-air missile was put into service at the end of 1944. The rocket was equipped with a Schmidding 109-543 (SG 32) solid fuel rocket engine that developed a thrust of 150 kgf for 5.5 s. The detonation of the rocket was carried out using a coded signal received from the carrier aircraft via a radio communication channel. An electric generator was installed at the bottom of the rocket, powering the control and guidance systems. The missile carriers were the following aircraft: Ju 88 A-4, Do 217 J/N, Ju 88 G-1 and Ju 388 J-1. A total of 135 missiles were fired. Performance characteristics of the rocket: length - 2 m; diameter – 415 mm; span – 1290 mm; wing area – 0.42 m2, weight – 95 kg; warhead weight - 25 kg; speed – 682 km/h; range – 1.6 km.

Henschel Hs-293 ​​- a guided aerial bomb (glide bomb) intended for use against large naval targets. It looked like a small plane or glider with an inverted tail: a bomb below, a rocket engine above it. The bomb began to be used in 1943. It was created on the basis of a standard SC-500 high-explosive aerial bomb with a thin-walled steel body and a high-fill explosive charge. The Hs-293 ​​was equipped with lifting surfaces, tail fins and a jet booster. The bomb was dropped when the bomber was out of range of anti-aircraft fire. The rocket accelerator accelerated the “winged bomb” within 10 seconds, after which it glided towards the target, using radio command control, the equipment of which was located in the tail section. Targeting was carried out from the aircraft by a navigator-operator. To prevent the navigator from visually losing sight of the bomb, a signal flash was installed on its “tail”. When dropped from a height of 1400 m, the gliding range of the bomb was about 12 km. When the bomb was dropped, the warhead fuse was automatically switched to the firing position. The bomb carriers were: He111N-12, He177A-3, Do217K-2/K-3, Do217M-11, Do217R, He277B-5 and Ju290A-7. Some of them could carry two bombs. A total of 1,900 bombs were fired. Performance characteristics of the bomb: length – 3820 mm; diameter – 470 mm; wingspan – 3100 mm; weight – 1045 kg; explosive mass – 295 kg; flight range – 3.5 – 18 km; discharge height – 300 – 2000 m; speed – 600 km/h.

The bomb with a liquid fuel engine was intended to destroy naval targets beyond the reach of anti-aircraft guns. A special feature of the bomb was its ability to maintain a low flight altitude above sea level (about 2 m). The steering wheels are pneumatic. There were two versions of the bomb: BV-143 – launched from a He-111 aircraft; BV-143b - launched from a ship or ground catapult. The bomb was produced since 1943. A total of 251 bombs were built. Performance characteristics of the bomb: weight – 1073 kg; warhead mass - 500/1000 kg; length – 6 m; wingspan - 13.3 m; range – 8 km.

The bomb was developed on the basis of the experimental BV-226 and entered service in 1943. It had a cigar-shaped fuselage and a twin vertical tail with rudders. The wings were mounted on the top of the fuselage, were very thin and had a high aspect ratio, similar to the wings of a glider. The bomb was guided by radio from a carrier aircraft. In 1945, the bomb was reoriented to combat radar stations. The bomb carriers were Junkers Ju-88 and Heinkel He-111. By the end of the war, 10 bombs had been fired. Performance characteristics of the bomb: length - 3.5 m; diameter – 0.5 m; wingspan - 6.4 m; wing area – 1.5 sq. m; weight – 730 kg; warhead weight - 435 kg; speed – 550 km/h; flight range – 210 km.

The absolute record holder among non-nuclear aerial bombs was the T-12 “Cloudmaker” aerial bomb created in the late 40s in the United States. The total mass of the ammunition, which contained 8 tons of explosives, was 20 tons. The only plane that could lift the infernal machine into the sky at that time was the giant Convair B-36 bomber. However, the T-12 never had the chance to wreak havoc, death and destruction in the enemy camp, so the “Cloud Maker” was not included in our rating. In preparing the material, we relied on information collected by community members and.

5th place: FAB-5000 NG - 5400 kg

The largest aerial bomb used by Soviet aviation during the Second World War was the FAB-5000 NG. Its mass was 5400 kilograms, and it was carried by a Pe-8 bomber. Information about real use These bombs are few. It is known that bombs were dropped on Konigsberg in April 1943 and April 1945. FAB-5000 NG were also used during the Battle of Kursk and during the liberation of Orel.

4th place: Tallboy - 5443 kg

The British Tallboy seismic bomb became one of the most popular super-heavy bombs in aviation history. Its weight with a length of 6.3 meters was 5443 kilograms; in total, more than 800 such bombs were produced in 1944-1945. As you might guess, the only recipient of the “parcels” was the Third Reich; the ammunition was used against underground fortifications and ships. The most successful bombings were the destruction of a tunnel in the French Sumor, a series of attacks on factories for the production of V-2 rockets and the destruction of the flagship of the Nazi fleet, the battleship Tirpitz. One of the five-ton bombs, breaking through the deck, exploded inside the ship, after which it sank. The carrier of the successful bomb was a British Lancaster heavy bomber. For what qualities did the bomb receive the “seismic” classification?

Upon reaching the ground, Tallboy buried himself about 20 meters into the ground and exploded there (the timer could be set for any time - from a fraction of a second to an hour after the bomb fell), creating the effect of an earthquake. This, in fact, was the main difference between Tallboy and ordinary bombs - no building could withstand such shaking and collapsed. Also, these weapons were used against fortified submarine slipways, underground factories, bridges, viaducts, etc., that is, against targets against which conventional bombs were ineffective (bridges and viaducts were extremely difficult to hit with bombs of that time.

3rd place: BLU-82/B - 6800 kg

The American bomb BLU-82/B with the lyrical nickname “Daisy Cutter” (“Daisy Cutter”) became a nightmare for the Viet Cong partisans in the 70s of the last century. Initially, the bomb was developed for almost peaceful purposes; it was planned to be used to clear vegetation from helicopter landing sites in the jungle. Later, the concept changed and it began to be used against enemy fortifications and manpower. It is also known that the Americans used bombs during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and against Taliban mountain fortifications in Afghanistan. It is interesting that the carrier of the bomb was not a bomber, but an MS-130 transport aircraft.

2nd place: FAB-9000 M54 - 9407 kg

The Soviet high-explosive bomb FAB-9000 M-54 was developed to combat large ships, apparently, that’s why its use in the 80s of the last century against Afghan Mujahideen, contrary to the expectations of the Soviet command, turned out to be ineffective. In open areas, the radius of lethal damage from the FAB-9000 shock wave was less than 60 meters; the enemy had a chance of getting a serious concussion only if he was no more than 225 meters from the point of the explosion. Low results were also achieved when striking the mountain fortifications of the Mujahideen, the FAB-9000 is an uncorrectable free-falling bomb, and the strikes were carried out from great heights.

1st place: Grand Slam - 9980 kg

The leader of our rating is the British seismic bomb Grand Slam “Big Clap”. The ammunition, weighing 9980 kilograms and 7.7 meters long, appeared at the end of World War II. In total, more than 40 such aerial bombs were produced. The command of the Royal Air Force was pleased with the results of their use - with the help of the “Big Claps”, the German submarine base in Farge, protected by a seven-meter concrete roof, was destroyed, several railway viaducts and other objects. A Lancaster bomber was used as a bomb carrier.

The first Grand Slam was dropped on March 13, 1945. The crater from its explosion was 38 meters in diameter and 9 meters deep. In the following days, these bombs were used to attack the Bielefeld viaducts. A total of 41 Grand Slams were dropped during the war. And although they were never used against underground objects, during their short service life they proved to be exceptionally effective the best side when striking enemy communications centers.