German Bombs, Bombers and Bombing Tactics over Malta (1941-1943)

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Hi all,

The purpose of this thread is to collect and present source material for German bomb types, fuzes and tactics used over the Mediterranean (with particular reference to Malta). I am looking for both British and German sources, both primary and secondary, however, I would especially like some German diagrams for fuzes and bomb designs, in addition to source material referring to tactics used by aircrew.

I am collecting this information in order to create a video series about Bomb and Mine Disposal by the Royal Engineers and RNVR, and I would like it to be as accurate from a historical standpoint as possible, as this topic is not really given all that much research despite its importance. I currently have a number of sources which will be listed below.

Regards,

Jason

Edit: I apologise in advance for the empty posts currently present, however I have reserved them for posting the research I have managed to conduct so far. The post are currently a work in progress, and will be updated shortly.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

German bomb types [3]

Found this online and it saved me having to re-do the table in my book. I will add if there are any missing details.

German	Designation	English
SC	Sprengcylindrisch	H.E. cylindrical general purpose.
SB	Sprengbombe	High capacity bomb.
SA		High capacity bomb.
SD	Spreng Dickwand	H.E. thick walled, semiarmor piercing, fragmentation.
SD (small)	Spreng Dickwand	Anti-personel.
SBe	Splitter Beton	Concrete fragmentation bomb.
PC	Panzerdurchschlag cylindrisch	Cylindrical armor-piercing bomb.
PD	Panzer Dickwand	Armor-piercing.
BT	Bomben Torpedo	Torpedo bomb.
SP	Splitter	Fragmentation (anti-personnel).
ZC	Zementcylindrisch	Cement cylindrical.
BLC	Blitzlichtcylindrisch	Photoflash.
KC	Kampfstoffcylindrisch	Chemical cylindrical.
NC	Nebelcylindrisch	Smoke cylindrical.

Here is the total number of bombs dropped on Malta including Italian types, which I left in as a comparison, as I find the raw data quite interesting. I will also do some graphs, and I will also open a general thread for Bomb disposal in Malta between 1940 and 1944 for some further context. [1]

I would like to make note that these numbers are only representative of the lower end of the spectrum, as the bombing was so heavy in the first half of 1942 that record keeping was limited as the officers in charge were constantly overstretched. The total number of UXB reports does not also refer to single bombs, in many cases they were reports for multiple bombs, especially after anti-personnel bombs became more common.

High Explosive bombs:




Anti-Personnel Bombs:




Incendiary Bombs:

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Post reserved for Fuze types [WIP]

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Sources List:

[1] "UXB Malta: Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal 1940-1944" by S.A.M Hudson
[2] "Mines over Malta" by Frederick R. Galea
[3] http://michaelhiske.de/Allierte/USA/TManual/9_1985_2/Chap01/Chap01.HTM (Retrieved: 06/08/2024)

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Short post about SD-2 butterfly bombs

https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/early-cluster-bombs.12988/post-700033

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

I have edited this thread to include some raw numbers, as well as the graphed out data.

I would like to hear your thoughts.