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That and the plane could only carry two. For launching from a B-17, the pilot had to enter a shallow dive to pick up enough speed to launch the bombs without stalling. This couldn't be done in the normal, tight, bomber box formation so the planes had to fly further apart and lost mutual support of their defensive weapons.It didn't help on the one mission they were used that few of the crews had more than introductory training on using these bombs. Originally, the 41st BG had their crews train extensively at Elgin Field in Florida. Those crews had practiced with the bombs and done multiple live drops. On arrival in the ETO, they were initially used as regular bombers. By the time of the Cologne mission, few of the crews that trained in Florida remained with the group, and those that were still there hadn't used the GB-1 since training in Florida. That meant that accuracy in the drops suffered, crews didn't know how to ensure the bombs were dropped correctly, etc.Also, the kits for the GB-1's were often not precisely balanced aerodynamically, being essentially a field strap-on thing. If improperly fitted even slightly, the bomb could veer off course or fail to enter glide. Fitting the kits correctly required skilled ground crew who knew how to ensure the wing assembly was fitted and balanced, another thing the 41st lacked by the time Cologne was carried out.
That and the plane could only carry two. For launching from a B-17, the pilot had to enter a shallow dive to pick up enough speed to launch the bombs without stalling. This couldn't be done in the normal, tight, bomber box formation so the planes had to fly further apart and lost mutual support of their defensive weapons.
It didn't help on the one mission they were used that few of the crews had more than introductory training on using these bombs. Originally, the 41st BG had their crews train extensively at Elgin Field in Florida. Those crews had practiced with the bombs and done multiple live drops. On arrival in the ETO, they were initially used as regular bombers. By the time of the Cologne mission, few of the crews that trained in Florida remained with the group, and those that were still there hadn't used the GB-1 since training in Florida. That meant that accuracy in the drops suffered, crews didn't know how to ensure the bombs were dropped correctly, etc.
Also, the kits for the GB-1's were often not precisely balanced aerodynamically, being essentially a field strap-on thing. If improperly fitted even slightly, the bomb could veer off course or fail to enter glide. Fitting the kits correctly required skilled ground crew who knew how to ensure the wing assembly was fitted and balanced, another thing the 41st lacked by the time Cologne was carried out.
