German Explosive Ordnance - PC Bombs

German Explosives

PC 500kg, D500 E, and D500 L

D500 E
Overall length: 68.2 inches
Body Length: 42.3 inches
Body Diameter: 15.6 inches
Wall Thickness: 1.4 wall to 9 inches at point
Tail Length: 27.5 inches
Tail Width: 15.5 inches
Filling: Cast TNT: 60/40 Amatol; TNT and Wax.
Weight of filling: 75 kilograms
Total Weight: 539 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 14%


D500 L
Overall length: 78.8 inches
Body Length: 53.8 inches
Body Diameter: 15 inches
Wall Thickness: 0.9 wall to 9.3 inches at point
Tail Length: 30.5 inches
Tail Width: 16 inches
Filling: Cast TNT; TNT and Wax.
Weight of filling: 78 kilograms
Total Weight: 416 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 19%


Color: Field gray or aluminum overall.  Dark blue stripe on tail cone.


Construction: There are two types of the PC 500: Type E and Type L.  Both types have a one-piece forged steel body and one transverse fuze pocket.  The fuze pocket is located aft the horizontal suspension lug.  The bomb is machined to accommodate a male type tail closing plug.  The tail assembly can be either of sheet steel or magnesium alloy.  The tail unit in either case is of the cylinder type.  Both types have the sheet metal ring which is used for bracing the fins.  The tail unit is secured to the bomb body by means of 12 screws.


Suspension: Horizontal by means of an eyebolt or T-type lug.

PC 1000-kg ESAU

Overall length: 85.5 inches
Body Length: 58.5 inches
Body Diameter: 19.8 inches
Wall Thickness: 1.5 inches at wall to 13.4 inches at point
Tail Length: 32 inches
Tail Width: 19.8 inches

Filling: TNT and Wax
Weight of filling: 160 kilograms
Total Weight: 1,000 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 16%

Color: Sky blue with aluminum tail.  Blue stripe on tail cone.


Construction: The body of the PC 1,000-kg armor-piercing bomb is of one-piece forged steel.  The nose is very heavy and this construction decreases the size of the explosive cavity.  There is one fuze pocket located aft the suspension lug.  Through the center of the explosive cavity is an additional exploder tube.

The tail unit is constructed of magnesium alloy and is attached in the same manner as used with the SC 1,000 series.


Suspension: Horizontal.  This bomb uses a suspension band with the H-type lug secured to it.  At 90 degrees from the suspension lug in both directions are two trunnion bolts for dive-bombing.





PC 1,400-kg FRITZ

Overall length: 110.8 inches
Body Length: 75.7 inches
Body Diameter: 22 inches
Wall Thickness: 1.25 in wall to 12.5 inches at point
Tail Length: 43.3 inches
Tail Width: 22 inches

Filling: TNT and Wax; Trialen
Weight of filling: 300 kilograms
Total Weight: 1,400 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 21.4%

Color: Sky blue overall or sky blue with aluminum tail.  Red or blue stripes on tail.


Construction: The bomb body is of one-piece forged steel construction.  There is one transverse fuze pocket located aft of the carrying lug.  Two exploder tubes containing tetryl run lengthwise through the explosive cavity just left of the fuze pocket.  The base of the bomb body is closed with a male base plate.

The bomb tail is of the cylinder type, the cylinder being 6 inches deep.  It is constructed of either cast aluminum or magnesium.


Suspension: Suspension of the bomb in the racks is horizontal by means of an H-type lug or by two trunnions on the carrying band.






PC 1,600-kg

Overall length: 110.8 inches
Body Length: 65.7 inches
Body Diameter: 21 inches

Filling: RDX, aluminum and wax
Weight of filling: 230 kilograms
Total Weight: 1,600 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 14.4%

Color: Blue stripes on tail.

Construction: The body is of two-piece construction with a cylinder type tail.  It is designed to penetrate 180mm of panzer steel or 2.5 meters of reinforced concrete at a striking angle of 60 degrees.

Suspension: Horizontal.

Remarks: Usually dropped at an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 meters.

The production of this bomb was stopped in October 1942.  Bombs then on hand were used and not replaced.

PC-RS Bomb Series

Description: This series of rocket assisted armour piercing bombs consists of the following missiles; PC 500 Rs, PC 1000 Rs, and the PC 1800 Rs.  In general, the three types are of similar three piece construction; the warhead, the distance piece, and the tail section.  The tail section contains the rocket motor.

Each series is fitted for horizontal suspension by means of a single "eye" or H-type suspension lug.  In addition to the suspension lug, there is a set of trunnions fitted to the bomb.  They are located 90 degrees around from the lug and approximately 2 inches further aft.  The trunnions are used for suspension only under dive-bombing conditions.

Warhead: The warhead is identical to the normal armour-piercing (PC) bombs of respective size except for the fuze pocket arrangement.  In the PC-Rs series the transverse fuze pocket has been omitted.  The impact fuze is part of the 49 series and is found screwed into the base of the warhead.  The warhead is filled through the base and the explosive cavity is then closed by means of a male type base plate.

Distance Piece: The distance piece is a steel cylinder internally threaded at both ends.  Its main purpose is to connect the warhead to the tail section.  The charging head for the fuzing system is threaded into the after end of the distance piece just forward of the tail piece junction.  The electrical leads from the charging head pass through this cylinder; one to the impact fuze and the other to the pyrotechnic rocket igniter.

Tail Section: The tail section is another steel cylinder with twelve stabilizing fins at the after end.  This total of 12 fins is made up of 4 large fins and 8 smaller fins.  The end of the tail unit is closed by means of a fixing plate.  The fixing plate has six circular openings positioned so as to take the end of the venturi tubes from the rocket motor.  The large opening in the center of the fixing plate will allow any gas emitted from the pressure release valve in the rocket motor to escape.

Rocket Motor: The rocket motor is housed within the tail section.  It consists of the following parts: main pressure chamber, six propulsion venturi, six metal spacers at each end of the pressure chamber to hold and properly space the propellant sticks, an igniter pad of black powder, and a spring loaded pressure release valve used as a safety measure.

There are 19 sticks of rocket powder in each motor, dimensions of which can be found in the accompanying chart.  The latest type of rocket powder used in these missiles was dinitrodiglycol.

Operation: When the missile is released from the mother aircraft, an electrical charge is imparted to the charging head.  This charge is passed on to both the pyrotechnic fuze and the electrical impact fuze.  The pyrotechnic delay is ignited immediately.  After 3 or 4 seconds it burns through to the black powder igniter.  The black powder then ignites and starts the propellant powder in motor burning.

The electrical charge which is passed on to the impact fuze loads and the condensers and arms the fuze.  On impact one or all of the trembler switches close.  This action completes the firing circuit and sets off the electrical detonator which in turn sets off the gaine and finally the main charge.

PC 500 RS

Overall length: 81 and 3/4 inches

Body Length: 33 inches
Body Diameter: 11 and 1/4 inches

Filling: Very pure cast TNT in an aluminum container in the nose.
Rest of filling is alternate layers of good and poor quality TNT.

Weight of Filling: 14 kilograms
Total Weight: 490 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 3%


Color and Markings: NL 6 40
PC 500 RS is stenciled in black on the side of the bomb.


Construction: The rocket container is attached to the base of the bomb by a cylindrical steel distance piece which is threaded internally on both ends - one end threading over the bomb base and the rocket container threading into the other end.

In the side of the distance piece is filled an electric fuze head marked (49) B1 with charging plungers connecting to (49) B11 and (49) B111 fuzes.  Fuze (49) B11, a pyrotechnic fuze with a delay of 3 seconds is used for igniting the rockets.  Fuze (49) B111 is an electrical impact fuze fitted into the base plate of the bomb, giving a fractional delay action to the bomb after striking the target.

Nineteen rockets are placed in the rocket container.  Twelve are 25 and 5/8 inches long by 2 and 1/16 inches in diameter, and seven are 27 and 5/8 inches long by 2 and 1/16 inches in diameter.  Weight of rocket section is 146 kilograms.

The tail is 2 feet 4 inches (large diameter): 1 foot 10 inches (small diameter)


Suspension: Horizontal.

PC 1000 RS

Overall length: 86 and 3/4 inches

Body Length: 45 inches
Body Diameter: 14 and 1/2 inches

Filling: Very pure cast TNT in an aluminum container in the nose.
Rest of filling is alternate layers of good and poor quality TNT.

Weight of Filling: 54 kilograms
Total Weight: 987 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 5.5%


Color and Markings: Sky blue.  Blue stripes between tail fins.

Stenciled:
Achtung vor Beladun
ZSK Ausschalten
Abwerf Z.S.K.O.V. Schalten
unt 28, 5, 41
PC 1000 RS

Construction: The rocket container is attached to the base of the bomb by a cylindrical steel distance piece which is threaded internally on both ends - one end threading over the bomb base and the rocket container threading into the other end.

The rockets consist of candles contained in a separate compartment at the base of the bomb and are held in position by spacers.  This compartment forms a pressure chamber from which the gases generated by the candles escape through six propulsion venturi tubes.  The tubes are sealed with pitch until combustion is effected.  The pressure chamber is provided with a spring-loaded pressure release valve at the base.

It is stated that the rockets burn for approximately 3 seconds after ignition and leave a trail of flame 150 feet long behind the bomb.

The bomb is usually of A.P. design, but instead of the exploder pocket lying transversly with the fuze head at one side, it is fuzed through the base plate which lies ahead of the rocket compartment.

The pyrotechnic fuze ignites the rocket about 2.5 seconds after the bomb is released.  Actually, bomb can be dropped without the rocket being ignited.


Suspension: Horizontal.

PC 1800 RS

Overall length: 107 inches

Body Length: 66 and 1/2 inches
Body Diameter: 21 inches

Filling: Very pure cast TNT in an aluminum container in the nose.  Two pre-cast Trialen charges in thick cardboard cylindrical cartons which are waxed into the bomb casing, completes the filling.  One specimen had 3 blocks of nitroguanidine in the nose and 10 blocks of RDX/Wax/A1 in two cardboard cylinders in the body.

Weight of Filling: 360 kilograms
Total Weight: 2,057 kilograms
Charge/Weight Ratio: 17.5%


Color and Markings: Bomb body and tail are sky blue in color.  Rocket unit and distance piece are olive drab.

Stenciled:
Konus vor Velastungen
Schutzen
unt 13, 10, 42
Achtgun vor beladung
Zsk Aussenalten
PC 1800 RS

Construction: Typical rocket bomb construction with single fuze pocket in distance piece.

Nineteen rockets are used: ten 22 and 1/2 inches long, eight 20 and 7/8 inches long and one 11 and 1/4 inches long.

All have a diameter of 2 and 15/16 inches.  Rocket unit weighs 422 kilograms.


Suspension: Horizontal.

Next Time: PD and Miscellaneous Small Bombs


Source: German Explosive Ordnance Vol. 1: Bombs, Rockets, Grenades, Mines, Fuzes & Igniters