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| U.S. EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE |
| PART 6 - BOMBS AND BOMB FUZES |
| Chapter 17 - EXPLOSIVE BOMBS |
| Section 3 - "M" SERIES |
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Introduction |
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Prior to the organization of the AN Standardization Board in 1941, these bombs were designated as "Demolition H.E." bombs; under the standardization policy they were re-titled as "General Purpose High-Explosive (G.P.H.E.) bombs. |
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Targets: Ammunition dumps, railway engines, and cars, all types of construction, and aircraft on the ground. |
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Body construction: These bombs may be made by any one of the following methods: (1) From seamless steel tubing in which the nose of the bomb is formed by swaging and the tail by drawing to the necessary diameter; or (2) the case may be forged in one pie-ce; or (3) it may be formed cast sections welded together. These bombs have female base filling plates. |
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Type of suspension: Horizontally, by dual lugs. |
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Construction of suspension lug: Two eyebolts welded to body along the longitudinal axis of the bomb. The eyebolts are formed from bar steel, shaped in the form of a U, and then welded to the body. |
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Color and markings: Prior to 11 March, 1942, these bombs would have been painted yellow all over, with black manufacturer's markings; since that date they have been painted olive drab with a one-inch yellow band around the nose and base and a ¼-inch band around the center of gravity. |
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Material of tail: Sheet steel. |
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Tail construction: This type of tail consists of the following parts: (1) a cast-steel sleeve secured to the body of the bomb by a fin-locking nut; (2) four fins or vanes; and (3) internal box-type struts. One vane and one strut are pressed from one piece of me-tal, and the four piece are welded to one another and to the sleeve. |
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Type of filling: (1) 50/50 Amatol. Since Amatol is hygroscopic, TNT surrounds are pla-ced around the nose and tail booster sleeves to seal the Amatol from moisture; (2) 100% TNT, which will be stencilled on the bomb. All of this series except the 100-pound M30 contain two built in Auxiliary Boosters M104, one in the nose and one in the tail, which contain tetryl. The 100-pound M30 has the auxiliary booster in the nose only. The Adap-ter Booster M102 (tetryl) is threaded to the base plate of all bombs in the series and re-ceives the tail fuze. |
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Other bombs that carry an "M" designation although not actually classified in the "M" series, are included in this section becauce they are obsolecent: |
| M62 | 600-pound | A.P.-H.E. |
| M61 | 800-pound | A.P.-H.E. |
| M60 | 1,000-pound | A.P.-H.E. |
| M52 | 1,400-pound | A.P.-H.E. |
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M5 |
30-pound |
Frag. (Obsolete) |
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"M" Series Bombs (Obsolescent) |
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Bombs |
100-lb. M30 |
300-lb. M31 |
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Over-all length |
36.0" |
48.6" |
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| Length of body | 30.0" | 40.2" | ||
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Diameter of body |
8.2" |
10.9" |
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Thickness of wall |
0.16" |
0.27" |
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| Length of Tail | 9.75" | 12.1" | ||
| Width of tail | 11.0 | 14.9 | ||
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Weight of tail |
3.5# |
6.0# |
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Filling |
Amatol |
TNT |
Amatol |
TNT |
| 50/50 | 50/50 | |||
| Weight of filling | 53.3# | 54.0# | 135.5# | 137.0# |
| Total weight | 106.3# | 107.0# | 272.5# | 274.0# |
| Charge/weight ratio | 50.1% | 50.6% | 49.4% | 50.0% |
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Fuzing |
These bombs take the Fuze M103 in
the nose and |
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Bombs |
600-lb. M32 |
1,100-lb. M33 |
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Over-all length |
59.5" |
68.7" |
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| Length of body | 49.5" | 54.7" | ||
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Diameter of body |
15.2" |
19.8" |
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Thickness of wall |
0.35" |
0.43" |
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| Length of Tail | 13.9" | 18.5" | ||
| Width of tail | 20.4" | 27.0" | ||
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Weight of tail |
12.6# |
22.5# |
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Filling |
Amatol |
TNT |
Amatol |
TNT |
| 50/50 | 50/50 | |||
| Weight of filling | 319.3# | 336.0# | 588# | 618# |
| Total weight | 586.5# | 621.0# | 1,111# | 1,141 |
| Charge/weight ratio | 54.1% | 54.1% | 52.9% | 54.1% |
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Fuzing |
These bombs take the Fuze M103 in
the nose and |
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Bombs |
2,000-lb. M34 |
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Over-all length |
90.4" |
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| Length of body | 70.0" | |||
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Diameter of body |
23.3" |
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Thickness of wall |
0.5" |
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| Length of Tail | 25.7" | |||
| Width of tail | 31.6" | |||
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Weight of tail |
38.6# |
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Filling |
Amatol |
TNT |
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| 50/50 | ||||
| Weight of filling | 1,061# | 1,077# | ||
| Total weight | 1,971# | 1,987# | ||
| Charge/weight ratio | 53.8% | 54.7% | ||
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Fuzing |
These bombs take the Fuze M103 in
the nose and |
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Figure 257.
"M" Series Demolition Bombs - 600-pound M32 (left) and |
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