SC 500 bomb
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2019) |
| SC 500 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | General-purpose bomb |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Luftwaffe |
| Wars | World War II |
| Production history | |
| Variants | K, L2, J |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 500 kg (1,100 lb) |
| Length | 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) |
| Diameter | 457 mm (18 in)[1] |
| Warhead | Amatol TNT Trialen |
| Warhead weight | 220 kg (490 lb)[1] |
The SC 500 was a Sprengbombe Cylindrisch ("cylindrical explosive bomb") family of 500 kg weight general-purpose bombs used by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.
Design
[edit]
The bombs had three-piece drawn steel bodies with a heavy machined nose cap for armor penetration. At the other end was a base plate, just forward of which the magnesium alloy tail was tack-welded onto the body, and also bolted to the tail attachment brace. The bomb was usually filled with a mixture of 40% amatol and 60% Trotyl, but when used as an anti-shipping bomb it was filled with Trialen 105, a mixture of 15% hexogen, 70% Trotyl and 15% aluminium powder. Around the nose of the bomb could be fitted an optional kopfring - a metal ring, triangular in cross section, designed to prevent ground penetration or to stop forward momentum when hitting water (to prevent the bomb from skipping off the water). The bomb could also be fitted with a Stabo Spike which was a device that prevented the bomb from burying itself in the ground before detonation to increase its anti-personnel effectiveness (similar to the US "Daisy Cutter" fuse). The bomb was attached to the aircraft horizontally by an H-type suspension lug. It could be horizontally suspended in a bomb bay or horizontally mounted on a wing or fuselage hardpoint.[1]
Post war ordnance
[edit]On 20 February 2024 an unexploded SC 500 was found in a garden in Plymouth, England during building work; the area was evacuated for three days. The bomb was eventually removed and detonated at sea.[2]
On 15 August 2024 an SC 500 was found on a building site on the Rivenwood housing development in Newtownards, County Down. The bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion five days later.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "LUFTWAFFE RESOURCE CENTER". Warbirds Resource Group. 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Ellis, Chloe Parkman & Chris (23 February 2024). "Plymouth WW2 bomb found in garden taken out to sea". BBC News.
- ^ "Controlled explosion at Newtownards WW2 bomb site". BBC News. 20 August 2024.