Bomb blast damage radius

[ML52]

Last night I flew two sorties that raised a question about bomb blast damage radius models. They were in the Mossie bomber with the 4k bomb. In both sorties I was at calibrated speed, the cross hairs split the center of the vh I was dropping on, both bombs landed so close the craters touched the vh but it didn't fall. In a 47 D40 I can drop a vh with 6 rockets and 2 2k bombs, even if all the rockets don't hit. Why with 8k bombs landing so close was there no damage?

[pembquist]

Just want to be clear, how did you have a formation of 2?

[Lusche]

A 4k HC/LC bomb doesn't do 4k damage. It does 2,344lb of damage, because of two reasons:

- Size. Larger bombs are less effective, smaller bombs more. The only bomb size doing it's weigh in damage is the 1K bomb class. Smaller bombs do more relative damage the smaller they get (a 250lb bomb does 312lb of damage), the larger they get, the less damage you get per pound of weight.

- Type. The numbers above are for HE, general purpose bombs. HC or LC (different names for the came thing) bombs do only 75% the damage a HE bomb of same size would do (at increased damage radius though)

And 2,344lb is less than the 2,782lb of damage required to kill a hangar.

[ML52]

I flew two separate sorties using a single plane. Thanks Lusche, not sure that makes sense but there must be a reason.

[Mongoose]

I flew two separate sorties using a single plane. Thanks Lusche, not sure that makes sense but there must be a reason.

In heavier bombs, more of the weight is in the casing.  There should be a chart around here showing the weight of the bomb compared to the weight of the explosive in the bomb.  HC/LC bombs do less damage, but have a larger blast radius.  The damage is spread over a larger area. 

[BowHTR]

Chart I made up for our group a while back. Feel free to use it!

[pembquist]

I flew two separate sorties using a single plane. Thanks Lusche, not sure that makes sense but there must be a reason.

I think that explains it. Lusche can explain more accurately but the damage that you do to an object has a time limit if you haven't destroyed it. It is something like one half the unadjusted down time. So if that is the right number than unless you can drop your second bomb on the hanger within 7.5 minutes of the first one it is like you never dropped the first one at all.

(You get the idea, Im not sure if the specifics are correct)

[cav58d]

The black widows chart says 4K bomb does 3,125lbs of damage.  Where did you get your figure from lusche?  I am inclined to believe your figure because it makes sense, and I too had the surprise recently of taking a single mossie bomber with a cookie, and square on nailing the VH and it didn't go down.  Twice!

[BowHTR]

Dont know why my chart disappeared....

The black widows chart says 4K bomb does 3,125lbs of damage.  Where did you get your figure from lusche?  I am inclined to believe your figure because it makes sense, and I too had the surprise recently of taking a single mossie bomber with a cookie, and square on nailing the VH and it didn't go down.  Twice!

That's if we had a 4K GP Bomb, It would do 3,125lb of damage. The ones we have are HC/LC.

[Lusche]

(...)
(You get the idea, Im not sure if the specifics are correct)

They are 

(Image removed from quote.)

 

[Zimme83]

The 1800kg bomb is the most powerful we have, its enough to kill a hangar.

[cav58d]

Dont know why my chart disappeared....

(Image removed from quote.)


That's if we had a 4K GP Bomb, It would do 3,125lb of damage. The ones we have are HC/LC.

That would explain it.

Is anyone else having trouble dropping hangars with 1,000 pounders and a salvo of one?  The last couple times I've tried with a 1 salvo in 17's or 24's from high alt it seems like the center bomb is a direct head but the formations bombs fall just too far left and right and don't bring down the hangar.  I don't feel like my calibration is off and I'm losing confidence to the point that I now salvo 2.

[Lusche]

I don't feel like my calibration is off and I'm losing confidence to the point that I now salvo 2.

Use 500 pounders with salvo 2. That way you do not waste that much.
In most bombers and missions, 500 pounders are the most economical choice.

[Lusche]

The 1800kg bomb is the most powerful we have, its enough to kill a hangar.

Are you sure? While it's now called a GP bomb, I was under the impression it's been modeled as a HC bomb. I just did two drops on bomber hangars to test it, they never went down.

[pembquist]

If the 1800 is the big bomb for the Stuka I have used it a couple times to kill a hanger, don't know if it had been softened up though.