The SD 70 (Sprengbombe Dickwandig 70) or ''thick walled explosive bomb'' in English was a
fragmentation bomb used by the
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
History
The second most used category of bombs was the SD series which were high-explosive bombs but with thicker casings which meant their charge to weight ratio was only 30 to 40% of their total weight. At first glance, they were difficult to distinguish from the SC series of bombs, but the two series were color-coded the SC series having yellow tail stripes, while the SD series had red tail stripes. Bombs in this series were the SD 1, SD 1 FRZ, SD 2, SD 10 A, SD 10 FRZ, SD 10 C, SD 15, SD 50, SD 70, SD 250, SD 500, SD 1400, and SD 1700. The number in the bombs designation corresponded to the approximate weight of the bomb.
The SD series was used primarily in two roles that were determined by the type of fuze and accessories fitted to the bomb. The first was as a fragmentation bomb with instantaneous fuze and when the bombs exploded above ground the case created large fragments which would kill enemy personnel and destroy unarmored vehicles. The second role was as a
general-purpose or
armor-piercing
Armour-piercing ammunition (AP) is a type of projectile designed to penetrate armour protection, most often including naval armour, body armour, and vehicle armour.
The first, major application of armour-piercing projectiles was to defeat the ...
role. In this role, the bombs were fitted with a time delay fuze which detonated the bomb after it had pierced a target destroying it with a combination of its blast and fragments.
Design
The body of the SD 70 was of one piece cast and machined steel construction. The body had one transverse fuze pocket just forward of the horizontal carrying lug. Around the nose of the bomb, there was often a ''kopfring'' - a metal ring, triangular in cross-section, designed to prevent ground penetration. In addition to the kopfring a ''dinort rod'' could be added to obtain pre-penetration detonation for
anti-personnel
An anti-personnel weapon is a weapon primarily used to maim or kill infantry and other personnel not behind armor, as opposed to attacking structures or vehicles, or hunting game. The development of defensive fortification and combat vehicles gav ...
use. The SD 70 was filled through the base and was fitted with a welded sheet steel tail cone with ribbed tail fins. The SD 70 could also be fitted with a
parachute
A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...
and a time fuze for an
air-burst anti-personnel role. To accomplish this the tail unit was removed and a sheet metal cylinder long and in diameter was attached to the base of bomb. This cylinder contained a red lattice parachute square with four double shroud lines which attached to the base of the bomb. The SD 70 could be vertically or horizontally suspended in a
bomb bay
The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the ...
or horizontally mounted on a wing or fuselage
hardpoint
A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal structural load, load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station o ...
. The SD 70 was painted gray and the tail cone was striped with red.
See also
*
Gallery
File:Kopfring.jpg, Kopfring.
File:DinortRods.jpg, Dinort rods.
References
External links
{{WWIIGermanAerialWeapons
World War II aerial bombs of Germany