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Calling all German WW2 Bomb Experts

millsbomber

millsbomber

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
I was given this item at the BOCN meet in 2011, i was told it was from a German Bomb, that was all, i have looked at it, measured it, searched for markings, tried to offer it too all my examples of bombs and it just did not make sense what it was for, i now know, as a challenge can any one here identify it.

Dave.


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Lex gave me it but the thread did not answer the question, come close but not close enough for me,,,,,, Dave
 
millsbomber said:
Lex gave me it but the thread did not answer the question, come close but not close enough for me,,,,,, Dave
Click to expand...

There was a nose extension with a switch at the end to activate a fuze.......not sure if this was different to the Stabo, but may be worth looking into. I have had a quick glance at the books I have and cant find a picture, but will keep looking.

Dave can you explain why you dont think its the type in the thread you say its close, but not close enough - what are the differences? (hard to spot in the pictures)

kind regards Kev
 
The American manual on German Bombs calls them dinort rods. Poor man's proximity fuze.
 
It is a Stabo Allen, the fuse your thinking of Kev is the ELeAZ55A
HPIM7153.jpg

but there is no way to fit the switch at the end, so what did it fit ???? the problem is it has no way of fixing to the Bomb body, the cup top has no thread and is only thin steel, the rod is not solid its hollow, there is a bulge at the thin end.
 
There appears to be a projection to the centre of the tube, inside the cup end - this ought to be threaded and screws into the end of the bomb. The cup is merely there to act as a support. I'm not sure about the tubes being hollow or solid, will delve a little deeper.

not sure how the switches were attatched to the extenstion rods on those 55A fuzes......I was more thinking aloud as to other posibilities hoping someone with more info may have the answer.

I'm intrigued to get to the bottom of this one, will keep looking!!

regards Kev
 
HAZORD said:
The American manual on German Bombs calls them dinort rods. Poor man's proximity fuze.
Click to expand...


Hazord, I think this design is predating any VT fuzes and was also used long after they became available. In my eyes an inexpensive and simple way to enhance effect.

The German designation "Dinort-Spargel" (Dinort's asparagus) came from Major Oskar Dinort who invented the Luftwaffe's version.
 
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I didn't really mean it had a proximity fuze. The rod is the first thing to strike the ground, causing the normal fuzes to fuction above ground. It would operate like the "daiseycutter" fuze extensions used by the U.S. during Vietnam, so that all of the blast effect happens above ground level, increasing damage to the target.

I would disagree with the theory that it is a stabo spike. Stabo spikes have a funnel shape and screw onto SC50 and SC70 bombs. The bombs are specially designed with a threaded boss that extends out from the nose of the bomb. The stabo spikes are internally threaded to screw onto the bomb. The dinort rod that you show has a smaller threaded piece protruding from its center, that would screw into the nose of any bomb that had a provision for the nose style bomb lug up to SD500 size. From the info on the chart, the cup diameter for a SD70 bomb is about 3.6 inches and 23. 6 inches long, which approximates the size of your example.

What is the length of your metal rod, and the diameter of the cup?
 

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If you are considering the "near surface burst" option now available on some fuzes, that is how I was comparing them.
 
Hello Hazord, the measurements are nearly the same as you say, a picture of one in the other thread has the cup reversed on the post and another thread at the top, the slight bulging at the top of this one is what intrigued me, why was it there, its not just where its been welded it has a purpose,,,,, Dave
 
Dave,

I'm not sure what other thread you are talking about.

The Stabo bomb and Denort equipped bombs had totally different purposes. Stabo was designed to stick like a dart, and could be fuzed with any german bomb fuse, so area denial with a type 17 fuze for instance.

The Denort equipped bombs were designed to detonate above ground, so the round section shown on your rod is to reinforce the connection to the bomb, so it won't bend and break the thread that goes into the bomb. A plate on the other end of the denort rod would be to increase the landing area of the rod to guarantee it would not sink into soft soil, and would instead create an impact shock to cause the fuzes to function above ground to give the best blast/shrapnel effect using superquick impact fuzes.

If you refer to the drawings from the U.S. manual that I attached, you can see there were a variety of designs of these. They were also most likely made up in the field and could have a variety of rings and plates. All you really need to build one, would be a spare threaded bomb lug and some steel stock to weld onto it.
 
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Nearly there Mike, there have been a lot of members looking at this now and i will hopefully put this to rest, there was a post about the book by Wolfgang Fleischer German Air-dropped Weapons to 1945, i got my copy Friday and what a en-lighting book it is too, i recommend it to a collectors and EOD as there is so much that is written about all areas the the Germans dropped bombs.
Back to the stake i believe its for the SD 250 TEL Bomb as picture.
The Bulge at the end is to stop it from coming out of its fitting to another extension, the stake for the 50Kg and 70Kg is attached at the opposite end to the cup, the cup is to stop it sinking in the ground and allowing the movement of the trembler switches in the fuse.
The extension was 2.7 meters long, this bomb was used against targets hidden in trenches or beneath a high layer of snow....... Dave

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