Meaning of the abbreviation "C" at some German bombs

[Antoon]

We al know the abbreviation SC for the Geman "Minenbombe", like the SC50, SC250, etc.

The German manual L.Dv. 4200 and other German manuals I know give no explanation what SC means.

Mostly find on internet and non German manuals is Sprengbombe Cylindrisch or Sprengcylindrische, but the German word for Cylindrisch = Zylindrisch, so a "Z" instead of a "C".

The "C" is also used in the nomenclature of other German bombs like: PC, ZC, BLC, KC, NC, Brand C, etc. But also no explanation for the "C".

Why is the the "C used instead of the Z?

 

[Eggburt1969]

I'm not German, but according to Wiktionary, the old alternate form of zylindrisch was cylindrisch. As such that may account for the 'C' in various designations.

zylindrisch - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.wiktionary.org

 

[Dreamk]

Why make things easy when one can complicate them - so I am going to complicate the picture:
Once upon a time.... I found this document in the German National archive, a document dealing with the development of the SC bombs and more specifically of the SC10.
Look what appears here:
list of abbreviations:
SC = Scharfe Munition
ZC = Zement Munition
Literally "Sharp munition" a term today transated generally as "Live munition" but I found the term "Scharfe bombe" employed in pre-ww1/ww1 documents and patents as an equivallent for splitter bomb.
On the other hand german documents of ww2 period often write the legend of SC bomb drawings as "S.C." , implying that these are the initials of 2 words beginning respectivly with S and C
The fact that the document shows that Z can designate "zylindrisch" but also "zement" is worth of consideration
So we may raise the hypothesis of the filiation
SC (Scharfe) --> ZC (zylindrisch) --> S.C. (cylindrisch - not zement)

 

[rigby]

SC - Spreng Cylindrisch (Mine Bomb)
SD - Spreng Dickwand (HE FRAG)
PC - Panzerspreng Cylindrisch
PD - Panzerdurchschlag
B - Brand (Incendiary)
ZC - Zement Cylindrisch (Practice)
NC - Nebel Cylindrisch (Smoke)
BL - Blitzlicht (Flashlight)
LC - Leucht Cylindrisch (Flare)
LM - Luft Mine
LT - Luft Torpedo

 

[Fuzeman]

Why make things easy when one can complicate them - so I am going to complicate the picture:
Once upon a time.... I found this document in the German National archive, a document dealing with the development of the SC bombs and more specifically of the SC10.
Look what appears here:
list of abbreviations:
SC = Scharfe Munition
ZC = Zement Munition
Literally "Sharp munition" a term today transated generally as "Live munition" but I found the term "Scharfe bombe" employed in pre-ww1/ww1 documents and patents as an equivallent for splitter bomb.
On the other hand german documents of ww2 period often write the legend of SC bomb drawings as "S.C." , implying that these are the initials of 2 words beginning respectivly with S and C
The fact that the document shows that Z can designate "zylindrisch" but also "zement" is worth of consideration
So we may raise the hypothesis of the filiation
SC (Scharfe) --> ZC (zylindrisch) --> S.C. (cylindrisch - not zement)

View attachment 195234

Why make things easy when one can complicate them - so I am going to complicate the picture:
Once upon a time.... I found this document in the German National archive, a document dealing with the development of the SC bombs and more specifically of the SC10.
Look what appears here:
list of abbreviations:
SC = Scharfe Munition
ZC = Zement Munition
Literally "Sharp munition" a term today transated generally as "Live munition" but I found the term "Scharfe bombe" employed in pre-ww1/ww1 documents and patents as an equivallent for splitter bomb.
On the other hand german documents of ww2 period often write the legend of SC bomb drawings as "S.C." , implying that these are the initials of 2 words beginning respectivly with S and C
The fact that the document shows that Z can designate "zylindrisch" but also "zement" is worth of consideration
So we may raise the hypothesis of the filiation
SC (Scharfe) --> ZC (zylindrisch) --> S.C. (cylindrisch - not zement)

View attachment 195234

From the official German manual it gives C meaning bomb and 50 as the weight and type of bomb ie SC as it was thought that these earlyfuzes (5) and the airburst fuze (9) would only be fitted to the 50 kg bombs

 

[Grzesio]

SC - Spreng Cylindrisch (Mine Bomb)
SD - Spreng Dickwand (HE FRAG)
PC - Panzerspreng Cylindrisch
PD - Panzerdurchschlag
B - Brand (Incendiary)
ZC - Zement Cylindrisch (Practice)
NC - Nebel Cylindrisch (Smoke)
BL - Blitzlicht (Flashlight)
LC - Leucht Cylindrisch (Flare)
LM - Luft Mine
LT - Luft Torpedo

This "Cylindrisch" explanation is fairly common in popular literature, but equally doubtful I think (even if we exclude the problem with Z).
First of all, I've never encountered this cylindrical feature emphasized in any of the German manuals I've seen. Actual descriptions are rather like this:
SB - Grossladugsbombe
SC - Minenbombe
SD - Splitterbombe or dickwandige Sprengbombe
SBe - Betonbombe
PC - Panzersprengbombe
PD - Panzerdurchschlagbombe
Brand C - Phosphorbrandbombe
Flam C - Flamenbombe or Brandbombe
NC - Nebelbombe
ZC - Übungsbombe aus Zement
etc.
Then, some of the C bombs are not cylindrical at all - for example SC 1000, PC 1000 or PC 1400 - but they are still designated with the C. Some of the SD bombs are cylindrical, others are not - but there's no difference in their designation, always lacking the C. Small submunitions, like B 1, Brand 4 or Brand 10, or even big cluster bombs of the AB family, lack the C at all, even if they are all cylindrical.

But when I look at this list now, it seems the first letter ALWAYS describes general type of the bomb (S - HE, P - AP, Brand or Flam - incendiary, K - chemical, N - smoke, Z - concrete), while the second letter describes variations, with the C variant meaning something like 'basic' or 'normal'. Maybe it was derived from early designations of bombs designed in the very early 1930s, being e.g. marked as the "C" family. I'd have to check Fleischer's "Deutsche Abwurfmunition im Zweiten Weltkrieg" as he covers developments of this period.

 

[Dreamk]

I already looked in the Fleisher - it repeatedly uses the expression of "new C-Bombs" but does not explain the meaning of the C.

 

[Alpini]

The Bundesarchiv has a file (not available online) which contains a report about "Sprengversuche mit der Sprengbombe, cylindrisch 50". (SC50)

 

[Grzesio]

I already looked in the Fleisher - it repeatedly uses the expression of "new C-Bombs" but does not explain the meaning of the C.

He even quotes a document from 1929, about development of new bombs with high capacity short cylindrical bodies, called "C-Bomben", but there's no explanation of the C indeed.
What's interesting, ac can be seen in photos illustrating this book, these early bombs were apparently designated just with the letter C, like C 10, C 100 or C 250. And when variations existed, additional letters were added after the C, thus a concrete practice bomb was designated as CZ (instead of the later ZC), there was also a steel practice bomb CUe and some CG bombs (equipped with fuzes, so apparently live ones) he does not describe more closely.