What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Request for pre-WW2 French bombs

FRANRBC

Member
Good afternoon,

I'm looking for descriptions/drawings/datas/pictures regarding these two bombs :

- bombe de 10 kg Brandt (around 1925 TBC) ;
- bombe de 200 kg C modèle 1935 (or 1937 ?).

Thanks in advance.
Regards.
 
These are the bombs used in the may 40 campaign, from the 1941 Notice des bombes d'aviations.
200kg
Bombe 200kg.gifBombe 200kg.gif

10kg P, 10kg PA & 10kg incendiary, 10kg Marker
Bombe 10kg P.gif Bombes 10kg PA et Incendiaire.gif Bombes 10kg de Jalonnement.jpg

And these are the former models (almost identical to the 1941 ones) initially from 1918 and 1921 respectively
10kg P.gif 10kg PA.gif 200kg.gif

And these are the data (from the 1931 notice des bombes d'aviations)

10kg PA 1.jpg10kg PA 2.jpg10kg P.jpg 200kg 1.jpg

The most obvious difference is the introduction around 1937 of a round fin strenghtener instead of the former box type on the 100kg and 200kg bombs.
The 200kg bombs were made by Schneider . The 10kg were orginally made by Michelin, then by a number of facilities, mostly by recycling old artillery shells. To the best of my knowledge, Brandt did not make aircraft bombs in France till after ww2.
A picture from late 1941 of French 100, 200 and 500kg bombs
French 100, 200 and 500kg bombs 1941.jpg
 
Last edited:
Good morning and thanks a lot for these fruitful informations.

According to some French archives :
- the 10 kg Brandt, this was used in 1928 by the Commission d'Experiences de Bourges for some trials (bombs were filled with a toxic liquid simulant).
- the 200 kg C modele 1935 was filled with phosgen.

B/r
 
In May 1940 there was a standby reserve of 18,000 aircraft bombs of 200kg, filled with 61 liters of Phosgen ("Produit No 5") weighing 90kg, instead of their explosive content.

The filling took place at Aubervilliers near Paris in 1932 and Pont-de-Claix (Isere department) in 1937, but the bombs were stocked at Plaisance in the Landes Department.

The bombs body were regular 200kg bombs body and there were quite a number of problems due to that, as they were not hermetic and there was problems of leaks of Phosgen.
These bombs were painted in pale green with a stamped +C for phosgen (or stamped +5 for the older produced bombs) and white markings (3 lines: Code indicating the nature of the Filling, Place and year of filling, Filling lot number.

They were stocked in olive green (or pale green) wooden containers with white markings.

The "pale green" and "olive green" refer most probably to the local variations of the pale grey green colour that was chosen as international colour for chemical bombs and shells in the interwar (often also used for smoke bombs).

There is also mention of 1kg "grenades d'aviation", produced in 1935 and 1939, filled with 0.14 liter of Yperite compound, unpainted ()therefore natural copper or lead colour depending of the nature of the production) but with their dispenser (Chargeur V32) marked with a Death Head and Crossed Bones marking and a longitudinal green band 50mm wide.

The production went on during the French Vichy governemnt, with a few hundreds of additional bombs stock-pilling at the chemical factory of Pont-de Claix (established in ww1) and the military facilities at Lannemezan (of shameful fame as being the site of the concentration camp established there by Vichy for Gypsies and other "nomads") that were in areas under exclusive control of the French Vichy government - Aubervilliers and Le Bouchet being in the German controlled zone).

On the war collaboration i this field between the French government and Nazi Germany we have some disturbing indications, with a mentions in French archives (AJ/41/554) of a "lease of 30t of phosgen to Germany" in 1942-43 and "production of aggressive substances for Germany in 1940-43"

10kg Brandt was more probably a mortar "bomb" (the term "bombe" was widely used by then for designating mortar shells)

50kg DT bombs body may also have been filled with other chemical warfare compound - They served for instance for the pre-series testing production of liquid incendiary bombs in 1940.
 
Last edited:
Top