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Soviet BB-1 Depth Charge

Y

yogi19

Member
Hi everyone,

I am on the hunt for some further information regarding the Soviet BB-1 depth charges.

So far, I have worked out that it is effectively a big barrel filled with 135kg of TNT.

There seems to be a bit of conflicting information that I have found regarding which fuzes are fitted. Some sources say that it would have been HGB or VGB, and others say 1930's to early 50's K3. The K3-M superseded the K3 in approximately 1953 apparently.

I guess my question would be, is there any documentation out there that could point me in a better direction?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
The BB-1, developed in 1933, was a metal barrel 712 mm high and 430 mm in diameter, filled with TNT. The bomb weighed 165 kg and carried 135 kg of explosive. Depending on the depth, such a charge could reliably hit targets at ranges from 5 to 20 m. The detonator was installed in the upper side of the "barrel".
The BB-1 depth charge, which had a cylindrical shape, submerged at a speed of no more than 2.5 m/s. Thus, the dive of the bomb to the maximum depth lasted at least 40 seconds, which complicated the attack on enemy submarines.
The BB-1 entered service equipped initially with the VGB detonator. This was a hydrostatic detonator with a clock mechanism ensured the setting of the depth of the bomb explosion in the range from 10 to 100 m. The maximum depth of use of the BB-1 bomb with a VGB fuse reached 100 m.
The VGB detonator proved to be insufficiently reliable and safe to use.
The initials VGB (cyrillic ВГБ) stood for "detonator depth bomb" Взрыватель глубинных бомб
In 1940, a new detonator for depth charges, the K-3, developed at Plant No. 8 named after M. I. Kalinin, was adopted. Instead of a relatively complex clock mechanism, this detonator used a flexible membrane and a rod, which at a certain depth were supposed to ignite the gunpowder in the remote tube. The new detonator allowed increasing the maximum detonation depth of the bomb to 210 m.
Then the K-3M detonator enabled to p[ush the depth limit to 330m.

I am uploading the original documentation of the K3M on the BB-1 in the download section - you can download it from there after it has been given clearance by the moderators (generally 24-48 hours)
 
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