Tailfins for 50kg german bomb

[waffenamt]

Hi Chaps,The posty brought these today and i must say they are a really stonking set of tailfins!
I will get better pictures in the morning for you.
The question is how do these attach to the case i have?
I can see any drilled holes?
if these are a repro set then im not bothered as they really are the dogs up close!,but i would like advise please on attaching them?

cheers

waff

 

[Tmine35]

Hi Waff,
There should be 2 screw holes between each fins close to the mouth of the conical part, similar holes should be found on your bomb body, too.
I think Madbomber has German bomb manuals, maybe he has better details/drawings about this?
BTW, there should be stamped markings in outer back corner of one fin if this is original, anyway it looks so good that I wonder who would make copies??
Tmine35

 

[waffenamt]

Thanks T for the info.:tinysmile_twink_t:
Im going to do a closer inspection during daylight hours tomorrow.That photo i posted is from the seller.

best

waff

 

[spotter]

does this help waff

 

[waffenamt]

Hi Spott,
I think they are for a `screamer` attachment?

cheers

waff

 

[Tmine35]

Normally the screw holes should be on mouth of the conical part, however this kind of holes in the middle should not appear at all ( unless this is some uncommon variation ? ).
Screamer holes should be on fins, 4 on each.

 

[auf270]

Your tail fins were used for the rather common SD 70 bomb.

 

[waffenamt]

Thanks auf,
Is it the same spec though apart from the holes?
If so,if i fill those holes can i still use it on my 50 case?

cheers

waff

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Paul
They should fit without too much trouble , they look very good.

 

[waffenamt]

Cheers Steve,
I will prolly fill those holes then and drill new ones in the tails and case.
Then the whole unit is going to be mounted on my display room wall.


best

waff

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Paul i hope your walls are better than these one,s ! here which are made of power station ash, putting up shelving was a nightmare .

 

[Tmine35]

Here a drawing of SD 70, screw holes are on proper places and there are no holes to attach screamers on fins.

 

[waffenamt]

Thanks boys for the drawings and info.
Steve,i only have one decent solid wall in the room so i will have to move all my larger rounds,

T,would you fill these holes then and repaint the fill?
I def want to mount these on the case.

cheers

waff

 

[waffenamt]

Here are a couple of shots of the new fins.

 

[waffenamt]

A couple of the pics clearly show holes for screamers?
Im thinking the holes on the fins are original and the ones on the cone have been done to fit a 70 case?
The fin holes seem `worn` compared to the crisper drilled cone ones??

 

[waffenamt]

The fins fit well,the case may need a bit of de-rusting before they fit correctly.
Can you boys think of a temporary idea to fit the tails rather than start drilling?
I suppose i had better display the case so it fully strips including the base plate?

cheers

waff

 

[Tmine35]

Waff,
It's a matter of taste if you want to restore the tail to SD50 shape, or if you want to keep it just as it is and only attach on SD50.

If you want to make it look original SD50 then fill the holes.

I would fill the holes as follows: clean metal surface around holes INSIDE the cone, cover the holes from OUTSIDE with mask tape, then use glassfibre reinforced epoxy filler from INSIDE and make a thicker and larger layer of filler inside. The epoxy mass should also be gently pressed thru the holes so that it makes small bubbles outside. After the epoxy has dried remove tape from outside and cut the epoxy bubbles to metal level. If necessary use a bit filler from outsire to fill the holes completely.

Then you have a nice surface outside and need just a drop of repair paint to match the color.
If you later on want to convert in back to SD70 just remove the filler from holes.

You may attach the tail to body by drilling new bolt holes on correct places in the mouth, OR if it attachs well with glue you may just glue dummy screw heads on proper places without damaging the original SD70 shape.

I bet if you convert it permanently to SD50 next week you'll get a SD70 bomb without tail - that happens to me too often. :tinysmile_tongue_t:

Cheers, Tmine35

 

[Burney Davis]

My comments, for what they are worth waff, if the fins are original leave them. Anything you do to them will devalue them and they will always be wrong on the bomb to a purist. There are any number of ways of temporarily attaching them without damaging the fins or bomb. When the correct set of fins turn up, and they will eventually, you will them have a spare set to do with as you need to at the time. Tmines last sentence is so true!

BD

 

[waffenamt]

Thanks T,
Just my luck if i do get an 70 and i need a tailfin!

#Edit#

Looks like myself and Burney were posting at the same time here!
Ok,what about a temp fit to the case and display it?
I suppose i could use some strong sticky pads like what `Armaflex` make?

best
waff

 

[Tmine35]

For temporary attaching I use a hot glue pistol ( 10 Euros ) using 8mm thick and 200mm long "glue" sticks. Works on wood, metal, plastic... and also fills quite large gaps between parts. If I want to dismount the part I gently heat a bit and the glue melts again, even without damaging original paint.
The bomb tail may be too large item for hot glue - they first glue settles already before you are at the end. Here I would use 2-component epoxy glue. It can be softened and removed by heating a bit as well.
Good luck.:tinysmile_twink_t: