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Zeppelin bomb

R

RadarArchive

Member
Can anyone tell me anything about this bomb which was apparently dropped by a Zeppelin on Edinburgh on 2 April 1916. I've had a look online and in a few reference books, but can find no information or images of this type of bomb. What size of explosives did it carry? How was it fuzed? From the frame on top it was presumably carried vertically. Any information about this bomb type would be greatly appreciated.
 

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This is what is known from the time of Karbonatbombe 1.WK. The image is included in the collection of weaponry Rumdienstes Stuttgart Germany.
 

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Thanks. These are what we in the UK call Carbonite bombs. Would I be correct in thinking these were all tail fused? How were they carried in the airships and how were they dropped?
 
Yes, "Carbonit(e)" is the right spelling. These bombs are named after the manufacturer "Carbonit AG". Carbonit also developed many Hand and rifle grenades of WW1.
 
The red one is a Carbonit and the one on RadarArchive photo is a Goldschmidt - no big deifferences between then beyond the flat base on teh Crabonit vs the rouded one on the Goldschmidt. Both are 10 kg incendiaries.
The smaller pale blue one just besides the Red Carbonit on the photo looks like the a smaller Carbonit 4.5 kg incendiary, but without its characteristic extended fuse ("spike") (and beyond this pale blue paint pain - german and austro-hungarian incendiaries were painted overalldull red or black)
BTW most of the incendiary bombs dropped by Zeps on the UK were of the cylindro-conic "tar and cord" type discussed in a former post in this forum.
 
Thanks for this, DreamK. Are you sure the bomb in my original post is an incendiary? It is marked as an HE bomb which I think was painted on more-or-less contemporary. I therefore took this to be fairly reliable that it is HE rather than incendiary.
 
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Well, look at these, then check once again your bomb
BTW inscriptions were something almost unknown on ww1 german bombs, most of them were made by local municipal authorities on unexploded remnants, to record the event.

carbonitandgoldshmidtbr.jpg

brandbombe.jpg

germanincendiary.jpg
 
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DreamK, thanks for the images. These are definitely a different bomb to the one in my original post, which is identical to the bomb shown on the extreme right of Fusse2004's picture. You can see that the supports for the fin/cap are bolted to the case, not welded and there are other differences.

The inscription on the bomb would not have been put there by the German forces but would, of course, have been added by someone locally. Probably the local museum staff when they got it. However, it notes on the inscription it was an HE bomb and they probably knew the difference between HE and incendiary bombs.

The bomb shown in my photo does not match any images of German WWI incendiary bombs I can find. I managed to find a photo of a Goldschmidt incendiary bomb on the Imperial War Museum website and it is very different indeed from the bomb I'm interested in. I am certain this is an HE bomb but would like to know more about it, particularly technical details of filling, fuze type, etc.
 
Then, if so, you are dealing with a Carbonit bomb
4.5kg Carbonit diameter 105mm length (overall including handle) 370mm
10kg Carbonit diameter 174mm length (overall including handle) 545mm
20kg Carbonit diameter 206mm length (overall including handle) 627mm
50kg Carbonit diameter 286mm length (overall including handle) 975mm
100kg Carbonit diameter 351mm length (overall including handle) 1200mm
300kg Carbonit diameter 500mm length (overall including handle) 1700mm

Carbonite are explosives, which were manufactured since 1885 for the mining industry. They contain between 65 to 82% nitrate of ammonia and 4% Nitroglycerin or 27 to 56% nitrate of ammonia and 12 to 30% Nitroglycerin. Nearly all these explosives contain 1 to 4% wood saw, 10 to 40% alkali chloride and 2 to 8% DNT (Dinitrotoluol) or TNT (trinitrotoluene). the ”Carbonit AG “ company took up production of TNT in 1904.
The first Carbonit high-explosives bomb, which were used by the German Zeppelins from the end of 1914 onwards, originated...from a Mexican order, which could not be implemented, because the embargo forbiding the export of munitions, decreed at the beginning of the war.
The ”AG Carbonit“ bombs were already technically outdated at the end of of 1915. However they remained in service with the Navy’s Zeppelins, even after the Army had replaced Carbonit bombs in 1916 with the new torpedo-shaped PuW bombs.
The Carbonit bombs were the first to be equipped with tail fuzes arming through a rotating windvane ("propeller") during the first 200m of the bomb's descent.
 
DreamK, that's great, thanks. From the dimensions, it is clearly a 50Kg Carbonit bomb. Thanks for your help in identifying this, which is much appreciated.
 
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