Ministry of Home Security.

“ Apart from the extreme nose of the fuselage and the elevators and the rudder, which are of light metal, the structure is entirely of steel, the fuselage being in sections bolted together. The central section of the fuselage comprises a cylindrical steel fuel tank of 150 gallons capacity behind which is a compartment containing two wire-bound spheres 1 ft. 91⁄4 in. diameter, filled with compressed air. In front of the fuel tank is the explosive charge weighing about 850 kg. in a steel casing approximately 2 mm. thick and designed to explode by means of sensitive impact fuzes. ”

“ One type of target indicator consists of a container of thin cardboard rolled to form an open-ended cylinder 1 in. diameter and 0.1 in, thick and either 8 in. or 31⁄2 in. long. Both ends are strengthened by a metal capping and one end is closed by a cardboard disc. It is filled with a flare composition, grey in colour, designed to ignite on impact with the ground. ”

“ Until the harmless nature of any object is established, it should be approached with care and all the precautions laid down should be strictly observed. The public should, in all cases, be prevented from handling objects which are suspected of having been dropped from aircraft. ”

“ The light metal sheeting and airframe may be coloured light blue, dark green or black. A number (usually six figures) is sometimes painted in white 1 in. to 2 in. high on the right-hand (starboard) side of the fuselage and repeated on wings, tail plane and elevators. The markings "NICHT ANFASSEN " (Do not grip) and "Geprüft" (tested) , also appear.
The fin is marked:-
The propulsion unit operates at about 40 cycles per second and the noise heard when the bomb is in flight depends on the distance away and the speed at which it is travelling. ”

“ The 6 lb. bomb is a cardboard cylinder 20 in. by 33⁄4 in.; the 60 lb. bomb, which may be fitted with a nose extension rod, is 421⁄2 in. long (including the extension rod) and 81⁄2 in. diameter, and also made in cardboard. Without the extension rod it is 34 in. long.
(c) American Practice Bombs
The most common type of American practice bomb is the 100 lb. It is painted sky-blue and is 471⁄2 in. long overall and 8 in. diameter. It contains an explosive charge housed in a red canister held in the tail and is dangerous to handle. ”

“ Another form of photographic flash-bomb (see Figure 30) has the same outward appearance as the casing of a parachute flare (Figure 56) being cylindrical with four fins at one end. It is 8 in. in diameter, 3 ft. 6 in. long and the fins project about 1 in. The outer casing is painted grey and is of thin sheet steel terminating in a heavy iron casting at the nose, which is flat and has in it four circular pockets or recesses about 2 in. in diameter and 3 in. deep. As will be seen from Figure 31, this bomb has BLC 50/A stencilled on the body. ”

“ The German balloon measures about 4 ft. long when deflated and weighs from 1 to 2 lb. The Germans have also used balloons of French manufacture, similar in construction to the British type. The distinguishing features mentioned above may, therefore, not always be present.
All such balloons, both British and German, are liable to leak, in which case they may come to the ground still partially filled with hydrogen.
No naked light or lighted cigarette should be brought too near them otherwise the gas may ignite, or, in the case of larger balloons, cause an explosion. ”

“ Figure 78.—Can of Incendiary Jelly
(c) attached by a jubilee clip round the body of the bomb to a shallow dark green cylindrical canister, in which case the overall dimensions of the bomb and canister are about 7 in. long by 3 in. diameter.
Any of the above may be attached to a length of balloon mooring wire, at the other end of which a larger parachute may be found. A small brass cylinder about 4 in. long will probably be found attached to the bomb. ”

“ No jet-propulsion is used. The overall length of the bomb is 11ft., the span of the large fins 5 ft., and that of the tail unit 4 ft. A device to destroy the remote-control apparatus if the bomb fails to explode on impact is fitted.
(vi) The latest addition to the range is a Parachute Bomb, consisting of a cylinder of sheet steel 1⁄8 in. thick, and oval in cross-section, 2 ft. 7 in. across at the widest and 1 ft. 41⁄2 in. at the narrowest part. The straight sides are 4 ft. long, and in front is a tapered portion terminating in a flat nose and extending overall length to about 6 ft. ”

“ A device which is slung between twin cables in an open metal frame shaped somewhat like a bicycle saddle 20 in. long and which consists of a dark green box-shaped bomb about 6 in. square and 3 in. deep (see Fig. 81) .
No naked light and no smoking should be allowed near grounded balloons. All four devices have lethal components, some of which may be operated by a jerk on the flying cable.
Figure 81.—Barrage Balloon Attachment
33. ”

“ The normal I kg. portion is slightly shorter than the standard type, but the tail unit is longer, being 93⁄4 in., and has only three main fins. The cylinder, which contains the separating charge, the delay fuze, the H.E. filling and detonator, is 53⁄8 in. long, flat nosed, and is a push fit on the turned-down portion of the 1 kg. bomb, to which it is secured by four small pins. The overall length is 1 ft. 81⁄2 in. The wall thickness is slightly more than that of the I.B.E.N., but the arming wire and safety pin are of the same type. ”

“ C 250 A" stencilled in black on the side of the bomb casing remote from the fuze.
Phosphorus ignites spontaneously in contact with the air and care must be taken to avoid it. Do not touch the bomb, or any ground or equipment splashed with the filling. No smoking and no naked light should be allowed near these bombs as their contents are liable to give off vapour forming an explosive mixture with the air.
Figure 19.—Phosphoprus-Oil Bomb—Rear end of 50 kg. ”

“ There are also five other types, weighing 3 lb., 13 lb., 100 lb., 500 lb., and 1000 lb., which may be recognised by their colour, which is black, with the exception of the 3 lb. bomb, which is unpainted. These bombs have no fuzes and the nature of the filling is stencilled on the side of the body.
24. BRITISH INCENDIARY BOMBS
The 4 lb. British incendiary bomb exists in three types-non-explosive, explosive and high explosive, the latter having a lethal range of about 100 yards. These are all the magnesium type and are normally jettisoned "safe" in this country. ”

“ This cylinder will be covered by the tail vanes if they are still in position when the bomb is found unignited. Typical markings, as found on both those with and those without the explosive charge, are seen in the illustration. The marking SODA II indicates a variation in the type of filling.
Type with steel nose (S.N.I.B.)
In this type the nose plug housing the striker, which is normally made of electron, has been replaced by a steel nose plug. This modification increases the weight of the bomb by 12 oz. ”

“ The dimensions are—length 16–18 in. maximum diameter 3 in., tail vanes 3 in. long and all have a small lug approximately 5 in. from the nose.
The individual types are:—
111⁄2 lb. Practice Bomb. This is of all-metal construction and is normally painted white with two 1⁄2 in. green bands 1⁄2 in. apart on the tail unit. If these bands are black, and there is in addition a red band round the nose, the bomb is filled with flash composition instead of the normal smoke filling. 10 lb. Practice Bomb. This differs from the first type in weight only. 81⁄2 lb. Practice Bomb. ”

“ Figure 75.—Phosphorus Bottles in Container
(b) Canisters with Wire (Balloon Device "B")
Suspended close to the balloon may be found a small canister, of ordinary tin colour, 8 in. diameter and 9 in. long with lengths of string or wire which may amount to a total of 1,000 feet attached. The contents of these canisters (shown suspended at the bottom of Fig. 77) are harmless unless exposed to a naked flame.
(c) Phosphorus Bottles (Balloon Device "C")
This device is associated with the canister used in device (b) . It consists of a cylindrical metal container 81⁄4 in. diameter and 9 in. ”

“ This bomb is smoke-filled only, and the marking is the same as on the 111⁄2 lb. type. The following bombs are also used for practice purposes:—250 lb. G.P., 500 lb. G.P. and 1000 lb. G.P. (either inert or H.E. filling) . Normally they will be painted black and have a yellow band around the greatest diameter.
All the bombs contain an extremely powerful detonator-burster. ”

“ The following markings on the outside casing have been seen:—
DEPYFAG 2:40 Lief. 9.
The outside of the candles has the appearance of polished aluminium
Figure 56.—Parachute Flare Casing
Figure 57.—Parachute Flare—Burnt Out
Figure 58.—Small Parachute Flare and usually bears an inscription indicating the maker and date of manufacture, such as:
Ausfuhrung Nicolaus 8/1940 (i.e. Nicolaus Pattern August 1940) .
Other makers are:
Eisfeld: Deleu Dr. Feistel: Berck Holtz: Deutsche Pyrotechnische Fabrik A/G: Sawie: Dr. Schmarr. ”