SC50JA (50 kg)
Contents
Description
| Data for SC50JA (50 kg) bomb | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Metric | Imperial | ||
| Overall Length | 110.0 cm | 43.3 in | |
| Body Diameter | 20.3 cm | 8.0 in | |
| Filling Weight | 25.0 kg | 55.1 lb | |
| Total Weight | 50.0 kg | 110.2 lb | |
| Explosive Filling | Fp 60/40 (TNT/Amatol) | ||
| Bomb Type | High Explosive | ||
The SC50JA (50 kg) or Spreng Cylindrisch is a German general purpose high explosive (HE) 50 kg bomb. The -Ja mark indicates this bomb comes from the Group I series of SC50 bombs.[1] The SC50JA is a one-piece drawn steel body with a sheet steel tail cone attached by eight screws. The bomb can be suspended in one of two ways, either horizontally or vertically by the use of one eye-bolt lug mounted on the side and another mounted in the nose of the bomb. This version of the SC50JA does not feature a Kopfring or an anti-ricochet plate welded to the nose which ensures the bomb detonates on impact instead of excessive penetration of land targets or potentially skipping on water before exploding.
The German bomb sets itself aside when compared to similar bombs of other nations as it does not utilise either a nose or tail fuse to arm and detonate itself. Instead, it employs an athwartship fuse pocket which extends the entire width of the bomb with a single weld placed opposite of the fuse pocket opening to secure it in place. The tail cone of the SC50JA featured in War Thunder is a sheet steel cone, and four fins which are unbraced that is they are not supported with either tubular struts or a cylindrical strut ring.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
The SC50JA is found on many different aircraft such as early war fighters and light bombers. Two eye-bolts were outfitted on the bomb, one in the sidewall for horizontal mounting on external aircraft pylons or in some bomb-bays and one eye-bolt was screwed into a threaded socket in the bomb nose allowing for the bomb to be mounted vertically in a bomb-bay.[1] Bombs mounted vertically in a bomb-bay conserved space allowing for more bombs to be installed, and upon being dropped, the bomb fins righted the bomb pointing the nose to towards the ground.
Bombs carried externally on German aircraft are typically painted sky blue to match the underside of the plane and to also make it more difficult to see from the ground when the aircraft is flying. Yellow stripes were painted down the tail cone in between each of the fins. Markings stencilled onto the bomb included bomb grade (Bi, I or II), mark (J, Ja, JB, JC, J/2 or L) and could also include the type of fuse, type of explosive, serial number and other various acceptance information.[1]
These bombs if modified for use for water targets, the tail section would be removed, and an anti-ricochet plate would be added to prevent the bomb from skipping over the surface of the water before exploding, usually away from the intended target. Testing showed that bombs without tail fin sections could be dropped from heights of 200 m without any adverse effect or loss of accuracy.[1]
Effective damage
The SC50JA utilised Füllpulver Nr. 13 or Fp. 60/40 which was a ratio of 60% Amatol and 40% TNT[2]. Amatol is an explosive compound which is a composition of TNT (Trinitrotoluene C7H5N3O6) and Ammonium Nitrate (N2H4O3). Because of the great explosive velocity and brisance of TNT, one-way stretch resources was to exploit TNT's one drawback. TNT in its pure form when detonated leaves a black smoke residue after it explodes due to the oxygen deficiency in TNT (does not fully explode/burn all components efficiently). Supplementing TNT's need for oxygen, ammonium nitrate is added to the mixture which has an oxygen surplus and overall increases the energy release of a TNT explosion when mixed. When compared to each other, Amatol has a lower explosive velocity and brisance than pure TNT; however because it was cheaper to use Amatol, it became the go-to explosive for general purpose bombs. Unfortunately for the Germans, as the war wore on, sources of Amatol, TNT and other explosives were dwindling, and explosive fillings became more inconsistent rendering many bombs, grenades and bullets to be less effective.
| SC50JA (50 kg) damage table | Metric | Imperial |
|---|---|---|
| Max armour penetration high explosive action | 65 mm | 2.56 in |
| Radius of destruction of an armoured vehicle | 2 m | 6.56 ft |
| Radius of fragment dispersion | 70 m | 230 ft |
Comparison with analogues
| Comparable bombs to SC50JA (50 kg) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Mass | Explosive mass | Explosive type | Penetration | Armour destruction radius | Fragmentation radius | |
| ▃ | AN-M30A1 | 100 lb | 24.5 kg | Amatol | 65 mm | 2 m | 67 m |
| ▂ | FAB-50sv | 49 kg | 26.35 kg | TNT | 65 mm | 2 m | 73 m |
| ▅ | Type 97 Number 6 | 60 kg | 25.3 kg | Shimose | 65 mm | 2 m | 69 m |
| ▅ | Type 94 GPHE | 50 kg | 25.09 kg | Type 97 | 65 mm | 2 m | 70 m |
| ▄ | GP 50 | 58 kg | 25 kg | Amatol | 65 mm | 2 m | 70 m |
| ▄ | G.A.M.Mn 50 | 53 kg | 29 kg | M.Mn | 66 mm | 2 m | 75 m |
| ▄ | D.T. No.2 | 55.7 kg | 19 kg | TNT | 64 mm | 2 m | 62 m |
Usage in battles
The SC50JA (50 kg) is a general purpose HE bomb which was utilised by fighters, attackers and bombers. Due to its size, either two or four were outfitted to a fighter or attacker allowing it to perform low-level precision bombing on AAA or light vehicles. Bombers can carry two to twenty-eight 50 kg bombs and could drop them all in one location bombing a base or could spread them out across the map depending on where the targets of opportunity are. These smaller bombs are most effective when bombing vehicle columns or anti-aircraft artillery sites and can also be utilised to surprise enemy aircraft sitting on an airfield waiting for a reload or repair.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Very effective against light armoured vehicles and anti-aircraft artillery
- Some fighters can carry upwards of four bombs
- Effective for low-level bombing against columns of vehicles
Cons:
- Small splash damage radius, requires effort in aiming
- Small total damage output by bombers when bombing bases
- Less effective usage at higher altitude especially against vehicles which will scatter
History
Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.
Media
- Images
SC50JA (50 kg) bombs mounted on external belly pylon of a Bf 109 E-1
SC50JA (50 kg) bombs being dropped from a Bf 109 E-1 onto lightly-armoured vehicles
SC50JA (50 kg) bombs situated on outer wing pylons of a Ju 87 B-2, notice the proximity of the bombs to the dive brake
SC50JA (50 kg) sideview while in fall.
Old Bomb Model
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Department of the Army Technical Manual TM9-1985-2 (1953).German Explosive Ordnance (Bombs, Fuzes, Rockets, Land Mines, Grenades and Igniters)
- ↑ U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center (1965). FTC 381-5042 Handbook of Foreign Explosives - U.S. Army Foreign Science and Technology Center, October 1965, p. 224]
