AN-M50

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AN-M50


Stick incendiary bomb AN-M50

General Information
Designation: AN-M50
Type: Stick incendiary bomb
Country of origin: United States
Technical specifications
Combat weight: 1.59 kg
Length: 542.00 mm
Diameter: 40.6 mm
Combat charge:

253.5 g

Fuel :

Thermite

Lists on the subject

AN-M50 is the name of a series of American bundle bombs from World War II that was available as an incendiary bomb in September 1941. The first type of the series (AN-M50A1) is a further development of the British stick incendiary bomb INC 4 LB MK II .

Type series

Several types are known from the AN-M50 series:

  • AN-M50A1 Warfare agent content: "thermate (TI I3)" original version
  • AN-M50A2 Warfare agent content: "thermate (TI I3)" waterproof ignition
  • AN-M50A3 Warfare agent content: "thermate (TI I3)"
  • AN-M50TA2 Warfare agent content: "cadmium"
  • AN-M50XA1 warfare agent content: "filled with an antipersonnel explosive element of 170 grains of black powder"
  • AN-M50XA3 warfare agent content: "contains an explosive charge of tetryl pellets"

The partially incomplete labeling of the types has repeatedly led to problems with bomb disposal , demilitarization and disposal of this type series.

AN-M50A3

Functional sketch AN-M50

The basic shape of the body is hexagonal, elongated without stabilizing wings. The basic color is gray. A purple stripe around one end of the bomb identifies the AN-M50A3 as an incendiary bomb. Bomb nomenclature and batch number are printed in purple on the body. In some cases, bombs were not marked if they were filled into bomb clusters within 72 hours .

Assembly

AN-M50 were assembled as a bundle in cluster containers. The bundle bombs are hexagonal in cross section. This means that they can be assembled as a bundle with a wide variety of equipment and weights. Well-known clusters of this type are:

  • US CLUSTER ADAPTER, INCENDIARY BOMB, PT1, M31
  • US CLUSTER ADAPTER, INCENDIARY BOMB, TH3, M32, M26
  • US CLUSTER BOMB, 500-LB, AN-M14 & AN-M17 SERIES

  • Cluster bomb containers AN-M14 and AN-M17

  • Cluster bomb container AN-M26 and AN-M32

  • Cluster bomb containers AN-M26 and AN-M32 (functional sketch)

literature

  • US Army: TM 9 1385 1 Surface Explosive Ordnance Disposal , War Department, Department Technical Manual, 1961, ( full text online )
  • US Navy: OP 1664, US Explosive Ordnance, Volume 2 , Department of the Navy, Bureau of Ordnance, dated 28 May 1947, ( full text online )
  • US Army: TM 9-1904 Ammunition Inspection Guide 1944-03-02 , War Department, Department Technical Manual, dated 2 March 1944, ( full text online )

Web links

Commons : American WW2 incendiary bombs  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lynn Eden, Whole World on Fire: Organizations, Knowledge, and Nuclear Weapons Devastation , Cornell Univ. Press, 2006, p. 72 ISBN 978-0801472893
  2. ↑ a b U.S. EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE, OP 1664 (Vol. 2), May 28, 1947, pages 426 ff.
  3. ↑ SAIC Investigation Report, Appendix A, Pages A-9, A-10, 1998, (accessed May 10, 2012) (PDF; 838 kB)
  4. ↑ US BOMB, 4-LB, INCENDIARY, AN-M50A3 (accessed May 10, 2012)
  5. ↑ US BOMB, 4-POUND, INCENDIARY, AN-M50 SERIES, & M126 (accessed May 10, 2012)
  6. ↑ USEXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE, TM 9-1904, May 28, 1947, p. 427