Aviation bombs (Russia) - Main bomb sizes in comparison. Aviation bombs

Aviation ammunition means component aircraft weapons designed to destroy or disable enemy air, ground, underground and sea targets through the destructive effects of impact and fire. There are ammunition for primary and auxiliary (special) purposes. The main ammunition includes disposable bomb clusters, bomb bundles, cartridges for aircraft machine guns and cannons, aircraft unguided and guided missiles, mines, torpedoes, grenades, and aircraft bombs. Auxiliary ammunition provides the ability to solve problems related to training flight personnel (shooting, bombing, aircraft navigation), as well as a number of special tasks solved by aviation in the interests of ground forces and ships navy. They are divided into practical (training), lighting (luminous), photographic, orientation-signal, simulation, jamming (anti-radar), etc.

Disposable bomb clusters- thin-walled bombs equipped with aviation anti-tank and other mines or small fragmentation, anti-tank, incendiary and other bombs weighing from 1 to 10 kg. One cassette can contain up to 100 or more bombs (mines), which are scattered in the air.

Bomb bundles- devices in which several aerial bombs weighing 25-100 kg each are connected by special devices into one suspension. The separation of bombs occurs at the moment of being dropped from an aircraft or in the air.

Aircraft machine gun cartridges and guns are distinguished by the type of bullets and shells, which are single-action (fragmentation, high-explosive, armor-piercing, incendiary, tracer), double-action (high-explosive fragmentation) and triple action (high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary). The most common calibers of aircraft bullets are 7.62 and 12.7 mm, and shells - 20, 23, 30 and 37 mm. The weight of the shells ranges from 100 to 1000 g.

Aviation unguided missiles- projectiles consisting of a warhead (high-explosive, high-explosive fragmentation, cumulative), a jet engine (powder, liquid) and a fuse (impact or non-contact action). The mass of the rocket ranges from several kilograms to hundreds of kilograms.

Aviation guided missiles— unmanned aerial vehicles with jet engine, equipped with a warhead and a control system designed for automatic targeting or flight along a given trajectory.

Aircraft mines(anti-tank, anti-personnel, naval, etc.) - devices consisting of a warhead, a fuse and additional devices; designed for laying minefields from the air on land and sea.

Aviation bombs, one of the types of aviation ammunition dropped from an airplane or other aircraft and separated from the holders under the influence of gravity or with a low speed of forced separation to destroy ground, sea and air targets. Specially designed aircraft bombs are used to set up smoke screens, illuminate the area and perform other auxiliary tasks.

By the beginning of the First World War, not a single country in the world had more or less effective serial bombs. Instead, they used hand grenades and rifle (gun) grenades. Moreover, the expression “airplane bomb” originally meant, in fact, a heavy hand grenade, which was dropped from airplanes by pilots. Often used as aerial bombs artillery shells caliber 75 mm and above. But by the end of the war in 1918, quite effective fragmentation, high-explosive, armor-piercing, chemical and smoke bombs had been created in England, France and Germany. These bombs were equipped with wing or ring stabilizers and had a completely modern appearance. During the Second World War, several samples of new aircraft bombs (anti-tank, high-explosive fragmentation) were created and pre-war ones were modernized. The design was improved, the effectiveness of their destructive action in different conditions for combat use, nuclear and guided (adjustable) aerial bombs were created.

A typical aerial bomb consists of a body, a fuse, equipment, suspension lugs, a stabilizer and a ballistic ring. The body, usually oval-cylindrical in shape with a conical tail, connects all the elements of the aerial bomb into a single structure and protects its equipment from destruction. In the bottom and head parts of the body (less often on the side) there are ignition cups for installing fuses. The stabilizer and ballistic ring ensure stable flight of the bomb in the air after being dropped. Aircraft bombs have feathery, feathery-cylindrical or box-shaped stabilizers. For mounting on aircraft bomb racks, lugs are welded to the body. Aviation bombs with a caliber of less than 25 kg do not have hanging ears, because These bombs are used in the form of bomb clusters, bomb bundles or from reusable containers. Explosives, pyrotechnic compounds, incendiary substances, toxic substances, etc. are used as equipment for aircraft bombs, depending on their purpose. Bombs intended for dropping from low altitudes have braking devices (parachutes), which reduce the speed of flight of bombs, thanks to which they lag behind the bomber by the distance necessary for its safety. When preparing an aerial bomb for combat use, one or more fuses (contact, remote or non-contact action) are installed in them, which activate the equipment - an explosive charge or a pyrotechnic composition (incendiary, lighting).

Impact fuses trigger the action of an aerial bomb at the moment it hits a barrier or after some time - from a fraction of a second to several hours and even days. Remote fuses detonate bombs in the air after a certain time after being dropped, while proximity fuses detonate bombs at a given height from the ground.

To hold aerial bombs during transportation to the target, to bring them into an active state before dropping and to carry out the dropping itself, various remote devices bomb hangers. When the ammunition was located inside the fuselage (internal suspension), special weapons compartments (cargo compartments) were structurally provided, closed in flight with flaps. Inside such a compartment, as a rule, there were cluster bomb holders, which were a frame with guides, electric locks, load lifting mechanisms, blocking and release chains. Each cassette can hang several aerial bombs in a row. Various containers were also widely used, which were filled with ammunition on the ground and lifted into the cargo compartment completely ready for use. The cargo compartment could also contain other types of holders and various devices for transporting and using various cargoes - beam holders, ejection devices, etc. When ammunition was located outside on the aircraft structure (external sling), universal multi-lock beam holders were often used, allowing several bombs to be suspended. Also, specialized beam holders are used for suspending missile weapons.

The main characteristics of aircraft bombs: caliber, filling factor, characteristic time (velocity), lethality effectiveness indicators and the range of conditions for combat use. The caliber of an aircraft bomb is its mass, expressed in kilograms or other units (for example, pounds). Depending on the mass, aircraft bombs are conventionally divided into small (less than 100 kg), medium (100-1000 kg) and large (more than 1000 kg) caliber bombs. The minimum caliber of an aerial bomb is less than 0.5 kg, the maximum is 20 tons. The filling coefficient (the ratio of the mass of an aerial bomb's equipment to its total mass) for an aerial bomb with a thin-walled casing (anti-submarine) is 0.6-0.7, with a thick-walled casing ( armor-piercing, fragmentation) 0.1-0.2. Characteristic time (G) is the main indicator of the ballistic properties of an aerial bomb, expressed by the time of fall of an aerial bomb dropped from an aircraft at a speed of 40 m/s in normal atmospheric conditions from a height of 2000 m. The better the aerodynamic properties of an aerial bomb, the smaller its diameter and the larger weight. The expected result of the combat use of an aircraft bomb depends on the indicators of the effectiveness of its damaging effect - specific (volume of the crater, thickness of the armor penetrated, temperature and number of fires, etc.) and generalized (average number of hits required to hit the target, and the reduced affected area ). These indicators serve to determine the amount of expected damage that can be caused to the target. The measure of damage is usually the time during which the damaged target will be unable to function as a combat unit. The range of combat use conditions includes data on the minimum and maximum heights and bombing speeds. Limitations on their maximum values ​​are determined by the conditions of stability of aircraft bombs on the trajectory and the strength of the body at the moment of meeting the target, and on the minimum - by the safety conditions of the aircraft and the characteristics of the fuses used.

By purpose air bombs are divided into main (intended directly for destroying targets) and auxiliary, creating situations that contribute to the solution of combat missions and combat training tasks for troops. The latter include smoke, lighting, photo bombs (lighting for night photography), day (colored smoke) and night (colored fire) orientation-signal, orientation-sea (create a colored fluorescent spot on the water and colored fire), propaganda (equipped with propaganda materials ), practical (for training bombing - do not contain an explosive or contain a very small charge; practical bombs that do not contain a charge are most often made of cement).

By type of active material Air bombs are divided into conventional, nuclear, chemical, toxin, and bacteriological.

By the nature of the damaging effect air bombs are classified into:

- fragmentation, which have a massive body for the formation of a large number of fragments. They are used to destroy manpower, artillery, vehicles, aircraft at airfields and other targets with shrapnel. Their weight, as a rule, ranged from 1 to 100 kg;

- high-explosive fragmentation, which are used to destroy various targets with fragments and high-explosive action;

- high-explosive, which hit objects with a high-explosive explosion and are used to destroy military-industrial structures, warehouses, airfields, bridges, railway junctions and other purposes. Their mass, as a rule, ranged from 50 kg to 10 tons. A variety of high-explosive bombs is

penetrating high-explosive bombs or high-explosive thick-walled, or “seismic bombs”.

- concrete-piercing inert aerial bombs that do not contain an explosive charge, hitting the target only due to kinetic energy;

— concrete-piercing explosive bombs containing a high-explosive charge;

- armor-piercing cumulative (anti-tank) aerial bombs that destroy armor with a cumulative jet. The explosive charge has a cumulative recess with a metal lining, from which, upon explosion, a cumulative jet is formed, piercing the armor and igniting fuel vapors. These bombs are dropped from airplanes in disposable cassettes. With a mass of 2.5-5 kg, they penetrate armor up to 100-200 mm.

— armor-piercing fragmentation/cumulative fragmentation, hitting the target with a cumulative jet and fragments;

— armor-piercing bombs based on the “shock core” principle;

- incendiary bombs that hit the target with flame and heat. They are used to create fires and destroy personnel and equipment with fire on the battlefield and in crowded places. Their weight is from 1 to 500 kg. They are equipped with solid pyrotechnic compositions and organic flammable substances (gasoline, kerosene), thickened with special compounds;

- high-explosive incendiary bombs that hit the target with high-explosive and blasting action, flame and temperature. They were used to destroy industrial structures, oil storage facilities, urban buildings, etc.

— high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary bombs, damaging with fragments, high-explosive and high-explosive effects, flame and temperature;

— incendiary-smoke bombs that hit the target with flame and temperature. In addition, such a bomb produces smoke in the area;

— poisonous/chemical and toxin bombs that affect enemy personnel with a chemical warfare agent;

— poisonous smoke aerial bombs that infect manpower with toxic smoke while simultaneously fogging the area;

— fragmentation-poisonous/chemical fragmentation bombs, damaging manpower with fragments and toxic substances;

— infectious action/bacteriological bombs that infect living force with pathogenic microorganisms or their carriers from among insects and small rodents;

- nuclear (atomic) aerial bombs, damaging with high-explosive incendiary effects with additional damage from radioactive radiation.

By nature of the goal air bombs can be anti-bunker, anti-submarine, anti-tank and bridge air bombs (the latter were intended to operate on bridges and viaducts);

According to the design of the warhead air bombs were divided into monoblock, modular and cluster;

Air bombs also differed by weight, expressed in kilograms or pounds (for non-nuclear bombs). Among aircraft missiles distinguished between guided missiles, unguided and rockets.

Characterizing the development and production of aircraft ammunition in the Second World War, it should be noted that aircraft ammunition received significant, revolutionary development just during the war. Planned guided and unguided bombs, unguided and guided jet systems, bombs appeared special purpose(seismic, concrete-piercing, armor-piercing). And the crown of all scientific and technological achievements must be recognized as the emergence atomic bomb, which marked the advent of atomic weapons.

Among the warring countries, the greatest achievements in the development and production of aircraft ammunition were achieved by Germany and the United States. At the same time, if Germany carried out the development and production of the entire range of the latest aerial bombs, then the United States made a breakthrough in guided planned bombs and atomic weapons. Great Britain's achievement was the creation of a seismic concrete-piercing bomb. The achievement of the USSR - mass release conventional bombs and dominance for some time with the release of anti-tank bombs. The remaining countries participating in the war did not differ in either new developments or the volume of production of aviation ammunition.

During the war years, the USSR produced 56.1 million aerial bombs, including: 6.3 million high-explosive, 26.2 million fragmentation, 5.9 million incendiary, 602 thousand illuminating, 17 million specialized. In mass, this amount was about 1 million tons, or a tenth of all types of ammunition fired.

High explosive bomb(FAB)— universal type aircraft bombs, is widely used to destroy various targets (military-industrial facilities, railway junctions, energy facilities, fortifications, manpower and military equipment enemy, etc.). It hits targets with explosion products, hull fragments and an air shock wave. Caliber 50–10,000 kg, medium caliber FABs are the most common. The FAB uses contact fuses of instantaneous action (for targets located on the surface of the earth) and delayed action (for objects hit by an explosion from the inside and buried targets). In the latter case, the effectiveness of the FAB is enhanced by the seismic effect of the explosion. When an FAB explodes, a crater is formed in the ground, the dimensions of which depend on the properties of the soil, the caliber of the aircraft bomb and the depth of the explosion. For example, when a 500 kg caliber FAB explodes in loam (at a depth of 3 m), a crater with a diameter of 8.5 m is formed. FABs with long delay fuses (hours, days) are used for mining areas; at the same time, they are equipped with vibration and anti-removal devices that cause an explosion when the ground is shaken by a moving train, tank, etc. or when trying to defuse a bomb.
High explosive incendiary bomb(FZAB) has a combined effect: high explosive and incendiary. Equipped with pyrotechnic or other incendiary compounds (including thermite cartridges) and explosives. When the fuse is triggered, the explosive explodes and thermite cartridges ignite, which are scattered over a considerable distance (up to 150 m), creating additional fires.
The main types of domestic high-explosive bombs were developed at NIO-67 in the early 1930s. In 1931–1932 High-explosive bombs of caliber 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 kg were designed. In 1934, the FAB-2000 high-explosive air bomb developed at NIO-67 was adopted by the Air Force.
The FAB-50 and FAB-70 high-explosive bombs were 152-mm and 203-mm high-explosive shells from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.
Before the war, in order to save scarce metal, at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin, Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him, developed a series of high-explosive aerial bombs in thin-walled reinforced concrete casings (FAB-100NG, FAB-250NG, FAB-500NG and FAB-1000NG). Testing of these products was successfully completed in June 1941. Even before the start of the war, high-explosive bombs in reinforced concrete casings were adopted by the Air Force. In the first years of the war, reinforced concrete buildings were also manufactured at the Pavshinsky plant near Moscow.
During the war, mass production of high-explosive bombs of a simplified design, created in 1942–1943, was launched. in GSKB-47.
The new designs were based on the casting of casings from steel cast iron. On the machines, threads were cut only for the fuse, and in the remaining threaded connections, Edison threads were used, obtained during the casting of the housings. The stabilizers were made detachable.
At the same time, in order to reduce the volume of machining, the drawings of welded versions of high-explosive bomb bodies were also revised.
High-explosive bombs of simplified design and manufacturing technology were assigned the index M-43. During the year, 9 new designs were created: FAB-50 M43, FAB-100 M-43, FAB-250 M43, FAB-500 M-43, FAB-2000 M-43, FAB-50sch (gray cast iron), FAB- 100sch, FAB-250sch and FAB-1000sl (steel casting).
By the end of the war, powerful high-explosive fragmentation bombs OFAB-100 were adopted. This bomb was loaded with 26 kg of 50/50 ammatol and a 4.7 kg TNT plug.
When bombed from a height of 2000 m and the explosion of an OFAB-100 bomb, a crater with a diameter of 4.8 m, a depth of 1.7 m and a volume of 10 m 3 was formed in ordinary soil. When OFAB-100 exploded, fragments ensured complete destruction of open manpower within a radius of 50 m, pierced armor 40 mm thick at a distance of 3 m, 30 mm at a distance of 10 m and 15 mm at 15 m from the explosion site.
During the war, high-explosive bombs were filled by filling the body with one of the following explosives: pure TNT, French mixture (80% picric acid + 20% dinitronaphthalene), ammatol 50/50, TCA alloy (50% TNT + 38% ammonium nitrate + 10 % aluminum powder) and TGA-12 alloy (50% TNT + 40% RDX + 10% aluminum powder). A large number of high-explosive aerial bombs were filled with ammatol 80/20 by screwing on horizontal screw devices.
In 1941, the Air Force adopted (for wartime) the high-explosive bomb FAB-100 KD, developed by S. G. Dobrysh (NII-6). This bomb was filled with a liquid explosive mixture of CD, consisting of nitric acid, dichloroethane and oleum (ratio 60: 40: 30). In terms of explosive characteristics, this mixture is equivalent to TNT. The high explosive effect of the FAB-100 KD was the same as that of the FAB-100 filled with TNT.
The technology for equipping the FAB-100 KD was extremely simple (alternately pouring components into the bomb body), so organizing production required no more than one or two months.
From the beginning of 1942, the Air Force began to use the FAB-100 KD. At that time, this was very important, since the equipment factories were evacuated, and there was not enough TNT and other explosives to equip aerial bombs. Production of the FAB-100 KD was discontinued in 1944 due to the fact that the mobilization stock of solid-forged hulls was completely used up. Attempts to use welded bodies were unsuccessful: filled with the CD mixture, they leaked along the welds.
At the beginning of the war, when German troops approached Moscow, attempts were made to use oxyliquity bombs developed at NII-6 on the Western Front. For this purpose, reinforced concrete buildings FAB-100 NG and FAB-250 NG were used. They were stuffed with a mixture of moss (sphagnum) and charcoal, which has a high absorption capacity. Liquid oxygen delivered from Moscow was poured into bombs at front-line airfields. Air bombs equipped in this way retained explosive properties at the level of bombs filled with TNT and ammatol 50/50 for 3–4 hours for FAB-100 and FAB-250.
About 500 oxy-liquid aerial bombs, mainly 100 kg caliber, were equipped and dropped on airfields, tank columns, bridges and other enemy targets. Work on their use was stopped when German troops were thrown back from the capital and the delivery of liquid oxygen to front-line airfields became impossible.
The total share of high-explosive bombs FAB-500, FAB-100 and FAB-250 during the war ranged from 97 to 99.6%. The range of high-explosive bombs changed towards a predominance of more large calibers. The share of FAB-250 increased every year; by the end of the war, their share increased sixfold compared to 1941 and reached 17.2%. The share of FAB-500 decreased significantly, and the production of FAB-100 throughout the war years remained at the level of 50–70% of the total number of high-explosive bombs produced.
In the post-war period, several types of high-explosive aircraft bombs of caliber 100, 250, 500, 1500, 3000, 5000 and 9000 kg were adopted.
High-explosive bombs of large calibers, adopted in the late 1940s and early 50s, were mainly intended for use against large sea ​​ships. Only FAB-1500s were considered acceptable for attacks on industrial facilities, dams and underground structures.
A conventional FAB-1500 bomb had walls 18 mm thick and contained 675 kg of explosive. In addition, the FAB-1500–2600TS thick-walled bomb was in service. Despite the name (caliber), its actual weight was 2.5 tons. Warhead cast, with a wall thickness of about 100 mm.
FAB-3000M-46 and FAB-3000M-54 each contained 1400 and 1387 kg of TNT, and FAB-9000M-54 contained 4297 kg of TNT.
Heavy high-explosive bombs were used quite intensively in Afghan war. Thus, in just three months of 1988, Tu-16 bombers dropped 289 FAB-9000M-54 bombs. However, the real effect of using heavy high-explosive bombs was small. The radius of lethal damage from the FAB-3000 shock wave did not exceed 39 m, and for the FAB-9000, respectively, 57 m. The enemy received incapacitating concussions with bleeding from the nose and ears, respectively, within a radius of up to 158 and 225 m. They showed themselves more successfully with action in the mountains thick-walled FAB-1500–2600TS.

TTX	FAB-100	FAB-250	FAB-500	FAB-1500M-54
Bomb weight, kg	100	250	500	1400
Warhead weight, kg	70	230	450	1200
Explosive weight, kg		99	213
Case diameter, mm	267	285	392	580
Bomb length, mm	964	1589	2142	3000
Severe damage zone, m	18	28	40	~60
Light damage zone, m	35	56	80	160
Light damage area, m	70	112	160	224

Varieties and modifications
Model	Description
FAB-50	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932. It was a 152-mm high-explosive projectile from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.
FAB-50-M43
FAB-70	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932. It was a 203-mm high-explosive projectile from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.
FAB-100
FAB-100NG
FAB-100KD	Adopted by the Air Force (for wartime) in 1941. Developed by S. G. Dobrysh (NII-6). It was filled with a liquid explosive mixture of CD, consisting of nitric acid, dichloroethane and oleum (ratio 60:40:30). In terms of explosive characteristics, this mixture is equivalent to TNT. The high explosive effect of the FAB-100 KD was the same as that of the FAB-100 filled with TNT.
FAB-100sch
FAB-100-M43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-250	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-250sch	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Adopted into service in 1943. "Sch" means "gray cast iron"
FAB-250NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-250M-43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-250M-46	Modification 1946
FAB-250M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-250M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-500	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-500NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-500M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-500M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-500M-62T	Modification 1962
FAB-500SH	Assault
FAB-500ShM	Assault modernized
FAB-1000	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-1000NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-1000sl	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Adopted into service in 1943. "Sch" means "steel casting"
FAB-1500	Intended for attacks on industrial facilities, dams and underground structures. Adopted into service in the post-war period.
FAB-1500SH	Assault
FAB-1500M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-1500M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-1500-2600TS	Thick wall bomb. Despite the name (caliber), its actual weight was 2.5 tons. The warhead is cast, with a wall thickness of about 100 mm. Used in the Afghan war.
FAB-2000	Developed at NIO-67. In 1934 it was adopted by the Air Force
FAB-2000M-43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-3000
FAB-3000M-46	Adopted into service in 1946. Contained 1400 kg of TNT.
FAB-3000M-54	Adopted into service in 1954. Contained 1387 kg of TNT. Used in the Afghan war.
FAB-5000	Entered into service after 1945.
FAB-9000M-50	Designed to hit large fortifications. Accepted for service in 1950.
FAB-9000M-54	Modernization in 1954 Contained 4297 kg of TNT. Used in the Afghan war.

One of the types of aviation ammunition, dropped from an aircraft. Aviation bombs are divided into bombs for primary and auxiliary purposes. Aviation bombs main. appointments are used to defeat various land and sea. targets from the destructive effects of explosions, fragments and fire; These also include those in service with some foreigners. Air Force aerial bombs designed to destroy personnel with toxic substances. Aviation bombs will help. appointments are used to solve special problems. tasks (lighting the area, setting up smoke screens, scattering propaganda literature, imitation nuclear explosion during exercises, signaling, bombing training, etc.).
Aviation bombs were first used by the Italians during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-12. In Russia, the first aerial bombs were developed in 1909-14. The system of aerial bombs designed by V.V. Oranovsky consisted of 5 samples of fragmentation aerial bombs weighing from 9 to 80 kg and 8 samples of high-explosive aerial bombs weighing from 4.5 to 640 kg. In 1916, an incendiary aerial bomb designed by the regiment appeared in the arsenal of Russian aviation. A. Yakovleva. To the beginning 30s In the USSR, almost all types of aerial bombs were created. and auxiliary appointments. During the Great Patriotic War, only a few were created. samples of aircraft bombs (anti-tank, high-explosive fragmentation). Development of aviation bombs in foreign countries. The Air Force followed a similar path. IN post-war years The design of aerial bombs continues to be improved, their effectiveness in various areas is increased. conditions of combat use, atomic (nuclear), guided and homing aerial bombs are created (see Nuclear bomb, Guided aerial bomb).
Aviation bomb(Fig. 1) consists of a body, equipment and a stabilizer. The body is usually oval-cylindrical. conical shapes tail section, connects all the elements of the aerial bomb into a single structure and protects its internal structure from destruction. equipment. The casings of aviation bombs of fragmentation and high-explosive action are crushed into fragments during the explosion. Various types of bombs are used as charges for aircraft bombs. types of explosives (HE) - TNT and its alloys with hexogen, ammonium nitrate, etc. Aviation incendiary bombs are filled with igniter. compounds or thickened flammable liquids. Aviation bombs will help. appointments are equipped with different pyrotechnic compositions. In the bottom and head parts (less often on the side) of the body of aircraft bombs there are ignition cups for installing fuses. Aircraft bombs have ears for suspension. Low-mass aircraft bombs (less than 25 kg) usually do not have them, because These aerial bombs are used from cassettes and bundles of disposable use or reusable containers. The stabilizer ensures stable flight of an aerial bomb in the air after it is dropped from an aircraft. To increase the stability of an aircraft bomb along its trajectory at transonic flight speeds, a ballistic ring is welded to its head. The stabilizers of modern aircraft bombs have feathery, pinnately cylindrical and box-shaped shapes. Aircraft bombs intended for bombing from low altitudes (not lower than 35 m) can use umbrella-type stabilizers. When dropping such an aerial bomb, a special spring under the influence of air. flow opens the stabilizer blades, giving it the shape of an umbrella (Fig. 2), as a result of which the time of falling of the aerial bomb increases, which allows the aircraft to move to a safe distance from the point of explosion.
In some designs of aircraft bombs, the safety of the aircraft when bombing from low altitudes is ensured by special measures. parachute-type braking devices that open after the aerial bomb separates from the aircraft. To detonate an explosive charge, fuses are used: impact, remote, non-contact, etc.
Main characteristics of an aircraft bomb: caliber, filling factor, characteristic time, performance indicators and range of combat use conditions. Caliber of an aircraft bomb is its mass, expressed in kg. Depending on the type and weight, aircraft bombs are conventionally divided into small, medium and large caliber. For high-explosive and armor-piercing aircraft bombs, small caliber includes bombs weighing less than 100 kg, medium - 250-500 kg, large - 1000 kg or more. For fragmentation, high-explosive fragmentation, incendiary and anti-submarine bombs, respectively, small - less than 50 kg, medium - 50-100 kg, large - more than 100 kg. Minimum the caliber of existing aerial bombs is less than 0.5 kg; maximum - 20 t (American T-12 aerial bomb). Filling factor is called the ratio of the mass of the equipment of an aerial bomb to its total mass. For aircraft bombs with a thin-walled body, the filling factor reaches 0.7; for thick-walled (armor-piercing and fragmentation action) - 0,1-0,2. Characteristic timeΘ - basic an indicator of the ballistic qualities of a bomb is the time of fall of an aerial bomb dropped under normal atmospheric conditions from a horizontally flying aircraft from a height of 2000 m at a speed of 40 m/s. The better the aerodynamic properties of an aircraft bomb and the greater its mass, the less Θ. For existing aerial bombs it usually ranges from 20.25 to 33.75 s. The value Θ characterizes the type of trajectory of an aerial bomb and is entered into bomber sights when determining the aiming angle. Expected effectiveness combat use of an aircraft bomb makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the destructive effect of an aircraft bomb - specific (volume of the crater, thickness of the armor penetrated, number of fires, etc.) and generalized (average number of hits required to hit the target, and the area of ​​the reduced damage zone when hitting which renders the target incapacitated). These indicators serve to determine the amount of expected damage that will be caused to the target. The range of combat use conditions includes data on permissible max and min. values ​​of altitude and bombing speed. Limitations on max. altitude and speed values ​​are determined by the conditions of stability of the aircraft bomb on the trajectory and the strength of the body at the moment of meeting the target, and, according to the minimum, by the safety conditions of its own aircraft and the characteristics of the fuses used.
Main purpose aviation bombs:
High explosive bomb(FAB) - the most universal and widespread type of aerial bomb, used to destroy and destroy various types of bombs. targets (military-industrial facilities, railway junctions, energy structures, fortifications, manpower and equipment, etc.). The most common are high-explosive aerial bombs cf. caliber. The destruction of FAB targets is achieved by the action of explosion products, shock waves and hull fragments. FABs are used with impact fuses of instantaneous (for targets located on the surface of the earth) and delayed (for objects hit by an explosion from the inside, and buried targets) action. In the latter case, the effectiveness of FAB is enhanced seismically. the action of an explosion. When an FAB explodes, a crater is formed in the ground; the dimensions of the crater depend on the properties of the soil and the caliber of the bomb. and explosion depth. For example, when a 500 kg caliber FAB explodes in loam (at a depth of 3 m), a crater with a diameter of 8.5 m is formed. High-explosive aerial bombs with long-deceleration fuses are used for mining areas, and they are sometimes equipped with vibration and anti-removal devices that cause an explosion when ground shaking by a moving train, tank, etc. or when trying to defuse a bomb.
Fragmentation bomb(OAB, according to the marking accepted in practice - AO), like a high-explosive bomb, is a multi-purpose bomb (Fig. 3) and is used to destroy various types. open, unbooked or lightly armored. targets (manpower, missiles, aircraft in open parking lots, vehicles, etc.). OAB calibers from 0.5 to 100 kg. Basic damage (formation of holes, ignition of fuel, etc.) is caused when fragments of the bomb body hit the target. When the body of the OAB is crushed, fragments of various types are formed. mass (from hundredths of a gram to several hundred grams). The total number of fragments depends on the caliber; for example, a 100 kg caliber weapon has 5-6 thousand fragments weighing more than 1 g. To increase the efficiency of the fragmentation action and ensure the crushing of the body into fragments of a given mass, there are notches (grooves) on the inner or outer surface of the bodies of some weapons. In the Vietnam War, US aviation used the so-called. ball bombs filled with steel and plastic balls (Fig. 4). Typically, OABs are equipped with instantaneous impact fuses. It is possible to use proximity fuses that trigger an aircraft bomb at a certain distance from the ground. When using small-caliber weapons for laying minefields against manpower, they are equipped with mine-vibration fuses, decoy fuses or fuses with a random deceleration time in the range from 15 s to several seconds. hours.

High explosive fragmentation bomb(OFAB) is an aerial fragmentation bomb with enhanced high-explosive action. It is used for the same purposes as OAB, and for shallow. targets usually hit by FAB. OFAB calibers 100-250 kg; Bombs are equipped with instantaneous impact fuses or non-contact fuses that operate at a height of 5-15 m.
Anti-tank bomb(PTAB) is designed to destroy tanks, self-propelled artillery. installations and other objects with armor protection are openly located. ammunition depots, fuel tanks, as well as vehicles. and railway transport (Fig. 5). Sov was used for the first time. aviation in July 1943 Battle of Kursk. Modern calibers PTAB 0.5-5 kg, The damaging effect of PTAB is created by a cumulative jet formed as a result of the explosion of a charge that has a special charge. form (see Cumulative effect). Capable of penetrating armor and hitting manpower, units, fuel and ammunition located behind the armor. Fragments of the PTAB body can hit nearby personnel.
Armor-piercing aerial bomb(BRAV) is used to defeat armored vehicles. targets and objects with durable concrete or reinforced concrete. protection. BRAV calibers range from 100 kg to 1 ton. When it encounters an obstacle, BRAV penetrates it and explodes inside the target. The shape of the head part, the thickness and material of the body (special alloy steel) ensure the integrity of the aircraft bomb during the process of armor penetration.
Anti-submarine bomb(PLAB) is designed specifically to defeat submarines. A small-caliber SSBN is designed for a direct hit on a boat in a surface or submerged position. It is equipped with an impact fuse, when triggered, a high-explosive warhead is ejected from the SSBN hull, which pierces the hull of the boat and explodes with some delay, damaging its internal equipment. A large-caliber SSBN is capable of hitting a target when it explodes in water at some distance from it using the effects of explosion products and a shock wave. Comes with remote control. or hydrostatic fuses that provide an explosion at a given depth, or proximity fuses that are triggered at the moment when the distance between the submerging SSBN and the target is minimal and does not exceed its radius of action.
Incendiary bomb(ZAB) is designed to create fires and directly. destruction by fire of manpower and military equipment. ZAB calibers are usually from 0.5 to 500 kg. Small-caliber ZABs, as a rule, are equipped with solid combustible mixtures based on oxides of various metals (for example, thermite), developing a combustion temperature of 2000-3000 °C. The housings of such ZAB can be made of electron (a flammable alloy of aluminum and magnesium) and other flammable materials. Large caliber. ZAB are equipped with highly flammable fuel (gasoline, kerosene), thickened to varying degrees. consistency (eg napalm), or various. organic connections. Unlike unthickened of fuel, such fire mixtures are crushed during an explosion into relatively large pieces (200-500 g, and sometimes more), which, scattering to the sides at a distance of up to 150 m, form fires. In ZAB, equipped with thickeners. fire mixtures, there is a bursting charge and a phosphorus cartridge; when the fuse is triggered, the fire mixture and phosphorus are crushed and mixed, and the phosphorus, which ignites spontaneously in air, ignites the fire mixture. Incendiary tanks used for area purposes have a similar device, which are also equipped with a viscous (non-metallic) fire mixture. Unlike ZAV, they have a thin-walled body and are suspended only on the external holders of the aircraft.
High explosive incendiary bomb(FZAB) has a combined effect and is used against targets that can be hit by both high-explosive and ignite. bombs. Equipped with pyrotechnics or other ignites. compounds (including thermite cartridges) and explosives. When the fuse is triggered, the equipment explodes and thermite cartridges ignite, which are scattered over a distance, creating additional fires.
Chemical aerial bomb(HAB) is designed to contaminate the area and destroy manpower with persistent and unstable toxic substances (OB). The use of OB is prohibited by the Geneva Protocol of 1925. However, in the arsenal of some imperialists. The state has HUBs equipped with various OBs. formulations (sarin, hydrocyanic acid, phosgene, etc.). Aircraft bombs are equipped with impact, remote (explosion at a height of 200 m) or non-contact (explosion at a height of 50 m) fuses. When a charge explodes, the thin-walled body of the HUB is destroyed, the liquid OB is crushed into small drops and scattered in all directions, hitting people and contaminating the area and objects with persistent OB or creating a cloud of unstable OB that contaminates the air. Small-caliber HUB designs (0.4-0.9 kg) are also known, the bodies of which are spherical. shape and made of plastic. Such HUBs are used without fuses; destruction of their body and crushing of OB occurs at the moment of impact with the ground.
Aviation bombs for auxiliary purposes:
Glowing aerial bomb(SAB) is designed to illuminate the area in air. reconnaissance and bombing using optical devices. sights at night. Equipped with one or several. will illuminate with torches, pyrotechnics. composition, each of which has its own parachute system. When the remote control is triggered. fuse, the ejector device ignites the torches and throws them out of the SAB body. Descending by parachute, the torches illuminate the area for 5-7 minutes, creating a total light intensity of several. million candelas (candles).
Photographic aerial bomb(FOTAB) is used to illuminate the area during night aerial photography. It is equipped with a photocomposition (a mixture of aluminum-magnesium powders with oxidizing agents) and a bursting charge. When the remote control is triggered. the fuse detonates the explosive charge, which scatters and ignites the photocomposition; its short-term (0.1-0.2 s) flash gives a light intensity of several. billion candelas
Airborne smoke bomb(DAV) is used to set up smoke screens on the ground. The design is similar to ZAB. It is equipped with white (plasticized) phosphorus and a small explosive charge. The explosion of the charge crushes the phosphorus, which, when ignited, creates a smoke screen.
Simulation aerial bomb(IAB) serves to symbolize the point of a nuclear explosion during troop training. It is equipped with an explosive charge, liquid fuel, the flash of which imitates the fiery sphere of a nuclear explosion, and white phosphorus, which forms a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke when burning. To simulate ground or air. explosion, shock or distance are used respectively. fuses.
Propaganda bomb(AGITAB) is intended for spreading propaganda. literature. According to the principle of operation and design, it is similar to disposable bomb clusters, of which at the moment of operation the remote control. the fuse throws out leaflets and brochures.
Signal bomb(OSAB) is used to denote collection area groups of aircraft, flight route, navigation solutions. and bomber missions and various. conditional signaling on land, water and in the air. OSABs used during the day are equipped with pyrotechnics. compositions, when burned, a smoke cloud colored in one color or another is formed; At night, OSAB equipped with special equipment is used. compositions that produce different flames when burned. colors. To create signal points on the ground, the OSAB is equipped with an impact fuse. Signal points in the air are formed by a signal torch descending on a parachute, which is thrown out of the body at the moment the remote control is activated. fuse. OSAB, used at sea, is equipped with a fluorescent liquid, which when it hits the water spreads in the form of a thin film, forming a clearly visible spot - a signal point.
Practical aerial bomb(PAB, according to the marking accepted in practice - P) is used to train flight personnel in bombing. The design is similar to OSAB. Equipped with pyrotechnics. compositions of night and day action, which indicate the point of its fall in the form of a flash of photocomposition or a cloud of smoke. To indicate the trace of the trajectory in the air, the PABs are equipped with cartridges with tracers. compositions.
Lit.: Dorofeev A.N., Kuznetsov V.A., Sarkisyan R.S. Aviation ammunition. M., 1968; Mechanic's textbook Air Force. M., 1968; Civil defense. M., 1963; Organization and armament of the armies and navies of capitalist states. Ed. 2nd. M., 1988; Armed forces of capitalist states. M., 1971.
R.S. Sargsyan.

Aviation bomb or - one of the types of aviation ammunition dropped from an airplane or other aircraft and separated from the holders under the influence of gravity or with a low speed of forced separation.

Story

WWI RAF pilot flying bombs

By the beginning of the First World War, not a single country in the world had more or less effective serial bombs. At that time, hand grenades and rifle (gun) grenades were also commonly called bombs or bombs. Moreover, the expression “airplane bomb” originally meant, in fact, a heavy hand grenade, which was dropped from airplanes by pilots. Artillery shells of 75 mm caliber and higher were often used as aerial bombs. But by the end of the war in 1918, quite effective fragmentation, high-explosive, armor-piercing, chemical and smoke bombs had been created in England, France and Germany. These bombs were equipped with wing or ring stabilizers and had a completely modern appearance.

Classification of aerial bombs

Illuminating aviation bombs (light) SAB-100-55 and SAB-100-75

According to their purpose, aerial bombs are divided into

• main (intended directly to destroy targets)
• and auxiliary, creating situations that contribute to the solution of combat missions and combat training tasks for troops.

The latter include smoke, lighting, photo aircraft bombs (lighting for night photography), daytime (colored smoke) and night (colored fire) orientation-signal, orientation-sea (create a colored fluorescent spot on the water and colored fire; in NATO countries, orientation-signal and orientation naval bombs have common name marker), propaganda (equipped with propaganda materials), practical (for training bombing - do not contain explosives or contain a very small charge; practical bombs that do not contain a charge are most often made of cement) and imitation (simulate a nuclear bomb);

• According to the type of active material - conventional, nuclear, chemical, toxin, bacteriological (traditionally, bombs loaded with pathogenic viruses or their carriers also belong to the category of bacteriological, although, strictly speaking, viruses are not bacteria);
• By the nature of the damaging effect: fragmentation ( lethal effect mainly fragments);

high-explosive fragmentation (fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive action; in the West such ammunition is called general purpose bombs);

• • high-explosive (high-explosive and blasting action);
  • penetrating high-explosive - they are also high-explosive thick-walled, they are also (Western designation) “seismic bombs” (with high explosive action);
  • concrete-piercing (in the West such ammunition is called semi-armor-piercing) inert (does not contain an explosive charge, hitting the target only due to kinetic energy);
  • concrete-breaking explosives (kinetic energy and blasting action);
  • armor-piercing explosive (also with kinetic energy and blasting action, but having a more durable body);

A guided bomb dropped by a Luftwaffe aircraft penetrated 6 decks of the British cruiser HMS Uganda. Salerno 13, September 1943

• • armor-piercing cumulative (cumulative jet);
  • armor-piercing fragmentation / cumulative fragmentation (cumulative jet and fragments);
  • armor-piercing based on the “shock core” principle;
  • incendiary (flame and temperature);
  • high-explosive incendiary (high-explosive and blasting action, flame and temperature);
  • high-explosive fragmentation-incendiary (fragmentation, high-explosive and high-explosive action, flame and temperature);
  • incendiary-smoke (damaging effects of flame and temperature; in addition, such a bomb produces smoke in the area);
  • poisonous/chemical and toxin (poisonous substance);
  • poisonous smoke bombs (officially these bombs were called “smoking aviation poisonous smoke bombs”);
  • fragmentation-poisonous/fragmentation-chemical (with fragments and toxic substance);
  • infectious action/bacteriological (directly by pathogenic microorganisms or their carriers from insects and small rodents);
  • Nuclear (at first called atomic) and thermonuclear bombs (initially in the USSR they were called atomic-hydrogen) are traditionally allocated to a separate category not only according to the active material, but also according to the damaging effect, although, strictly speaking, they should be considered high-explosive incendiary (with an amendment for additional damaging factors of a nuclear explosion - radioactive radiation and radioactive fallout) of ultra-high power. However, there are also “nuclear bombs of enhanced radiation” - their main damaging factor is already radioactive radiation, specifically the flow of neutrons formed during the explosion (in connection with which such nuclear bombs received the common name “neutron”).

The Tallboy bomb was used to attack the battleship Tirpitz.

• By the nature of the target - for example, “anti-bunker” (Bunker Buster), anti-submarine, anti-tank and bridge bombs (the latter were intended to operate on bridges and viaducts);

Tirpitz attacked by British bombers on April 3, 1944

• By mass, expressed in kilograms or pounds (for non-nuclear bombs) or power, expressed in kilotons or megatons) TNT equivalent(for nuclear bombs). It should be noted that the caliber of a non-nuclear bomb is not its actual mass, but its correspondence to the dimensions of a certain standard ammunition (which is usually a high-explosive bomb of the same caliber). The discrepancy between caliber and mass can be quite large - for example, the SAB-50-15 illumination bomb had a caliber of 50 kg and a mass of only 14.4-14.8 kg. On the other hand, the FAB-1500-2600TS aerial bomb (TS - “thick-walled”) has a caliber of 1500 kg with an actual weight of 2600 kg;
• According to the design of the warhead - monoblock, modular and cluster (initially the latter were called “rotational dispersal aircraft bombs”/RRAB in the USSR).
• In terms of controllability - uncontrollable (free-falling, in Western terminology - gravitational - and gliding) and controlled (adjustable).

Main characteristics of aerial bombs

Caliber- the nominal mass of the bomb, expressed in kilograms with established geometric dimensions. For aerial bombs of the USSR and Russia, the caliber is indicated in symbol bombs after the type name.

Filling factor- the ratio of the mass of equipment (explosives) to the total mass of the bomb. It varies in the range from 0.1 to 0.7. The highest filling coefficient is for high-explosive bombs, the lowest for concrete-piercing, seismic and fragmentation bombs.

Aerodynamic characteristics of an aerial bomb, are determined by its ballistic coefficient. In the USSR and Russia reference characteristic determining this coefficient, the value of the characteristic time of the fall of an aerial bomb is taken - the time of the fall of an aerial bomb dropped in horizontal flight of the carrier at a speed of 40 m/s and an altitude of 2000 meters.

Indicators effectiveness of defeat air bombs:

• Particulars - determining the specific nature of the damage to the target: the radius and depth of the explosion crater, the thickness of the armor penetrated by the bomb, the radius of fragmentation damage, the area of ​​​​the affected area for high-explosive bombs, etc.
• Generalized - defining required amount hits the target to destroy it or disable it for a given time, the given area of ​​destruction, etc.

Performance characteristics- range of conditions for using aerial bombs: minimum and maximum values ​​of speed, altitude, dive angle and flight time; conditions of storage, transportation, scope of preparation for combat use, etc.

Aircraft bomb suspension

Initially, aircraft ammunition was taken by the pilot or other crew members into the cockpit, and simply thrown out by hand while flying over the target. Subsequently, various remote devices began to be used for suspending bombs on holders, bringing them into an active state before dropping them, and directly releasing them.

Lancaster bomb bay. "Avro Lancaster" - a four-engine bomber of the British Air Force during the Second World War.

When ammunition is located inside the fuselage (this is called “internal suspension”), special weapons compartments (cargo compartments) are structurally provided, closed in flight with flaps. Inside such a compartment, as a rule, there are cluster bomb holders (CD), which are a frame with guides, electric locks, load lifting mechanisms, blocking and release chains, etc. Each cassette can hang several aerial bombs in a row. Various containers are also widely used, which are loaded with ammunition on the ground by specially trained people and lifted into the cargo compartment completely ready for use. The cargo compartment may contain other types of holders and various devices for the transportation and use of various cargoes - beam holders, ejection devices, etc.

When ammunition is located externally on the aircraft structure ("external sling"), universal multi-lock beam holders (MBDs) are often used. For example, the design of the MBD3-U9 beam holder allows up to nine 250 kg caliber bombs to be hung on it. in groups of three. Also, specialized beam holders are used for suspending missile weapons.

The process of suspending bombs and cargo is often mechanized. Winches with manual or electric drive- in the latter case, for centralized control of standard Bl-56 electric winches, a mobile control panel based on the TSUL-56 trolley is used.

It should be noted that the larger the aircraft, the more flexible and versatile it is. combat use, allowing many combinations (load options) various types aviation weapons (AW). IN domestic aviation there are machines that provide up to 300 different loading options, depending on the characteristics of each specific task.

Samples of weapons

Conventional bombs

• PTAB-2.5-1.5 is the most popular aerial bomb of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
• OFAB-250-270 - the most popular aerial bomb in military aviation modern Russian Federation.
• FAB-5000NG is the most powerful and heaviest aerial bomb of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War.
• FAB-9000 is the heaviest (together with the armor-piercing BrAB-9000) and powerful non-nuclear aerial bomb in the USSR.
• Grand Slam is the most powerful (non-nuclear) and heaviest aerial bomb of World War II (Great Britain).
• GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast is the most powerful and heaviest serial non-nuclear aerial bomb. It is also the most powerful and heaviest serial controlled aerial bomb in the world (USA).
• Massive Ordnance Penetrator is the most powerful and heaviest (13600 kg) guided aerial bomb in the world (USA).
• The T-12 Cloudmaker is the heaviest (caliber - 43,600 pounds or 19,777 kg) non-nuclear (high explosive) aerial bomb in history. For the manufacture of the thermonuclear Mk.17, its own body (USA) was used.
• ODAB-9000 (RF) - high-power volumetric detonating aerial bomb. It is considered the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in the world (44,000 kg of TNT equivalent).
• KhB-2000 is the heaviest chemical aerial bomb in history (USSR).
• GBU-44/B Viper Strike (Russian) "Viper Strike") - the smallest (19 kg) guided aerial bomb in the world.
• AO-8sv-fs is the smallest high-explosive aerial bomb in history (USSR).
• BLU-39 (chemical) is the smallest (about 82 grams) aerial bomb brought into service (USA).
• Bat bomb (“Mouse bomb”, incendiary) is the smallest (17 grams) aerial bomb in history (it was produced in an experimental series, but did not enter service). It was assumed that the carriers of these bombs would be dropped from aircraft in special self-extracting containers the bats(USA).

A high-explosive aircraft bomb (FAB) is a universal type of aircraft bomb, widely used to destroy various targets (military-industrial facilities, railway junctions, energy structures, fortifications, enemy personnel and military equipment, etc.). It hits targets with explosion products, hull fragments and an air shock wave. Caliber 50–10,000 kg, medium caliber FABs are the most common. The FAB uses contact fuses of instantaneous action (for targets located on the surface of the earth) and delayed action (for objects hit by an explosion from the inside and buried targets). In the latter case, the effectiveness of the FAB is enhanced by the seismic effect of the explosion. When an FAB explodes, a crater is formed in the ground, the dimensions of which depend on the properties of the soil, the caliber of the aircraft bomb and the depth of the explosion. For example, when a 500 kg caliber FAB explodes in loam (at a depth of 3 m), a crater with a diameter of 8.5 m is formed. FABs with long delay fuses (hours, days) are used for mining areas; at the same time, they are equipped with vibration and anti-removal devices that cause an explosion when the ground is shaken by a moving train, tank, etc. or when trying to defuse a bomb.
A high-explosive incendiary aircraft bomb (FZAB) has a combined effect - high-explosive and incendiary. Equipped with pyrotechnic or other incendiary compounds (including thermite cartridges) and explosives. When the fuse is triggered, the explosive explodes and thermite cartridges ignite, which are scattered over a considerable distance (up to 150 m), creating additional fires.

The main types of domestic high-explosive bombs were developed at NIO-67 in the early 1930s. In 1931–1932 High-explosive bombs of caliber 50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 kg were designed. In 1934, the FAB-2000 high-explosive air bomb developed at NIO-67 was adopted by the Air Force.

The FAB-50 and FAB-70 high-explosive bombs were 152-mm and 203-mm high-explosive shells from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.

Before the war, in order to save scarce metal, at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin, Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him, developed a series of high-explosive aerial bombs in thin-walled reinforced concrete casings (FAB-100NG, FAB-250NG, FAB-500NG and FAB-1000NG). Testing of these products was successfully completed in June 1941. Even before the start of the war, high-explosive bombs in reinforced concrete casings were adopted by the Air Force. In the first years of the war, reinforced concrete buildings were also manufactured at the Pavshinsky plant near Moscow.

During the war, mass production of high-explosive bombs of a simplified design, created in 1942–1943, was launched. in GSKB-47.

The new designs were based on the casting of casings from steel cast iron. On the machines, threads were cut only for the fuse, and in the remaining threaded connections, Edison threads were used, obtained during the casting of the housings. The stabilizers were made detachable.

At the same time, in order to reduce the volume of machining, the drawings of welded versions of high-explosive bomb bodies were also revised.

High-explosive bombs of simplified design and manufacturing technology were assigned the index M-43. During the year, 9 new designs were created: FAB-50 M43, FAB-100 M-43, FAB-250 M43, FAB-500 M-43, FAB-2000 M-43, FAB-50sch (gray cast iron), FAB- 100sch, FAB-250sch and FAB-1000sl (steel casting).

By the end of the war, powerful high-explosive fragmentation bombs OFAB-100 were adopted. This bomb was loaded with 26 kg of 50/50 ammatol and a 4.7 kg TNT plug.

When bombed from a height of 2000 m and the explosion of an OFAB-100 bomb, a crater with a diameter of 4.8 m, a depth of 1.7 m and a volume of 10 m3 was formed in ordinary soil. When OFAB-100 exploded, fragments ensured complete destruction of open manpower within a radius of 50 m, pierced armor 40 mm thick at a distance of 3 m, 30 mm at a distance of 10 m and 15 mm at 15 m from the explosion site.

During the war, high-explosive bombs were filled by filling the body with one of the following explosives: pure TNT, French mixture (80% picric acid + 20% dinitronaphthalene), ammatol 50/50, TCA alloy (50% TNT + 38% ammonium nitrate + 10 % aluminum powder) and TGA-12 alloy (50% TNT + 40% RDX + 10% aluminum powder). A large number of high-explosive bombs were filled with ammatol 80/20 by screwing on horizontal screw devices.

In 1941, the Air Force adopted (for wartime) the high-explosive bomb FAB-100 KD, developed by S. G. Dobrysh (NII-6). This bomb was filled with a liquid explosive mixture of CD, consisting of nitric acid, dichloroethane and oleum (ratio 60: 40: 30). In terms of explosive characteristics, this mixture is equivalent to TNT. The high explosive effect of the FAB-100 KD was the same as that of the FAB-100 filled with TNT.

The technology for equipping the FAB-100 KD was extremely simple (alternately pouring components into the bomb body), so organizing production required no more than one or two months.

From the beginning of 1942, the Air Force began to use the FAB-100 KD. At that time, this was very important, since the equipment factories were evacuated, and there was not enough TNT and other explosives to equip aerial bombs. Production of the FAB-100 KD was discontinued in 1944 due to the fact that the mobilization stock of solid-forged hulls was completely used up. Attempts to use welded bodies were unsuccessful: filled with the CD mixture, they leaked along the welds.

At the beginning of the war, when German troops approached Moscow, attempts were made to use oxyliquity bombs developed at NII-6 on the Western Front. For this purpose, reinforced concrete buildings FAB-100 NG and FAB-250 NG were used. They were stuffed with a mixture of moss (sphagnum) and charcoal, which has a high absorption capacity. Liquid oxygen delivered from Moscow was poured into bombs at front-line airfields. Air bombs equipped in this way retained explosive properties at the level of bombs filled with TNT and ammatol 50/50 for 3–4 hours for FAB-100 and FAB-250.

About 500 oxy-liquid aerial bombs, mainly 100 kg caliber, were equipped and dropped on airfields, tank columns, bridges and other enemy targets. Work on their use was stopped when German troops were thrown back from the capital and the delivery of liquid oxygen to front-line airfields became impossible.

The total share of high-explosive bombs FAB-500, FAB-100 and FAB-250 during the war ranged from 97 to 99.6%. The range of high-explosive bombs changed towards the predominance of larger calibers. The share of FAB-250 increased every year; by the end of the war, their share increased sixfold compared to 1941 and reached 17.2%. The share of FAB-500 decreased significantly, and the production of FAB-100 throughout the war years remained at the level of 50–70% of the total number of high-explosive bombs produced.

In the post-war period, several types of high-explosive aircraft bombs of caliber 100, 250, 500, 1500, 3000, 5000 and 9000 kg were adopted.

High-explosive bombs of large calibers, adopted for service in the late 1940s and early 50s, were mainly intended for use against large naval ships. Only FAB-1500s were considered acceptable for attacks on industrial facilities, dams and underground structures.

A conventional FAB-1500 bomb had walls 18 mm thick and contained 675 kg of explosive. In addition, the FAB-1500–2600TS thick-walled bomb was in service. Despite the name (caliber), its actual weight was 2.5 tons. The warhead is cast, with a wall thickness of about 100 mm.

FAB-3000M-46 and FAB-3000M-54 each contained 1400 and 1387 kg of TNT, and FAB-9000M-54 contained 4297 kg of TNT.

Heavy high-explosive bombs were used quite intensively in the Afghan war. Thus, in just three months of 1988, Tu-16 bombers dropped 289 FAB-9000M-54 bombs. However, the real effect of using heavy high-explosive bombs was small. The radius of lethal damage from the FAB-3000 shock wave did not exceed 39 m, and for the FAB-9000, respectively, 57 m. The enemy received incapacitating concussions with bleeding from the nose and ears, respectively, within a radius of up to 158 and 225 m. They showed themselves more successfully with action in the mountains thick-walled FAB-1500–2600TS.

Varieties and modifications
Model	Description
FAB-50	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932. It was a 152-mm high-explosive projectile from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.
FAB-50-M43
FAB-70	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932. It was a 203-mm high-explosive projectile from obsolete guns with welded stabilizers.
FAB-100
FAB-100NG
FAB-100KD	Adopted by the Air Force (for wartime) in 1941. Developed by S. G. Dobrysh (NII-6). It was filled with a liquid explosive mixture of CD, consisting of nitric acid, dichloroethane and oleum (ratio 60:40:30). In terms of explosive characteristics, this mixture is equivalent to TNT. The high explosive effect of the FAB-100 KD was the same as that of the FAB-100 filled with TNT.
FAB-100sch
FAB-100-M43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-250	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-250sch	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Adopted into service in 1943. "Sch" means "gray cast iron"
FAB-250NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-250M-43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-250M-46	Modification 1946
FAB-250M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-250M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-500	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-500NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-500M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-500M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-500M-62T	Modification 1962
FAB-500SH	Assault
FAB-500ShM	Assault modernized
FAB-1000	Developed at NIO-67 in 1931-1932.
FAB-1000NG	Developed in order to save scarce metal at the suggestion of Professor N.I. Galperin in the Design Bureau No. 35 of the NKB, headed by him. The body is made of thin-walled reinforced concrete. Adopted into service in 1941 even before the start of the war.
FAB-1000sl	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Adopted into service in 1943. "Sch" means "steel casting"
FAB-1500	Intended for attacks on industrial facilities, dams and underground structures. Adopted into service in the post-war period.
FAB-1500SH	Assault
FAB-1500M-54	Modification 1954
FAB-1500M-62	Modification 1962
FAB-1500-2600TS	Thick wall bomb. Despite the name (caliber), its actual weight was 2.5 tons. The warhead is cast, with a wall thickness of about 100 mm. Used in the Afghan war.
FAB-2000	Developed at NIO-67. In 1934 it was adopted by the Air Force
FAB-2000M-43	Simplified design and manufacturing technology. Entered service in 1943.
FAB-3000
FAB-3000M-46	Adopted into service in 1946. Contained 1400 kg of TNT.
FAB-3000M-54	Adopted into service in 1954. Contained 1387 kg of TNT. Used in the Afghan war.
FAB-5000	Entered into service after 1945.
FAB-9000M-50	Designed to destroy large fortifications. Accepted for service in 1950.
FAB-9000M-54	Modernization in 1954 Contained 4297 kg of TNT. Used in the Afghan war.