American Bombs
With United States entry into the war and the arrival of the USAAF in England. Bomber Command gained access to American made bombs. During 1944 when British made bombs were in short supply the Command dropped significant amounts of the American type ANM 44, 58 these being the equivalent to the British 500 lb.. MC's. Additionally large quantities of ANM 59 and 64 1,000 lb.. Bomb were also pressed in to service by all of the Command's front line squadrons.
For the Command's armours the introduction of these types was we must assume welcomed, as the American bombs were faster to fuse and tail than the British made bombs they were used to working with. However, the "box" tail design which added significant length to each bomb, drastically reduced the amounts of bombs which could be carried by each British aircraft. |
