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General-purpose bomb

SC 500

Type	General-purpose bomb
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	Luftwaffe
Wars	World War II
Production history
Variants	K, L2, J
Specifications
Mass	500 kg (1,100 lb)
Length	2.03 m (6 ft 8 in)
Diameter	457 mm (18 in)

Warhead	Amatol TNT Trialen
Warhead weight	220 kg (490 lb)

The SC 500 was a Sprengbombe Cylindrisch ("cylindrical explosive bomb") family of 500 kg weight general-purpose bombs used by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Design

The bombs had three-piece drawn steel bodies with a heavy machined nose cap for armor penetration. At the other end was a base plate, just forward of which the magnesium alloy tail was tack-welded onto the body, and also bolted to the tail attachment brace. The bomb was usually filled with a mixture of 40% amatol and 60% Trotyl, but when used as an anti-shipping bomb it was filled with Trialen 105, a mixture of 15% hexogen, 70% Trotyl and 15% aluminium powder. Around the nose of the bomb could be fitted an optional kopfring - a metal ring, triangular in cross section, designed to prevent ground penetration or to stop forward momentum when hitting water (to prevent the bomb from skipping off the water). The bomb could also be fitted with a Stabo Spike which was a device that prevented the bomb from burying itself in the ground before detonation to increase its anti-personnel effectiveness (similar to the US "Daisy Cutter" fuse). The bomb was attached to the aircraft horizontally by an H-type suspension lug. It could be horizontally suspended in a bomb bay or horizontally mounted on a wing or fuselage hardpoint.

Post war ordnance

On 20 February 2024 an unexploded SC 500 was found in a garden in Plymouth, England during building work; the area was evacuated for three days. The bomb was eventually removed and detonated at sea.

On 15 August 2024 an SC 500 was found on a building site on the Rivenwood housing development in Newtownards, County Down. The bomb was destroyed in a controlled explosion five days later.

References

^ "LUFTWAFFE RESOURCE CENTER". Warbirds Resource Group. 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
Ellis, Chloe Parkman & Chris (23 February 2024). "Plymouth WW2 bomb found in garden taken out to sea". BBC News.
"Controlled explosion at Newtownards WW2 bomb site". BBC News. 20 August 2024.

v t e German aerial weapons of the Second World War
Machine guns	MG 15 MG 17 MG 81 & 81Z MG 131
Autocannons	MG FF MG 151 MK 101 MK 103 MK 108 MK 214A Schräge Musik
Anti-tank autocannons	BK 3.7 BK 5 BK 7.5
Unguided rockets	Panzerblitz R4M Werfer-Granate 21
Guided bombs and missiles	Fritz X Hs 117H Hs 293 V-1 flying bomb
Anti-personnel bombs	SD 1 SD 1 FRZ SD 2 SD 10 A SD 10 FRZ SD 10 C SD 15 SBe 50 SD 50 SD 70 SBe 250 SD 250 SD 500 SD 500A SD 500E SD 1400 SD 1700
Armor-piercing bombs	PC 500 PC 1000 PC 1400 PC 1600 PC 500 Rs PC 1000 Rs PC 1800 Rs PD 500 PD 1000 SC 10 SC 10 DW SD 4 HL SD 4/HL RS SD 9/HL
Cluster bombs	AB 23 AB 250-2 AB 250-3 AB 500-1 AB 500-1B AB 500-3A AB 70-D1 BDC 10
High-explosive bombs	SB 1000 SB 1800 SB 2500 SC 50 SC 100 SC 250 SC 500 SC 1000 SC 1200 SC 1800 SC 2000 SC 2500
Incendiary bombs	Br C 50 Br C 100 Br C 250 Flam 50 Flam 100 Flam 250
Anti-ship bombs	PC 500 RS "Paulina" PC 1000 RS "Paul" PC 1800 RS "Panther" SB 800R-5 250 SB 800RS
Smoke bombs	NC 50
Experimental weapons	Blohm & Voss BV 143 Blohm & Voss BV 246 Blohm & Voss BV 950 BT 200 Henschel Hs 294 Henschel Hs 298 Jagdfaust MG 213 MK 112 MK 214A MK 115 Ruhrstahl X-4 SG 116 [de]

Category:

World War II aerial bombs of Germany