sbc

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 The container could carry the following loads: Ninety 4 lb. incendiary bombs Twelve 20 lb. F. bombs Eight 30 lb. L.C. bombs Eight 30 lb. incendiary bombs Two 120 lb. smoke bombs, Mk. II Eight 40 lb. G.P. bombs Three 65 lb. L.C. bombs Forty-two 4 lb. smoke bombs Three 100 lb. smoke bombs As to the external carriage of SBC's I can tell you Lysander aircraft carried th em externally. The SBC was capable of carrying a wide variety of weapons. It was produced in va rious sizes: the two-partition 160lb Hudson unit, the 3 or 4 partition 250lb uni t commonly used in Blenheims and shown below, and a larger unit used in the Lanc aster. Intentionally light in construction and with relatively complex electrica l and mechanical fittings, the SBC needed careful handling and storage and was n ot to be found lying around in outdoor bomb-dumps. The manual on British Explosive Ordnance say t he 250lb Mk. IA SBC normally carr ied six 40lb. bombs while the manual on the SBC says the Mk. IA carried eight 40  lb. GP bombs. The maximum load per 250lb SBC was either  6x40lb GP bombs (three per partition, two bars employed) or  12x20lb F bombs (four per partition, three bars employed), or  3 cans of 20 Mark 1E (or later Mark) 4lb incendiary sticks (one can per part ition, three bars employed). For the 20lb and 40lb bombs, purpose-made packing pieces secured the individual bombs as a cluster within each partition. The 4lb hexagonal incendiary sticks ca me pre-packed in tin-plate boxes or cans, with a tear-off lid, 20 per box (80lbs).  In each case, the loaded SBC carried 240lbs of armament. The dimensions for this 250lb SBC (roughly square profile) are: Overall length 66.3 inches Overall width 12.5 inches Shell width 11 inches. Shell sidewall 7.43 inches Depth inside shell 10? inches. Since the 30lb and 40lb bombs are 5 inch diameter, on can expect the overall wid th to include the hanger and release mechanism external to the bomb carrying com partment. The Small Bomb Container, Mk IA which could contain any of the following:- (i) Ninety 4 lb. incendiary bombs (ii) Twelve 20 lb. F. bombs (iii) Eight 30 lb. L.C. bombs (iv) Eight 30 lb. incendiary bombs (v) Two 120 lb. smoke bombs, Mk. II vi) E ight 40 lb. G.P. bombs (or nine?) (vii) Three 65 lb. L.C. bombs (viii) Forty-two 4 lb. smoke bombs (ix) Three 100 lb. smoke bombs. The smaller 160lb. Small Bomb Container, sometimes referred to as the Hudson S.B .C. could contain (i) fourty 4lb. Incendiaries or

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RAF WW2 Small Bombs Container data

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Page 1: Sbc

7/18/2019 Sbc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sbc55cf882c55034664618e12ed 1/2

The container could carry the following loads:

Ninety 4 lb. incendiary bombsTwelve 20 lb. F. bombsEight 30 lb. L.C. bombsEight 30 lb. incendiary bombsTwo 120 lb. smoke bombs, Mk. IIEight 40 lb. G.P. bombsThree 65 lb. L.C. bombsForty-two 4 lb. smoke bombsThree 100 lb. smoke bombs

As to the external carriage of SBC's I can tell you Lysander aircraft carried them externally.

The SBC was capable of carrying a wide variety of weapons. It was produced in various sizes: the two-partition 160lb Hudson unit, the 3 or 4 partition 250lb unit commonly used in Blenheims and shown below, and a larger unit used in the Lancaster. Intentionally light in construction and with relatively complex electrical and mechanical fittings, the SBC needed careful handling and storage and was not to be found lying around in outdoor bomb-dumps.

The manual on British Explosive Ordnance say the 250lb Mk. IA SBC normally carried six 40lb. bombs while the manual on the SBC says the Mk. IA carried eight 40

 lb. GP bombs.The maximum load per 250lb SBC was either  6x40lb GP bombs (three per partition, two bars employed) or  12x20lb F bombs (four per partition, three bars employed), or  3 cans of 20 Mark 1E (or later Mark) 4lb incendiary sticks (one can per partition, three bars employed).For the 20lb and 40lb bombs, purpose-made packing pieces secured the individualbombs as a cluster within each partition. The 4lb hexagonal incendiary sticks came pre-packed in tin-plate boxes or cans, with a tear-off lid, 20 per box (80lbs). In each case, the loaded SBC carried 240lbs of armament.

The dimensions for this 250lb SBC (roughly square profile) are:Overall length 66.3 inches

Overall width 12.5 inchesShell width 11 inches.Shell sidewall 7.43 inchesDepth inside shell 10? inches.

Since the 30lb and 40lb bombs are 5 inch diameter, on can expect the overall width to include the hanger and release mechanism external to the bomb carrying compartment.

The Small Bomb Container, Mk IA which could contain any of the following:-(i) Ninety 4 lb. incendiary bombs(ii) Twelve 20 lb. F. bombs(iii) Eight 30 lb. L.C. bombs

(iv) Eight 30 lb. incendiary bombs(v) Two 120 lb. smoke bombs, Mk. IIvi) Eight 40 lb. G.P. bombs (or nine?)(vii) Three 65 lb. L.C. bombs(viii) Forty-two 4 lb. smoke bombs(ix) Three 100 lb. smoke bombs.

The smaller 160lb. Small Bomb Container, sometimes referred to as the Hudson S.B.C. could contain(i) fourty 4lb. Incendiaries or

Page 2: Sbc

7/18/2019 Sbc

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sbc55cf882c55034664618e12ed 2/2

(ii) eight 20lb. F Bombs.(iii) four 40 lb. G.P. bombs

If you are talking about the Belcher ones, they are modeled with 4lb incendiaries. The 4lb incendiaries were preloaded into tins/cans, and the tins placed in the SBC. In this case 3 tins for 90 incendiaries total. These tins give the SBC aboxy side, but when carrying 20lb, 30lb or 40lb bombs, you would actually see the lower row of bombs.

160lb Hudson unit : note that the one in the above link has only 2 drop bar brackets and bracing tube is positioned further forward and is missing the front mount as compared to the SBCs here

The SBC (Small Bomb Container) was not a true 'cluster' unit. It was fixed in the aircraft but when the release was activated the contents fell out.I used to wonder whether the SBC remained in the aircraft, or fell out, but realised relatively recently that it was the former.The SBC didn't have doors. There were three restraint bars running crosswise which were hinged at one end only the other end locked by a release linkage. The container was loaded on it back using spacers dependent on the bomb type being loaded then the bars swung closed and locked. When turned over the contents were restrained. The whole container was lifted into the bomb bay and secured.