SC250 bomb

Different variants of the bomb's body were made for different purposes, with a strong body mainly for penetration of targets, and a less strong body for detonation on impact. After forging the body or welding on the nose cone and the aft cone, the bomb was fitted with the exploder tube and fuze pocket, and filled with explosive. The body was then sealed with the base plate, and the four-finned tail was attached. The overall weight was (245–256 kg), and the bomb body was long, including the tail, and in diameter. Bombs were held in place in the aircraft carrying them by suspension lugs, which could be fitted either to the nose to hold the bomb vertically in an internal bomb bay, or to the aircraft body if it was slung horizontally below the fuselage or wing. Fuzes The SC 250 could be fitted with a variety of fuzes depending on the target: • Type 25B electric impact fuze. This could be set to instantaneous detonation, short delay (less than 1 second), or for a 17-second delay. John Pilkington Hudson was awarded the George Medal in 1943 for being the first to successfully disable a Y fuze (he used liquid oxygen to cool the bomb which deadened the device's internal batteries). • Type 38 electric impact fuze, designed for use at low level against shipping; the Type 38sl. was for use as an anti-submarine bomb. • Type 59B electric aerial burst fuze. Could be set to detonate 12, 41 or 58 seconds after release. • Type 79 electric aerial burst fuze. Could be set to detonate 3, 10, 25 or 30 seconds after release. ==Post-war discoveries==

Unexploded wartime SC250 bombs, now more than years old, continue to be found. They are still dangerous and can explode if disturbed, • A SC250 bomb was found in Portsmouth Harbour during dredging work to widen the port's channel in February 2017. It was removed by a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal team and detonated out at sea. • In April 2017, a bomb was found in Minsk during the demolition of BelExpo complex. • An SC250 bomb was found at a building site in Aston, Birmingham on 15 May 2017, it was detonated on site a day later. • In May 2017, a bomb was unearthed at a building site in Ternopil, Ukraine. • In January 2019, an SC250 bomb was found on a construction site in Skopje, Macedonia. Later it was detonated in the military base Krivolak. • On 23 May 2019, an SC250 was discovered during construction works near Kingston University Campus, London, UK. • On 15 December 2020, an explosion under a fishing boat off the coast of Norfolk, England, which damaged the boat and severely injured the crew, who were said to be "fortunate not to be killed", was determined to have been due to a powerful wartime bomb on the seabed, disturbed by the fishing equipment. • On 12 May 2022, an SC250 was found in Ta’ Qali, Malta while excavation works were being carried out behind the aviation museum • On 7 February 2023, an SC250 was found in the River Yare at Great Yarmouth during dredging works at the site of the new third river crossing. • On 26 May 2023, an SC250 was found during construction work on the Staszica Square in Wrocław in Poland. • On 9 April 2024, an SC250 was found during street lighting construction work in Vilnius, Lithuania. Later it was detonated in the Rūdninkai military facility. • An SC250 was found at a building site in heavily-bombed Plymouth, England, on 29 April 2026 and could not be moved safely, requiring a 400 m cordon and evacuation of 1,260 dwellings until it was made safe where it lay. Most of the explosive charge was burned safely, but part detonated during the process, confirming that these devices remained very dangerous. Many more such unexploded bombs were expected to remain—"the south coast is probably littered with bombs". == Photo Gallery ==

File:Antiricochet Plates.jpg| Anti-ricochet rings. File:Stabo-Stachel.jpg| Stabo spikes. ==Citations==