What's going on with this 387th Fighter Squadron P-47?

[Tbolt]

It's got what looks like a British bomb mounted on the pylon, but it's the wire that seems to be coming from the vicinity of the bomb and running to the supercharger outlet where it seems to be attached with another wire running off to the right hand side that's the interesting thing. Anyone know what it is or seen it on other aircraft?

 

[72modeler]

I don't think that's a bomb- it looks like a 325 pound AN 17 Mk 41 depth charge- you can see the hydrostatic fuze plug on the side of the body. I have no earthly idea what the wires are for- maybe the store didn't drop cleanly from the pylon and the wire assembly kept it from damaging the wing? Perhaps @Selwyn or @Tailspin Turtle might know? That's a weird one, as I don't think I have ever seen a photo of a USAAF fighter carrying depth charges before.

Mike

[Tbolt]

31 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

I don't think that's a bomb- it looks like a 325 pound AN 17 Mk 41 depth charge- you can see the hydrostatic fuze plug on the side of the body. I have no earthly idea what the wires are for- maybe the store didn't drop cleanly from the pylon and the wire assembly kept it from damaging the wing? Perhaps @Selwyn or @Tailspin Turtle might know? That's a weird one, as I don't think I have ever seen a photo of a USAAF fighter carrying depth charges before.

Mike

 

Thanks, I wondered if it was something other than a normal bomb, but my ordnance knowledge is pretty poor.

 

They do still seem to class them as bombs, some places they are called a depth bomb.

 

 

 

[Toryu]

IMHO, the wire is attached to the fuse and primed the depth charge only after dropping the wire length. Maybe the fuse was activated by approaching noise (acustic fuse), and they wanted to make sure that the P-47 vibrations didn't blow it up too early.

[EwenS]

ISTR reading somewhere, sometime, back long ago that depth charges were used over land for their blast properties. Usually in the Pacific/CBI to clear vegetation from around a target, as well as shock the occupants of bunkers. Don’t recall reading of its use in NWE or the Med though.

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

Ordnance manual https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-1980.pdf

 

The 365th Fighter Group arrived in Britain in November 1943.  The 9th Air Force credits is P-47 units with dropping the following types of bombs, no depth bombs listed,

 

Fragmentation, pounds, 20, 60, 80, 90, 100, 120, 250, 260, 265, 280, 360, 400, 500, 6 x 20
HE, pounds, 100 GP, 200 GP, 250 GP, 300 GP, 500 SAP, 500 Comp B, 500 GP, 600 GP, 1000 SAP, 1000 GP
Incendiary, pounds, 100 SM, 100 WP, 125 WP, 280 FB, 300 FB, 300 WP, 500 WP, 500 IC, 500 IB, 500 FB

[Aidrian]

3 hours ago, EwenS said:

ISTR reading somewhere, sometime, back long ago that depth charges were used over land for their blast properties. Usually in the Pacific/CBI to clear vegetation from around a target, as well as shock the occupants of bunkers. Don’t recall reading of its use in NWE or the Med though.

I havent seen one on a P-47 or in NW Europe before  - but, yes, they were used in the Pacific; there are pics of Kiwi F4U-1Ds with a "daisy cutter" on one wing pylon and a depth charge on the other.  I have sometimes wondered how they were fused; setting a hydrostatic fuse  to zero feet as I read somewhere seems likely to be a bit frightening  if one were to hang up.   

Edited April 15, 2021 by Aidrian

[Tbolt]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey Sinclair said:

Ordnance manual https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/TM/pdfs/TM9-1980.pdf

 

The 365th Fighter Group arrived in Britain in November 1943.  The 9th Air Force credits is P-47 units with dropping the following types of bombs, no depth bombs listed,

 

Fragmentation, pounds, 20, 60, 80, 90, 100, 120, 250, 260, 265, 280, 360, 400, 500, 6 x 20
HE, pounds, 100 GP, 200 GP, 250 GP, 300 GP, 500 SAP, 500 Comp B, 500 GP, 600 GP, 1000 SAP, 1000 GP
Incendiary, pounds, 100 SM, 100 WP, 125 WP, 280 FB, 300 FB, 300 WP, 500 WP, 500 IC, 500 IB, 500 FB

Thanks for that, but when you say dropped, is that just in anger? Or does it included weapons that were trialed as well which could be the case in that photo?

[Ed Russell]

If we had a better view of the bomb log and data panel it would make a nice model.

According to americanairmuseum site it is P-47D-15-RE #42-75626 "Jeeters" Code: B4-C

[Geoffrey Sinclair]

On 16/04/2021 at 05:30, Tbolt said:

Thanks for that, but when you say dropped, is that just in anger? Or does it included weapons that were trialed as well which could be the case in that photo?

The report is types of ordnance dropped or jettisoned on operations.

[Broadway]

It does look very much like a depth bomb