SC50JA (50 kg)

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Description

SC50JA new.jpg
Data for SC50JA (50 kg) bomb
Metric Imperial
Overall Length 110.0 cm 43.3 in
Body Diameter 20.3 cm 8.0 in
Filling Weight 25.0 kg 55.1 lb
Total Weight 50.0 kg 110.2 lb
Explosive Filling Fp 60/40 (TNT/Amatol)
Bomb Type High Explosive


The SC50JA (50 kg) or Spreng Cylindrisch is a German general purpose high explosive (HE) 50 kg bomb. The -Ja mark indicates this bomb comes from the Group I series of SC50 bombs.[1] The SC50JA is a one-piece drawn steel body with a sheet steel tail cone attached by eight screws. The bomb can be suspended in one of two ways, either horizontally or vertically by the use of one eye-bolt lug mounted on the side and another mounted in the nose of the bomb. This version of the SC50JA does not feature a Kopfring or an anti-ricochet plate welded to the nose which ensures the bomb detonates on impact instead of excessive penetration of land targets or potentially skipping on water before exploding.

The German bomb sets itself aside when compared to similar bombs of other nations as it does not utilise either a nose or tail fuse to arm and detonate itself. Instead, it employs an athwartship fuse pocket which extends the entire width of the bomb with a single weld placed opposite of the fuse pocket opening to secure it in place. The tail cone of the SC50JA featured in War Thunder is a sheet steel cone, and four fins which are unbraced that is they are not supported with either tubular struts or a cylindrical strut ring.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Fighters 
Bf 109 E  Bf 109 E-1 · Bf 109 E-3 · Bf 109 E-4 · Bf 109 E-7/U2
Bf 109 F  Bf 109 F-1 · Bf 109 F-2 · Bf 109 F-4 · Bf 109 F-4/trop · ◐Bf 109 F-4
Bf 109 G  Bf 109 G-2 · ◐Bf 109 G-2 · ▄Bf 109 G-2 · Bf 109 G-2/trop · Bf 109 G-6 · ▄Bf 109 G-6 · ▄Bf 109 G-6 Erla
Fw 190  Fw 190 A-5/U2 · Fw 190 D-9 · Fw 190 D-12 · Fw 190 D-13
IAR-81  IAR-81C
S-199  Sakeen
Myrsky  VL Myrsky II
Twin-engine fighters  Do 17 Z-7 · Do 217 J-1 · Do 217 N-1 · Ju 88 C-6
Strike aircraft 
Bf 110  Bf 110 C-7 · Bf 110 F-2 · Bf 110 G-2 · Bf 110 G-4 · ◐Bf 110 G-4
Fw 190  Fw 190 F-8
Hs 129  Hs 129 B-2 · Hs 129 B-2 (Romania) · Hs 129 B-2 (Romania)
IL-2  ▀IL-2 (1942)
Me 410  Me 410 A-1 · Me 410 B-1
Bombers 
Ar 196  Ar 196 A-3 · ▄Ar 196 A-5
BV 138  BV 138 C-1
Do 17  Do 17 E-1 · Do 17 Z-2
Do 217  Do 217 E-2 · Do 217 E-4 · Do 217 K-1 · Do 217 M-1
Fw 189  Fw 189 A-1
He 111  He 111 H-3 · He 111 H-6 · He 111 H-16
He 177  He 177 A-5
Hs 123  Hs 123 A-1 · ␗Hs 123 A-1
Ju 87  Ju 87 B-2 · Ju 87 D-3 · Ju 87 D-5
Ju 88  Ju 88 A-1 · Ju 88 A-4 · ▄Ju 88 A-4
Ju 188  Ju 188 A-2
Ju 288  Ju 288 C

General info

A top view of an SC50JA (50 kg) bomb with identification of parts

The SC50JA is found on many different aircraft such as early war fighters and light bombers. Two eye-bolts were outfitted on the bomb, one in the sidewall for horizontal mounting on external aircraft pylons or in some bomb-bays and one eye-bolt was screwed into a threaded socket in the bomb nose allowing for the bomb to be mounted vertically in a bomb-bay.[1] Bombs mounted vertically in a bomb-bay conserved space allowing for more bombs to be installed, and upon being dropped, the bomb fins righted the bomb pointing the nose to towards the ground.

Bombs carried externally on German aircraft are typically painted sky blue to match the underside of the plane and to also make it more difficult to see from the ground when the aircraft is flying. Yellow stripes were painted down the tail cone in between each of the fins. Markings stencilled onto the bomb included bomb grade (Bi, I or II), mark (J, Ja, JB, JC, J/2 or L) and could also include the type of fuse, type of explosive, serial number and other various acceptance information.[1]

These bombs if modified for use for water targets, the tail section would be removed, and an anti-ricochet plate would be added to prevent the bomb from skipping over the surface of the water before exploding, usually away from the intended target. Testing showed that bombs without tail fin sections could be dropped from heights of 200 m without any adverse effect or loss of accuracy.[1]

Effective damage

An exploded view of an SC50JA (50 kg) bomb with identification of major parts

The SC50JA utilised Füllpulver Nr. 13 or Fp. 60/40 which was a ratio of 60% Amatol and 40% TNT[2]. Amatol is an explosive compound which is a composition of TNT (Trinitrotoluene C7H5N3O6) and Ammonium Nitrate (N2H4O3). Because of the great explosive velocity and brisance of TNT, one-way stretch resources was to exploit TNT's one drawback. TNT in its pure form when detonated leaves a black smoke residue after it explodes due to the oxygen deficiency in TNT (does not fully explode/burn all components efficiently). Supplementing TNT's need for oxygen, ammonium nitrate is added to the mixture which has an oxygen surplus and overall increases the energy release of a TNT explosion when mixed. When compared to each other, Amatol has a lower explosive velocity and brisance than pure TNT; however because it was cheaper to use Amatol, it became the go-to explosive for general purpose bombs. Unfortunately for the Germans, as the war wore on, sources of Amatol, TNT and other explosives were dwindling, and explosive fillings became more inconsistent rendering many bombs, grenades and bullets to be less effective.

SC50JA (50 kg) damage table Metric Imperial
Max armour penetration high explosive action 65 mm 2.56 in
Radius of destruction of an armoured vehicle 2 m 6.56 ft
Radius of fragment dispersion 70 m 230 ft

Comparison with analogues

Comparable bombs to SC50JA (50 kg)
Name Mass Explosive mass Explosive type Penetration Armour destruction radius Fragmentation radius
AN-M30A1 100 lb 24.5 kg Amatol 65 mm 2 m 67 m
FAB-50sv 49 kg 26.35 kg TNT 65 mm 2 m 73 m
Type 97 Number 6 60 kg 25.3 kg Shimose 65 mm 2 m 69 m
Type 94 GPHE 50 kg 25.09 kg Type 97 65 mm 2 m 70 m
GP 50 58 kg 25 kg Amatol 65 mm 2 m 70 m
G.A.M.Mn 50 53 kg 29 kg M.Mn 66 mm 2 m 75 m
D.T. No.2 55.7 kg 19 kg TNT 64 mm 2 m 62 m

Usage in battles

The SC50JA (50 kg) is a general purpose HE bomb which was utilised by fighters, attackers and bombers. Due to its size, either two or four were outfitted to a fighter or attacker allowing it to perform low-level precision bombing on AAA or light vehicles. Bombers can carry two to twenty-eight 50 kg bombs and could drop them all in one location bombing a base or could spread them out across the map depending on where the targets of opportunity are. These smaller bombs are most effective when bombing vehicle columns or anti-aircraft artillery sites and can also be utilised to surprise enemy aircraft sitting on an airfield waiting for a reload or repair.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Very effective against light armoured vehicles and anti-aircraft artillery
  • Some fighters can carry upwards of four bombs
  • Effective for low-level bombing against columns of vehicles

Cons:

  • Small splash damage radius, requires effort in aiming
  • Small total damage output by bombers when bombing bases
  • Less effective usage at higher altitude especially against vehicles which will scatter

History

Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />.

Media

Images

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
  • references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

References


Bombs
USA 
100 lb  AN-M30A1
250 lb  AN-M57 · LDGP Mk 81
300 lb  H.E. M31
500 lb  AN-M64A1 · LDGP Mk 82
600 lb  H.E. M32
750 lb  M117 cone 45
1,000 lb  AN-M65A1 · AN-M65A1 Fin M129 · LDGP Mk 83
1,600 lb  AN-Mk 1
2,000 lb  AN-M66A2 · LDGP Mk 84
3,000 lb  M118
4,000 lb  AN-M56
Germany 
10 kg  SD10C
50 kg  SC50JA
200 kg  Sprengbombe
250 kg  SC250JA
400 kg  Sprengbombe
450 kg  Sprengbombe 68/70
500 kg  SC500K
1,000 kg  SC1000L2
1,800 kg  SC1800B
2,500 kg  SC2500
USSR 
25 kg  AO-25M-1
50 kg  FAB-50sv
100 kg  FAB-100sv · FAB-100M43 · OFAB-100
220 kg  BRAB-220 (1930)
250 kg  FAB-250sv · FAB-250M-43 · FAB-250M-44 · FAB-250M-46 · FAB-250M-54 · FAB-250M-62 · OFAB-250sv · OFAB-250-270
500 kg  BRAB-500 (1938) · BRAB-500 · FAB-500sv · FAB-500M-43 · FAB-500M-44 · FAB-500M-46 · FAB-500M-54 · FAB-500M-62
1,000 kg  FAB-1000 · FAB-1000M-43 · FAB-1000M-44
1,500 kg  FAB-1500M-46
3,000 kg  FAB-3000M-46
5,000 kg  FAB-5000
Britain 
250 lb  G.P. Mk.IV · M.C. Mk.I
500 lb  G.P. Mk.IV · H.E. M.C. Mk.II · M.C. Mk.I
540 lb  Mk.M2
1,000 lb  G.P. Mk.I · M.C. Mk.I · L.D H.E. M.C. Mk.1 · H.E. M.C. Mk.13
4,000 lb  H.C. Mk.II · H.C. Mk.IV
8,000 lb  H.C. Mk.II
12,000 lb  H.C Mk.I
Japan 
Army 
50 kg  Type 94 GPHE
100 kg  Type 94 GPHE
250 kg  Type 92 GPHE
500 kg  Type 92 GPHE
Navy 
60 kg  Type 97 Number 6
250 kg  Type 98 Number 25 · Type Number 25 Model 2
500 kg  Type Number 50 Model 2 · Number Type 2 50 Model 1 GP(SAP)
800 kg  Type 99 Number 80 AP · Number 80 Mod. 1
1500 kg  Type 3 Number 150 AP
China 
250 kg  Type 250-2 · 250-3
500 kg  500-3
Italy 
50 kg  GP 50
100 kg  GP 100T · SAP 100M
160 kg  A.P 160
250 kg  GP 250
500 kg  GP 500
800 kg  GP 800
France 
50 kg  D.T. No.2 · G.A. MMN. 50 · Type 61C
75 kg  G2 Navale
100 kg  No.1
250 lb  SAMP Mk 81
150 kg  I2 Navale
200 kg  No.1
500 lb  SAMP Mk 82
250 kg  Matra 25E · SAMP Type 25
400 kg  SAMP Type 21
1,000 lb  SAMP Mk 83
500 kg  No.2
2,000 lb  SAMP Mk 84
Sweden 
50 kg  mb m/37AT · sb m/42 · sb m/47 · Model 1938
100 kg  Model 1938
120 kg  sb m/61 · m/71
250 kg  mb m/40 · mb m/50
500 kg  mb m/41 · mb m/56
600 kg  mb m/50
Israel 
50 kg  SD50
70 kg  SD70
100 kg  100/50 kg G.P.
250 kg  250/50 kg G.P.
360 kg  360/50 kg G.P.
500 kg  500/50 kg G.P.
See also  List of guided bombs · List of retarded bombs