swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 3,993
- Jun 25, 2013
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The issue is further complicated by the nature of "earthquake bombs" themselves. The RAF crippled the Tirpitz by hitting close but the ship itself, not knowing this they made another raid which hit and sank it. The raid on the V3 site hit it when actually it was supposed to narrowly miss, more devastation is caused by the bomb exploding deep under the foundations, in any case the V3 site was wrecked. On a viaduct they didnt want to hit it, if the bomb struck a column it may well just explode above ground, exloding alongside but deep underground destroyed the bridge and its foundations.
He He Wuzak it could be a topic all by itself, for example the Tirpitz was at sea level but a viaduct isnt. I saw a video with the bomber of the V3 site discussing the raid. He said he was instructed to aim at it and it was hoped that the inaccuracy in the system as a whole would produce a narrow miss. He hit the concrete but near the edge so the bomb did wreck all the underground workings and tunnels.And the height at which a Lancaster could actually carry the bombs (especially the Grand Slam).
So basically it would be almost never unless it didn't release automatically, or for some sort of training purpose?When using the Norden to aim then the automatic mode would have been used, it was an integral part of the system.
Thought this might sound redundant, but average radial error = CEP, or 100% of the bombs falling in the radial error?The SABS was statistically the most accurate bomb sight of the war, its why No. 617 (and 9) Squadrons used it to drop extremely large bombs onto extremely precise targets, like viaducts, V-1/V-2 sites and battle cruisers. No. 617 Squadron achieved an average radial error of 125 yards from 20,000 feet in the period February to March 1945. In the same period another 'precision' squadron, No. 9, using the Mk XIV achieved an average radial error error of 195 yards. This is the best comparison we have between the two British sights.
Comparisons are difficult, it is not just the sight that influences accuracy. In this period, visually, the USAAF was typically placing about 30% of bombs within 330 yards of the target, which is widely comparable to Bomber Command with its Mk XIV by day, but the skill of the bomb aimers/ bombardiers becomes an important factor.
I can do that: I'm just unsure if it would be logical to create a thread that would basically be a duplicate on another forum.The last question could be asked in the appropriate era...Other Eras WW2Aircraft.net Forums
Did the USAAF or USN ever use Average Radial Error at all?Stona said:Average radial error and circular area probable are not the same.
Average radial error is precisely that, the average displacement of all the bombs dropped from the aiming point. It is a good measure of both accuracy and precision. It's why the British used it for specialist precision bombing units like No. 617 Squadron. They also used it for the fighter bombers of the tactical air forces.
I can do that: I'm just unsure if it would be logical to create a thread that would basically be a duplicate on another forum.
Did the USAAF or USN ever use Average Radial Error at all?
I can do that: I'm just unsure if it would be logical to create a thread that would basically be a duplicate on another forum.
I don't mean responding to two people at once, I mean creating essentially a redundant thread. This thread is about bombing accuracy, so I figure it might be frowned upon to place a thread that's essentially the same in another forum......but it's OK to duplicate here???
So basically it would be almost never unless it didn't release automatically, or for some sort of training purpose?
Thought this might sound redundant, but average radial error = CEP, or 100% of the bombs falling in the radial error?
As for skill and precision that obviously goes a long-way.
The next questions I'm going to ask go quite a bit away from World War II but have to do with bombing carried out with various Cold War Equipment all the way up through Vietnam. I'm curious as to the CEP's achievable by bombers such as the B-47 and B-52 early on (1955 - 1965), and later (1965-1972).
BTW: I haven't been posting much because of a criminal justice course that requires a power-point created and creating a power-point with bibliographies frankly are exasperating.