33k in the air
Staff Sergeant
- 1,293
- Jan 31, 2021
For B-17 internal loads, see page 410 of Erection and Maintenance Instructions for Army Model B-17G / British Model Fortress II Airplanes (AN 01-20EG-2 dated 25 August 1944). That page shows for various bomb types the maximum number of stations on the bomb racks which could simultaneously carry that bomb type. The main loads of interest:
24 x 100-lb AN-M30 GP
24 x 100-lb AN-M47 incendiary
24 x 120-lb AN-M1A1/M2A1 fragmentation clusters
16 x 250-lb AN-M57 GP
16 x 300-lb M31 Demolition
12 x 500-lb AN-M43/AN-M64 GP
16 x 500-lb AN-M58 SAP
10 x 1,000-lb AN-Mk 33 AP
06 x 1,000-lb AN-M44/AN-M65 GP
08 x 1,000-lb AN-M59 SAP
06 x 1,600-lb AN-Mk 1 AP
02 x 2,000-lb AN-M34/AN-M66 GP
Operationally, the maximum load for some bombs was increased through the use of cluster adapters which allowed more than one bomb to be carried by a bomb rack station. (These same cluster adapters were used in the B-24 and B-29 to greatly increase their small bomb capacities.) The new B-17 maximums:
38 x 100-lb AN-M30 GP
42 x 100-lb AN-M47 incendiary
38 x 120-lb AN-M1A1/M2A1 fragmentation clusters
20 x 250-lb AN-M57 GP
18 x 300-lb M31 Demolition
16 x 500-lb AN-M43/AN-M64 GP
The aircraft could also carry a maximum of 30 x 260-lb AN-M81 fragmentation bombs internally..
I'm uncertain of the number of 150-lb T1 GP that could be carried internally. (The T1 is a little-known bomb that was developed as a more powerful substitute for the 100-lb AN-M30 GP. The bombers of the 8th Air Force dropped 74,920 of these bombs during the last two months of the war.) Given that the T1 had the same diameter as the AN-M30, presumably similar numbers could be carried,, since a bomb's diameter was a key limiting factor in how many could be carried.
24 x 100-lb AN-M30 GP
24 x 100-lb AN-M47 incendiary
24 x 120-lb AN-M1A1/M2A1 fragmentation clusters
16 x 250-lb AN-M57 GP
16 x 300-lb M31 Demolition
12 x 500-lb AN-M43/AN-M64 GP
16 x 500-lb AN-M58 SAP
10 x 1,000-lb AN-Mk 33 AP
06 x 1,000-lb AN-M44/AN-M65 GP
08 x 1,000-lb AN-M59 SAP
06 x 1,600-lb AN-Mk 1 AP
02 x 2,000-lb AN-M34/AN-M66 GP
Operationally, the maximum load for some bombs was increased through the use of cluster adapters which allowed more than one bomb to be carried by a bomb rack station. (These same cluster adapters were used in the B-24 and B-29 to greatly increase their small bomb capacities.) The new B-17 maximums:
38 x 100-lb AN-M30 GP
42 x 100-lb AN-M47 incendiary
38 x 120-lb AN-M1A1/M2A1 fragmentation clusters
20 x 250-lb AN-M57 GP
18 x 300-lb M31 Demolition
16 x 500-lb AN-M43/AN-M64 GP
The aircraft could also carry a maximum of 30 x 260-lb AN-M81 fragmentation bombs internally..
I'm uncertain of the number of 150-lb T1 GP that could be carried internally. (The T1 is a little-known bomb that was developed as a more powerful substitute for the 100-lb AN-M30 GP. The bombers of the 8th Air Force dropped 74,920 of these bombs during the last two months of the war.) Given that the T1 had the same diameter as the AN-M30, presumably similar numbers could be carried,, since a bomb's diameter was a key limiting factor in how many could be carried.