Greetings,
I picked this one up a while back, but never got around to posting it. It's an example of the B1E incendiary bomb, dropped on the UK in profusion by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz. Dropped in their dozens, the bomb featured a magnesium alloy casing with a filling of thermite, activated by an impact fuze at the base. When the bomb struck the ground, a spring-loaded striker was driven into the detonator, igniting the thermite filling and subsequently the magnesium casing. Specialist training was given to ARP wardens and members of the Fire Guard in response to these bombs, and extinguishing them became more dangerous when the Germans began fitting them with secondary explosive charges.
I already have one of these bombs, but it was the damage on this one that made it so appealing. Clearly, this little bomb has had a very hard landing! The nose-end is crooked, but still thankfully unscrews. It retains a portion of its silver paint, and the markings are nice and clear. The tailfin has not fared quite so well! The impact has driven the body of the bomb up into it, splitting it apart and detaching it completely. Despite the extensive damage, it retains virtually all of its paint.
Clearly, the fuze in this bomb proved to be a dud, or it perhaps landed at too shallow an angle to drive the striker into the detonator. After failing to ignite, it would have been scooped up by a warden or a particularly foolhardy souvenir hunter who removed the thermite filling, and thus it survives for us to enjoy today.
Regards, B.B.
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