Subject: A BOMB PATTER IS LIKE A FOOTBALL
From: "Emilio"
Date: 3/2/04 9:09 AM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:

No the formation was football shaped. Another cause of a hole in the
pattern
could be a bomb load going out taking improperly installed arming wires
with
them. But that was rare.

Were all the bombs released at the same time to form a football pattern on
the ground, or did each bomber released the bombs over the target? Was the
football shape chosen to minimize crosswind condition at the target? In
that case, bomb trajectory can drift sideways and the main axis of football
will be off the target.

Emilio.

You ask good questions Emilio. The bombs are released via an intervelometer.
The bombardier places his corsshairs where he wants the first bomb to hit. The
intervelometer times the releases so that the full bomb load walks across the
target area from beginning to end. The bombardier via the Norden bombsight
corrects for wind drift and at the low altitudes we flew cross winds on the way
down were rarely a problem. Good questions.


Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer