PuW deactivated Aerial Bomb

[Daniel Murphy]

All,
Here is the PuW Aerial Bomb I told Tony and Kaiser about. I have had it for several years having acquired it from another aviation collector. The bomb appears to have been repainted but the colors are the same as the original colors. No it is not for sale, sorry Tony.
Dan Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is a close up of the fuse assembly, it appears to be a contact fuse with the rounded tip as the top of the plunger. The spanner slots were manhandled and abused when deactivated. There appears to be only two settings, so we know this is not just any old shell fuse stuck in it.
Dan Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is another pic of the fuse. Apparently the marked grooves on the other side were orginally supposed to line up with the notch on this side.
Dan Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Here are some more matching serial numbers?
Dan

[Daniel Murphy]

Here are some more markings, the 07 and 17 is probably the month and year it was made. July 1917. The 15S in the circle is 15 Kilos? This thing wieghs about 30 pounds. Above is perhaps a makers logo.
Dan Murphy

[Tony & Kaiser]

No it is not for sale, sorry Tony.

Drat.

But thank you for posting the photos Dan. A long-time fantasy of mine to find one of these.

[Daniel Murphy]

Here is the business end. I have no idea how they could carry 12 of these in a AEG front cockpit and drop them by hand. The bottom of the cockpit must have been steel. This thing is HEAVY.
Dan Murphy

[Daniel Murphy]

Tony,
If I ever sell it, you have first refusal. I have no idea of its value, I just know I liked it for what I paid.
Dan Murphy

[Chip M]

Daniel,

I must have missed an earlier thread. What does PuW stand for?

Chip

[Daniel Murphy]

Sorry Chip,
I should have explained. P.u.W. is the abbreviation for Pruefanstalt und Werft der Fliegertruppe ( Test Establishment and Workshop of the Flying Troops). They developed this bomb in 1916 after the earlier ones were less than satisfactory. It was manufactured five different sizes 12.5 Kg, 50 Kg, 100Kg, 300 Kg, and 1000 kg. There was also an Incendiary of 12.5 Kg size that was made of steel instead of cast iron. Steel was used because of it's high strength, it would pentrate deeper. Mine may be the incendiary version. Here is a link to a site that will explain a little more.
www.brushfirewars.org/weapons/aircraft_armament/wwi_german/ww1_german_aircraft_armament_1.htm