MARK I, HIGH CAPACITY DROP BOMB. A 105-POUND DEMOLITION BOMB, CARRYING 55 POUNDS OF EXPLOSIVE.
MARK II, HIGH CAPACITY DROP BOMB, NOW OBSOLETE, HAVING BEEN FOUND TOO SMALL FOR DEMOLITION PURPOSES.
MARK II—A FRAGMENTATION DROP BOMB.
A 20-pound fragmentation bomb, made from a converted 3-inch artillery shell, carries 1½ pounds of explosives to be used against troops. Projection at nose causes burst to take place above ground.
DROP BOMB, MARK III.
Airplane bombs are shaped so as to offer the least possible resistance to the air. They have fins on their tails to steady them lest they tumble over and over. On the smaller types of bombing planes, such as the De Haviland-4, the bombs were usually carried underneath the lower wings or under the fuselage, hanging horizontally by hooks or fastened by bands around the bodies of the bombs, according to their type. The bombs were dropped by a quick-release mechanism operated by a small lever within the fuselage. The production of these release mechanisms, of which several types were made, was one of the troublesome jobs in connection with the airplane bombing.