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NOTES TO TABLE 43
This table, the first of seven on the subject of bomb expenditures by type and size of bombs, shows trends from year to year during the war.
Outstanding in the carrier data are the following trends from 1942 to 1945.
(a) Substantial increase in use of 100-lb. GP bombs, used largely in TBMs to secure maximum area coverage against targets susceptible mainly to fragmentation damage and small demolition charges.
(b) Increasing use of 250-lb. GP bombs, largely on SB2C wing racks, particularly in 1944.
(c) A trend toward concentration on use of the 500-lb. GP bomb as an all-purpose weapon, resulting partly from its heavy use by the increased VF complement.
(d) Substantial decrease in the use of heavy GP, SAP and AP bombs, from 44% of the total in 1942-43 to 11% in 1945.
(e) Increasing use of Napalm fire bombs and fragmentation bombs (particularly after introduction of the 260-lb. frag. bomb in 1945), and decreasing use of other special ordnance, such as torpedoes, incendiary clusters, and depth bombs.
In the data for land-based planes, though 1944 figures are not available, the same trends can be seen. The heavy 1945 use of depth bombs, SAP bombs, and incendiary clusters, represents largely a cleaning out of surplus stocks in the Solomons area.
TABLE 43. ANNUAL ORDNANCE
EXPENDITURES BY ALL CARRIER-BASED AND LAND-BASED AIRCRAFT
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TYPE OF ORDNANCE |
CARRIER-BASED |
LAND-BASED |
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TONNAGES |
PERCENT OF TOTAL* |
TONNAGES |
PERCENT OF TOTAL* |
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1942 |
1943 |
1944 |
1945 |
1942-3 |
1944 |
1945 |
1942 |
1943 |
1945 |
1942-3 |
1945 |
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100-lb. GP |
40 |
115 |
2,036 |
3,598 |
6.5 |
9.7 |
16.7 |
31 |
475 |
815 |
6.9 |
3.4 |
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250-lb. GP |
0 |
0 |
1,281 |
927 |
0.0 |
6.1 |
4.3 |
0 |
83 |
2,982 |
1.1 |
12.3 |
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500-lb. GP |
192 |
639 |
7,914 |
12,878 |
34.9 |
37.6 |
59.6 |
101 |
1,347 |
7,482 |
19.6 |
30.9 |
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1000-lb. GP |
279 |
426 |
3,944 |
1,336 |
29.6 |
18.8 |
6.2 |
182 |
2,555 |
7,652 |
37.1 |
31.6 |
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2000-lb. GP |
0 |
223 |
1,119 |
558 |
9.4 |
5.3 |
2.6 |
0 |
2,192 |
815 |
29.7 |
3.4 |
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500-lb. SAP |
0 |
0 |
624 |
160 |
0.0 |
3.0 |
0.7 |
0 |
0 |
93 |
0.0 |
0.4 |
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1000-lb. SAP |
0 |
113 |
1,401 |
209 |
4.8 |
6.6 |
1.0 |
0 |
0 |
294 |
0.0 |
1.2 |
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Armor-Piercing |
0 |
10 |
264 |
29 |
0.4 |
1.3 |
0.1 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
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Napalm (Tank) |
0 |
0 |
118 |
560 |
0.0 |
0.6 |
2.6 |
0 |
0 |
2,062 |
0.0 |
8.5 |
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Other Incendiary |
2 |
26 |
480 |
68 |
1.2 |
2.3 |
0.3 |
0 |
11 |
264 |
0.2 |
1.1 |
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Fragmentation |
8 |
2 |
335 |
957 |
0.4 |
1.6 |
4.4 |
0 |
48 |
1,257 |
0.7 |
5.2 |
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Depth Bombs |
8 |
50 |
668 |
36 |
2.4 |
3.2 |
0.2 |
6 |
19 |
368 |
0.3 |
1.5 |
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Torpedoes |
131 |
116 |
772 |
292 |
10.4 |
3.7 |
1.3 |
83 |
27 |
30 |
1.5 |
0.1 |
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Mines |
0 |
0 |
50 |
0 |
0.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0 |
212 |
87 |
2.9 |
0.4 |
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Type Unknown |
52 |
0 |
46 |
0 |
* |
* |
* |
156 |
320 |
0 |
* |
* |
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TOTAL |
712 |
1,720 |
21,052 |
21,608 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
565 |
7,289 |
24,208 |
100.0 |
100.0 |
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* -- Percentages are based on totals of ordnance of known types only. NOTE: 1944 ordnance expenditures, by type of ordnance, are not available from Op-23-V machine cards because of deficiencies in the coding system. The carrier-based expenditures for 1944 given herewith are from data compiled by ComAirPac Opintel, and are believed reasonably complete and comparable. Similar land-based figures for 1944 are not available. |
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