British bombs – Fuzes, Pistols and Detonators of WW2

In this blog I have collected together comprehensive information on British WW2 aerial bomb fuzes and pistols. What’s the difference? A fuze contains a charge of its own to initiate the main charge in the bomb. Pistols never contained their own explosive, being merely firing pins held inside a case. Obviously they are no ordinary ‘cases’, with a number of different types, but this is an important distinction. Fuzes contain an explosive compound, Pistols don’t. This being the case, a bomb pistol needs a detonator, and I have included pictures of these after the fuzes & pistols. Right at the bottom of the page are pictures of a few of the ones I have recovered over the years.

During filming for WW2 Treasure Hunters I had to identify a lot of relics. After so many years of recovering WW2 relics, I have built up a considerable knowledge so I found it relatively straight-forward. However, all that knowledge is useless unless shared, so consider some of it to now be shared!

I’ve been interested in WW2 all my life, and spent many years trawling through and collecting books on the subject. That built up a decent knowledge, but spending more than the last 20 years recovering WW2 relics has boosted that knowledge massively. It has also been added to by trawling the net for manuals and books from the period.

I found a copy of this 1940s book around 10 years ago now, on the internet. Shortly after downloading it, the website it was on disappeared and I’ve not seen a copy of it again! I won’t upload the pictures and descriptions of the bombs themselves, after all, if you find one of them, identifying it should be the least of your concerns. Getting a LONG way away to call EOD should be your greatest!

I make no apologies for the number of pictures on this blog, but I hope collecting them all in one place will help my fellow collectors.

Before you view them though, just a quick reminder. Do NOT mess with fuzes or detonators. They contain enough explosive to really ruin your day. Remember that unless you are 100% sure what you’re are digging is safe, leave it alone and call the authorities. No relic is worth a finger, hand, arm, leg or life.

Let the pictures commence! I’ve kept them in fuze/pistol number order, with the written detail following the individual pictures.

cat-0214 cat-0215 cat-0216 cat-0217 cat-0218 cat-0219 cat-0220 cat-0221 cat-0222 cat-0223 cat-0224 cat-0225 cat-0226 cat-0227 cat-0228 cat-0229 cat-0230 cat-0231 cat-0232 cat-0233 cat-0234 cat-0235 cat-0236 cat-0237 cat-0238 cat-0239 cat-0240 cat-0241 cat-0242 cat-0243 cat-0244 cat-0245 cat-0247 cat-0248 cat-0249 cat-0250 cat-0251 cat-0252 cat-0253 cat-0254 cat-0255 cat-0256 cat-0257 cat-0258 cat-0259 cat-0260 cat-0261 cat-0262 cat-0263 cat-0264 cat-0265 cat-0266 cat-0267 cat-0269 cat-0270 cat-0271 cat-0272 cat-0273 cat-0274 b cat-0275 cat-0276 cat-0277 cat-0278 cat-0279 cat-0280 cat-0281 cat-0282 cat-0283 cat-0284 cat-0285 cat-0286 cat-0287 cat-0288 cat-0289 cat-0291 cat-0292 cat-0293 cat-0294 cat-0295 cat-0296 cat-0297 cat-0298 cat-0299 cat-0300 cat-0301 cat-0302 cat-0303 cat-0305 cat-0307 cat-0309 cat-0310 cat-0311 cat-0312 cat-0313 cat-0314 cat-0315

Here are a few of the pistols, fuzes and components I have recovered over the years…….

SONY DSC — Bakelite No 28 tail pistols and caps

pistols 1 — Bakelite No 28 tail pistols and caps

Stainless steel firing pins from No 28 tail pistols. Again left on the surface. Obviously whoever dug them out the ground had no idea what they were. I did!

Base units to either No 42 or No 848 nose fuze (could be used in either)

Arming vane and column for No 848 nose fuze

4 comments

John Boulton says:

January 1, 2020 at 4:15 pm

Hi Stephen, I have a detonator from an exploded WWII bomb, believed to be dropped by a German plane over Lincolnshire (Horncastle) returning home from a Midlands bomb run. It is a 75mm long by 25mm diam metal tube with holes and a screwed-in closure at one end, now so corroded that it is stuck. At the other end is a 12mm threaded hole into which screws a copper plug the threaded section is 23mm long and then flat washer like section 48mm diam by 12 mm deep. This latter is perforated with 4 diametrically opposed holes. I would love to know a bit more about this object. If yourself or someone you know would be interested I can take some detailed photos and send them on. With Kindest regards, John Boulton.

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- stephentaylorhistorian says:
  
  January 5, 2020 at 1:14 pm
  
  Hi John. Sounds very interesting. Please use the ‘Contact’ page and I will then reply to the email and you can then send me some pics.
  
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Olivier de Forges de Parny says:

February 23, 2023 at 4:25 pm

Hello Stephen.
I have just acquired a fuze that I think is for an aerial bomb. On your fascinating documentation, I can’t find this model. Could you be so kind as to identify exactly my model and on which bomb or shell it was mounted. The latter carries the following markings: 65 N°1MKIN C.N.H 10/44
Thank you very much!
Best regards from France.
Olivier.

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- stephentaylorhistorian says:
  
  February 23, 2023 at 9:08 pm
  
  Use the contact page to get in touch and I’ll help the best I can
  
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