Avro Lancaster Ship buster

[The Wooksta!]

There was a good documentary on the Tirpitz raid on more 4, which included film footage of the bombs dropping and hitting the ship.

[kerick]

Did the rocket spear developers ever try a more hardened material besides cast iron? Tungsten would be great but I'm sure too costly or high priority a material. The harder the material the lighter the warhead could be and the higher velocity the rockets could achieve. Might be able to penetrate a more armored ship. Just speculation on my part.

[jcf]

Did the rocket spear developers ever try a more hardened material besides cast iron? Tungsten would be great but I'm sure too costly or high priority a material. The harder the material the lighter the warhead could be and the higher velocity the rockets could achieve. Might be able to penetrate a more armored ship. Just speculation on my part.

"Cast-iron" can be extremely hard depending on how it's made and finished, add in a
hardened steel penetrator core and you'll be punching holes in most floaty things.

Tungsten isn't more effective just because it's harder, it's also much denser,
so your warhead wouldn't be lighter.

Tungsten in projectiles is used in alloys with other metals, by itself it's very brittle,
and during WWII there wasn't enough to go around for mass use in projectiles, the
Germans used it in some specialized anti-tank rounds in very small numbers.

[NARSES2]

"Cast-iron" can be extremely hard depending on how it's made and finished, add in a
hardened steel penetrator core and you'll be punching holes in most floaty things.

Very much so Jon, there's this perception that cast iron is quite fragile, whereas as you say it all depends on how it's produced and what you want to use it for.

There was a good documentary on the Tirpitz raid on more 4, which included film footage of the bombs dropping and hitting the ship.

Saw that and as you say it was very good 

Sinking the Tirpitz was surely a political target, and no limit on the amount of resources would have been expended to ensure it was sunk.

The first two raids were hampered by the smoke defences around the ship and cloud cover as well.

Yup, I think it became a very much "must sink" target after all the effort expended. I can't even begin to think what Churchill's reactions were to the earlier failures

The raid on the Baltic Sea shipping canal in April 1945 which sank the Lützow was another effective use of Tallboy in the anti-shipping role, but was also perhaps more a political than strategic/tactical raid.

[zenrat]

...there's this perception that cast iron is quite fragile, whereas as you say it all depends on how it's produced and what you want to use it for...

Not so.  As anyone else who has dismantled a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer will attest.

[tigercat]

I read somewhere that an RP3 was equivalent to hit by a 6 inch gun so enough of them on a Lancaster wing should pack a punch . How many could you fit in total maybe 24 ? 

[NARSES2]

...there's this perception that cast iron is quite fragile, whereas as you say it all depends on how it's produced and what you want to use it for...

Not so.  As anyone else who has dismantled a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer will attest.

I'm seriously jealous as I've always wanted to do that 

[Rheged]

...there's this perception that cast iron is quite fragile, whereas as you say it all depends on how it's produced and what you want to use it for...

Not so.  As anyone else who has dismantled a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer will attest.

I'm seriously jealous as I've always wanted to do that 

Agreed,  righteous   vandalism is always great fun.  The burning question of the day is:- Why was our esteemed colleague attacking a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer?   Is there an entertaining anecdote hiding here?

[zenrat]

...there's this perception that cast iron is quite fragile, whereas as you say it all depends on how it's produced and what you want to use it for...

Not so.  As anyone else who has dismantled a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer will attest.

I'm seriously jealous as I've always wanted to do that 

Agreed,  righteous   vandalism is always great fun.  The burning question of the day is:- Why was our esteemed colleague attacking a cast iron bathtub with a sledge hammer?   Is there an entertaining anecdote hiding here?

I was a building labourer in the UK in the 90's.  The majority of bathrooms were upstairs so when we renovated a bathroom we broke up cast iron tubs because it was easier than carrying them downstairs to put in the skip.  Easier both because of the weight and because there was always a tight corner to negotiate half way down the stairs.

[NARSES2]

I was a building labourer in the UK in the 90's.  The majority of bathrooms were upstairs so when we renovated a bathroom we broke up cast iron tubs because it was easier than carrying them downstairs to put in the skip.  Easier both because of the weight and because there was always a tight corner to negotiate half way down the stairs.

Understandable. I assume the pieces were then thrown out the window and collected for the scrap man ?

Sometimes they can be more valuable as garden plant tubs than they are as scrap, but that depends on that slippery thing called "fashion" 

[Old Wombat]

These days there's quite a market for them re-enamelled as (Shock of Shocks! ) baths!

[zenrat]

The pieces went on the skip and probly ended up as landfill.
These were not uber en-trend claw foot baths but ordinary fitted ones in heavily unfashionable colours such as avocado or dusky pink.


But back to Lancs.  According to my calculations a Lancaster could carry at least six US Mark 13 Torpedoes.  I envisage some sort of rack being mounted under the bomb bay.
Imagine a flight of Lancasters coming in out of the rising sun at zero feet before each releasing six fish at the enemy fleet...

[Rheged]

Imagine a flight of Lancasters coming in out of the rising sun at zero feet before each releasing six fish at the enemy fleet...

I agree that  this scenario might well cause the enemy fleet a degree of consternation.

[tigercat]

With nose off a B25 J  or similar firing a fusilade  of gunfire at same time ...

Hears faint sound of ride of the Valkyries  ...

[PR19_Kit]

Or that of a B-25G/H?

Hit them with the 75 mm first and then poke one of the torps through the same hole. That'd get their attention.....