BOMB LOADS AND TACTICS

Every morning at 0800, pilots assigned to fly that night ordered the bomb loads they wanted. A standard load was developed, consisting of two 1,000-pound and two 500-pound general-purpose bombs, with tail fuses set for four to five seconds delay. Nose fuses were set for 1/10 of a second, but were not generally armed for attacks below 1,000 feet. The chance of destroying one’s own aircraft was too great.

Ideally the attack was made down the length of the ship from either a bow or stern aspect. Bombs were released by use of an intervalometer with a recommended setting of 75 feet spacing at a calculated altitude of 200 feet at the time of drop. The order of release was one 500-pounder, followed by each of the two 1,000-pound bombs, and finally by the last 500. This meant that if only one of the four bombs found its mark, it was more likely to be one of the 1,000-pounders. A pilot, however, could release the weapons one or two at a time if he preferred, and often did so as the situation dictated. Most important of all, however, was the realization that the closer one got to the target, the better were his chances of success – and survival. Pilots like Jack Cruze, who were strong advocates of the masthead level attack, were ready and willing to demonstrate the clear advantages of this technique. The bombsight was eventually discarded altogether as a useless piece of baggage.

(The above section of text was taken from "Black Cat Raiders of WWII" by Richard C. Knott, 1982)(now out of print)

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