Bombs
Napalm Bombs
In the latter half ob 1944 a refined petroleum jelly called Napalm became available. Known as Class-C Fire Bombs and with a capacity of 108 US gallons, these bombs were only used in few missions. A B-17 carried four such bombs with tiny igniter units fitted to each tank.
Fragmentation Bombs
Used as anti-personnel bombs during ground force support attacks, these 20lb M41's were fitted in 120lb and 500lb clusters. They were very lighty bombs and the B-17 Nordon bombsight had to be used with a special computation table to provide the maximum trail angle (distance between plane and point of impact).
Poison Gas Bombs
Poisen gas bombs were kept in stock as a deterrent throughout the war by the US 8th Air Force. they consisted of two types, both made in Britain; the 400lb "Flying Cow" mustard gas bomb and the 500lb phsogene bomb.
VB-1 AZON-Bomb
A basic 1000lb bomb but with a special tail attachment which allowed it to be steered over a distance of 200 feet to eighter side of the point of impact from a heigh of 20,000 feet. They were controlled by the dropping aircraft using an AN/ARW-9 transmitter. The bomb could only be attached to a B-24 on a 2000lb bomb shackle.
GB-1 Glide Bomb
This was made from a M34-2000lb bomb fixed to a 12 foot span glider unit and attched to a B-17 underwing shackle. Two Glide bombs could be carried per plane. essentially free fall, the bomb had a stabilizing device that allowed control of direction. The bomb proved to be unreliable on the only occasion it was used on Cologne in April 1944.
GB-4
A radio controlled bomb with a TV camera fitted in the nose section that transmitted a TV signal over a range of 15 miles. It was only ever used on one plane, a B-17, on a single combat sortie.
Disney Rocket Bomb
This 4500lb bomb was designed for penetrating the thick concrete U-boat shelters. It was free-fall until a rocket motor fired at 5,000 feet, pushing the missile to speeds of 2,400 feet per second upon impact. It could penetrate 20 feet in solid concrete before explosion and was first used by 92nd Bomb Group on 14th March 1945.