Pilots Wished Bomb SALVO Fix - Got a Forced Delay 410m Fuse Instead! 
Is strategic bombing now the only allowed bombing style with the introduction of the 4.10m new level bombing fuse? Yes, it seems that the low bombing tactical arts are now practically denied..! For strategic 'terror bombings' that fuse is ok but I keep wondering what the veteran ground battle pilots during the war would have said if they had been ordered to use the 4.10m fuse..? I guess they would not have been polite with their response! ;D
The IL2 sim used to have very finely made simulation for low bombing modes prior to 410m! The bomb actually bounced or slided in these simulations on the ground like the wartime expert low bombing 'jabo' pilots performed it, for instance!
As a virtual bomber pilot familiar with real history of delay low bombing styles like jabo / slide / bounce bombing it is very regrettable that the
410m now denies us these most exciting and skill demanding bombing modes.
Crew Switchable Safety Delay
A story I recalled from Finnish wartime recollections about German bombs electric fuse. The big German bombs were known to have an electric fuse with safety delay option. It was rather simple yet versatile.
It could be used in automatic '
safety delay mode' (like the forced 410m fuse) or manually in no safety delay mode (quite
unlike the forced 410m fuse). It even allowed arming and disarming bomb and switching safety delay on or off
during flight.
I have understood that these electric fuses were used with bombers having crew more than on person so the one responsible for bomb release could control bomb arming and disarming. The cases I have collected from my country about small bombs like fighter bombs indicate that these had no safety delay.
Electric Fuse Circuit Description
There were two capacitors in the German electric bomb fuse circuit. The first capacitor was the one charged from aircraft. It was connected to second actual fuse capacitor through a delay resistor between them.
When capacitor nr. 1 got a charge from a connector attached to the bomb, it would start charge the nr. 2 capacitor through the resistor which slowed the charging and thus caused an arming delay or safety delay. I guess the 410m 2 s safety fuse is related to those bombs having this electric fuse arming mode?
Knowing the capacitor 1 - resistor - capacitor 2 - electric fuse circuit we can now understand the operating modes of this German electric bomb fuse:
Electric Fuse Operating Modes
1. Automatic Safety Delay: When used as automatic, an electric connector attached through a swiveled arm to the bomb would give the capacitor nr. 1 electric charge shot just before the connector attached to a swiveled arm would be ripped off from the falling bomb. Now the bomb would be armed in free fall after the actual fusecapacitor nr. 2 would be charged through the resistor causing the automatic arming safety delay.
2. Manual arm and disarm from onboard: If the bomber staff person responsible for bombing gives the bomb a charge shot prior to releasing a bomb, it will arm itself in the alleged time and when released later, it will drop with
no safety delay. He could also decide to
disarm the bomb by shortcircuiting the bomb arming circuit. When shortcircuited, the arming capacitor nr 2 would bleed empty from charge through the delay resistor in about the time of the safety delay and the bomb would be disarmed again.
We see that this kind of electric bomb fuse circuit would allow the bomber crew to arm and disarm any bomb connected to onboard arming circuit and release the bomb either disarmed or armed. Further, this bomb arming circuit gave the crew an option to decide
whether to use safety delay or not..! Alas, we virtual bomber pilots were not allowed to decide setting safety delay on or off with the rather
incorrect 410m fuse...
Regards,
- J. Hartikka -
Finland