British HE, RL Bombs

[Ian Burns]

The meaning of HE is simple enough - High Explosive.
But what does the RL stand for? Royal Laboratories???

[John McKenzie]

Yes , Royal Laboratories ,.....
Take a look under RAF museum for RL bombs etc...various weights & case thicknesses for various uses etc. etc..
The Historical Society made quite a few pages of interest about it in WWI ..
.

[Ian Burns]

Thanks John

[MikeMeech]

Originally Posted by Ian Burns

The meaning of HE is simple enough - High Explosive.
But what does the RL stand for? Royal Laboratories???

Hi

There were a number of Royal Laboratories bomb types; HERL 250 lb, 180 lb, 112 lb, 100 lb, 65 lb, 50 lb, 16 lb of different marks and fusing arrangements during the war. The document 'Details of Aerial Bombs' issued by the Air Ministry in September 1918, has been re-printed by the Naval & Military Press in association with the Imperial War Museum, so is available if you wish to go into further detail. Also the book 'Bombs Gone - The development and use of British air-dropped weapons from 1912 to the present day' by MacBean and Hogben may be of interest. Reference production of bombs then 'The Official History of The Ministry of Munitions Volume XII' Part II Aerial Bombs, may also be of use, it just depends on the detail you may want to go into on the subject.

Mike

[Ian Burns]

Thanks Mike,

I have ''Details of Aerial Bombs' . Just puzzling out RL.

Original users, of course, would have known.

Cheers
Ian