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General-purpose (GP) bombs use a thick-walled metal casing with explosive filler (typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal in NATO or United States service) composing about 50% of the bomb's total weight. The British term for a bomb of this type is "medium case" or "medium capacity", abbreviated to MC. The GP bomb is a common weapon of fighter bomber and attack aircraft because it is useful for a variety of tactical applications and relatively cheap. Most modern air-dropped GP bombs are designed to minimize drag for the carrier aircraft.

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  • General-purpose bomb
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  • General-purpose (GP) bombs use a thick-walled metal casing with explosive filler (typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal in NATO or United States service) composing about 50% of the bomb's total weight. The British term for a bomb of this type is "medium case" or "medium capacity", abbreviated to MC. The GP bomb is a common weapon of fighter bomber and attack aircraft because it is useful for a variety of tactical applications and relatively cheap. Most modern air-dropped GP bombs are designed to minimize drag for the carrier aircraft.
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abstract
  • General-purpose (GP) bombs use a thick-walled metal casing with explosive filler (typically TNT, Composition B, or Tritonal in NATO or United States service) composing about 50% of the bomb's total weight. The British term for a bomb of this type is "medium case" or "medium capacity", abbreviated to MC. The GP bomb is a common weapon of fighter bomber and attack aircraft because it is useful for a variety of tactical applications and relatively cheap. General-purpose bombs are often identified by their weight (e.g., 500 lb, 250 kg). In many cases this is strictly a nominal weight, or caliber, and the actual weight of each individual weapon may vary depending on its retardation, fusing, carriage, and guidance systems. For example, the actual weight of a U.S. M117 bomb, nominally 750 lb (340 kg), is typically around 820 lb (374 kg). Most modern air-dropped GP bombs are designed to minimize drag for the carrier aircraft. In low-altitude attacks, there is a danger of the attacking aircraft being caught in the blast of its own weapons. To address this problem, GP bombs are often fitted with retarders, parachutes or pop-out fins that slow the bomb's descent to allow the aircraft time to escape the detonation. GP bombs can be fitted with a variety of fuses and fins for different uses. One notable example is the "daisy cutter" fuse used on Vietnam-era American weapons, an extended probe designed to ensure that the bomb would detonate on contact (even with foliage) rather than burying itself in earth or mud, which would reduce its effectiveness. (Note: this was not the first use of such devices. As early as WWII, the Luftwaffe was utilizing extended-nose fuses on bombs dropped by Stuka dive-bombers and other aircraft, for the exact same reason. A blast several feet above the ground in many times more effective and has a far greater radius than one that is delayed until the bomb is below the surface.) GP bombs are commonly used as the warheads for more sophisticated precision-guided munitions. Affixing various types of seeker and electrically controlled fins turns a basic 'iron' bomb into a laser-guided bomb (like the U.S. Paveway series), an electro-optical guided bomb, or, more recently, GPS-guided weapon (like the U.S. JDAM). The combination is cheaper than a true guided missile (and can be more easily upgraded or replaced in service), but substantially more accurate than an unguided bomb.
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