Bombs quantities available for Luftwaffe

[Laurent Rizzotti]

(As usual, while searching for something else), I found today a book called "Operation Barbarossa: the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis, and Military Simulation Volume IIB", by Nigel Askey.
https://books.google.fr/books?id=UmwwBwAAQBAJ

So far I have just watched the Google preview, but page 328 there is an interesting table listing the status of Luftwaffe weapons and aircraft on four dates (1st Oct 1939, 1st May 1940, 1st June 1941 and 1st Jan 1942).

Especially a line called "Bombs, aerial mines and torpedoes" drew my eyes.
1st Oct 1939: 16 203 000
1st May 1940: 17 075 775
1st June 1941: 5 541 068
1st Jan 1942: 4 113 700

It is the first time I have seen these figures. While I have often read of Luftwaffe problems with lack of aircraft, trained crews or gas, it is the first time I have read something about a possible shortage of bombs.

Between 1st Oct 1939 and May 1940, bomb expendure was limited to attacks on British shipping and three weeks of war in Norway. In the meantime the number of available bombs increased by 875 000 in seven months, so production should be between 125 000-150 000 per month.

In the next 13 months, the number decreased by 11 535 000. Two thirds of the stocks with which the Luftwaffe started the war were gone. If these figures are true, that means that even without Barbarossa, the Luftwaffe would have to stop the Blitz before the end of 1941 by running out of bombs. In the 1940-1941 period covering the West Campaign, the BoB and the Blitz, it used approximately ten times more bombs than Germany was producing.

In the period from 1st June 1941 to 1st January 1942, the stocks decreased by 200 000 per month.

Just wondering if this issue is discussed in published sources, or if someone has seen Luftwaffe documents dealing with it. I will also be interested in figures for later dates.

The table on the previous page provides number for Wermacht ammunition and their stocks are all increasing from 1939 to 1942, so it was a Luftwaffe only issue, at leats at this stage of the war.

Thanks in advance

[jschreiber]

Hello Laurent

You can find a table with the weapons and ammo (bombs and gun ammo) production for the Luftwaffe at page 286 of "The effects of strategic bombing on the German war economy" (available thru Hathitrust). The reasons of the fluctuations are multiple (lack of steel, shortage of chemicals, and, not least, shorsighting at the highest level).

Regards

J Schreiber

[Chris Going]

Hi Laurent,

If you’ve not seen this, can I refer you to TsAMO Fond 500/12450/43? ,Diagramme des Pulver-und Spregstoffsverbrauch durch die deutsche Wehrmacht sowie irher Erzeugung vom 1939 bis December 1944’ (Actually the gross figures give out in August 1944, and gross production after October 1944, but that’s enough).

Whichever way you look at it, its a feast for you (and me, and Dan). It’s a monthly digest (in units of 1000t) of explosive and powder production and expenditure by Heer/ Kriegsmarine/ Luftwaffe/ General stock from September 1939.

With Luftwaffe entries you can run this against calibre usage shifts over time, and so on. I’ve not seen this referred to on the forum before (though of course there are TsAMO enthausiasts here), but that may be my oversight.

Happy hunting.

Best

ChrisG

[edwest2]

Some years back I posted an article about rusting bombs found underground in former Luftwaffe airfields from the war. I have also seen photos of very large bombs on the Eastern Front in 1944.

Steel was recovered for reuse but exact quantities remains unknown.


Best,
Ed

[James A Pratt III]

I have read that during the Polish campaign the Luftwaffe used up over half it stock of bombs.

I have also read the German Army invaded Poland with ammo for two weeks of heavy combat. If the French had launched a large scale offensive in late September 1939 the Germans would have ran out of ammo.