Norden Bombsight Manual

  1. Norden Bombsight Manual Pdf
  2. Norden Bombsight Manual Pdf
  3. Norden Bombsight Manual
  4. Norden Bombsight Manual

The Norden bombsight was just one step, but a giant step, in the evolution of bombsights, dating back to World War I, when pilots used a simple crosshairs telescope to help bring their bombs close to their designated target. The World War II Norden bombsight consisted of two main parts, a stabilizer and a sight-head. The Norden Bombsight was chosen to lead the way in daylight precision bombing by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. The heavy bombers had a crew of ten men, and nine of them risked their lives in combat to get the bombardier and this bombsight over the target. The Norden bombsight had a significant impact on the war, as its increased accuracy was a major tactical advantage and its small size allowed for installation in a huge number of aircraft. As such, it is a quite unforgettable part of World War II history.

Norden Bombsight Manual
  1. Sperry bombsight out did the Norden in speed, simplicity of operation, and eventual technological significance. It was the first bombsight built with all-electronic servo systems, so it responded faster than the Norden's electromechanical controls. It was much simpler to learn to master than the Norden bombsight and in the.
  2. Norden M-9 Bombsight The Norden bombsight improved accuracy by allowing bombardiers to adjust targeting based on airspeed, altitude, drift and ordnance type. The trail arm and trail plate set the distance that the bomb will lag behind the.
Manual

Norden Bombsight Manual Pdf

The Sperry S-1 bombsight was designed by Elmer Sperry, Carl Norden's former employer. It had several distinctions from the Norden, and some advantages. The Sperry gyroscopes spun at 24,000 rpm, compared to the Norden gyros which ran at approximately 8,000 rpm. This higher rate of rotation overcame the tendency to precess, so there was no leveling mechanism needed, or a requirement for leveling bubbles. In addition, the gyros ran off of induction rather than brushes; the carbon brushes in the Norden gyros tended to produce dust which fouled the bearings.

BombsightNorden bombsight manual pdf

Norden Bombsight Manual Pdf

Norden

Norden Bombsight Manual

The Sperry ran off of 110V AC current compared to the 26V DC current used by the Norden. Whereas the Norden had all of its controls mounted on the right, the Sperry had the knobs for range located on the left and for azimuth located on the right, so that the bombardier could use both hands to adjust them simultaneously. The Norden used a manual geared system to correct for crosswind and drift, but the Sperry did this electromechanically.

Norden Bombsight Manual

The Navy would not allow the Norden to be exported, but did allow the Sperry to go to other countries such as England. The B-24 Liberator was being sent overseas (as the LB-30), and the Sperry was allowed to go with it. This led to a natural pairing of the S-1 and B-24, so almost all of the Sperry S-1's were in B-24 's. Approximately 5,000 S-1's were made, but the Norden dominated the bombsight market, and production of the S-1 ceased in 1943. Here is a video of what I believe to be is the only working Sperry S-1 in existence. The video seems long, but the second half is a tutorial on the bombing problem and solution: