If 2,000lb bombs were ineffective against submarine pens, why weren't 8,000 or 12,000 lb blockbuster bombs tried? Carried by the Avro Lancaster only, such short ranges they seem like the ideal choice.
A couple of reasons. One is that except for the 4,000lb "cookie," such bombs weren't available at that time. But supposing that they were, the blockbusters weren't armor-piercing bombs. They were area weapons that relied on blast effects. The 12,000lb Tallboy bomb, however, was designed to destroy hard targets like the sub pens, but it didn't enter service until June 1944 and could only be carried by a specially modified Lancaster heavy bomber.
If 2,000lb bombs were ineffective against submarine pens, why weren't 8,000 or 12,000 lb blockbuster bombs tried? Carried by the Avro Lancaster only, such short ranges they seem like the ideal choice.
A couple of reasons. One is that except for the 4,000lb "cookie," such bombs weren't available at that time. But supposing that they were, the blockbusters weren't armor-piercing bombs. They were area weapons that relied on blast effects. The 12,000lb Tallboy bomb, however, was designed to destroy hard targets like the sub pens, but it didn't enter service until June 1944 and could only be carried by a specially modified Lancaster heavy bomber.
You go to war with the bombs you have...