Exhibit of the Month - Oct. '24
02.10.2024
As exhibit of the month - October 2024, we would like to introduce you to the concrete bombs ZC 50 / ZC 250, which are on display in the MGS - Military History Collection Augustdorf.
Concrete bombs ZC 50 / ZC 250
Concrete bombs were used by the German Air Force before and during World War II. These were practice bombs that were intended to have the same ballistic properties as the actual explosive bombs.
These practice bombs were either fitted with glass ampoules that produced smoke when they hit the ground or with a flare that showed the flight path and marked the point of impact when they hit. The ZC 50 weighed 50 kilograms and the ZC 250 weighed 250 kilograms. The pilots were supposed to practice their accuracy at certain heights and flight maneuvers when they dropped them.
The two tail units with concrete remains belong to the ZC 50 and were found in the German area of the Stapel military training area. (“Schapeler Hof” training area). This is where the Luftwaffe carried out practice drops. These remains can also be found outside the military training area, which was much larger at the time.
But don’t be fooled, live grenades from World War II and the first years of the British takeover of the area are often found in the Stapel military training area. The British used the Hermannsberg as a so-called bullet trap. Even in the area of the former “Schapeler Hof” farmstead, an “unexploded bomb” was recently found.
Would you like to see other finds from the barracks and the Senne and Stapel military training areas? Visit us at the MGS.