AA Shells Detonation

[John McGillivray]

Originally Posted by alamotex

I was looking at some data re WW II bomb damage to a coastal UK town that was not the target for heavy Luftwaffe air raids. I wondered how many of the bomb damaged buildings were actually struck by AA shells that failed to detonate in the air and exploded on impact when they returned to earth ?
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Aerial bombs are a lot bigger than AA Shells. German bombs HE bombs sizes were 50kg, 250kg (most common type), 500kg, 1000kg and 1800kg. A 3.7 in AA shell was only 28 lbs. (12.7kg), most of which was in the steel.
What type of damage are you talking about? Were there any AA guns positions in the area you’re concerned about? Being a coastal town even if it is not targeted that does not rule out bomb damage. Damaged German bombers would often dump their bombs before flying back over the channel.