Which type of bomb has an explosive weight of approximately 50 percent of the total weight?

• A. High Explosive (HE)
• B. Armor Piercing (AP)
• C. General Purpose (GP)
• D. Incendiary

Answer: (C)

General Purpose bombs are built to deliver a balanced effect: a strong blast plus fragmentation, suitable for a wide range of targets. To achieve that, they use an explosive charge that is roughly half of the bomb’s total weight, with the remaining half comprising the steel casing, tail section, and fuzing hardware. That roughly 50/50 split is what characterizes GP bombs and makes them versatile. Other types are optimized for different outcomes—incendiary bombs emphasize fire over a large blast, armor-piercing bombs prioritize penetration with a heavier case and relatively less explosive, and high-explosive bombs focus on blast/fragmentation, with the exact weight fraction varying by design but not defined by the same 50% rule.