Tail of improvised aerial bomb made from French mortar shell : Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli

Tail of improvised aerial bomb made from a French Mortier de 58 mortar shell. The tail is made from a cylinder of plate steel with the edges roughly soldered together. On top of this is a dome shaped piece of plate steel rivetted to the cylinder. On top of the dome is rivetted a cone shaped piece of steel with a thread in the top. Three fins have been soldered to the cylinder and dome at equidistant points. The exterior and interior of the item has been painted black. There are two shrapnel holes, one near the solder seam of the cylinder and one between the back and right side fins. There are markings on one side 'C[S] 26 [illegible]' / 'CS _7 [Illegible] / 'M'.

This relic is an excellent example of the diversity and widespread use of improvised weapons used by both sides during the Gallipoli campaign. This air dropped bomb originally consisted of a French designed and made Mortier de 58 mortar shell which originally weighed in total 58 kilograms. This damaged tail unit weighs almost 13 kilograms.

The bomb was originally dropped on Gaba Tepe during the Gallipoli campaign by an allied aircraft. It was found by the Gallipoli History Mission on 27 February 1919 and brought to Australia.

Of note is that the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) operating from Imbros and Tenedos Islands off the Gallipoli Peninsula. They used an array of improvised air dropped munitions including aerial bombs fashioned from fuel containers with welded fins and artillery primers attached and converted mortar shells such as this relic.

The largest bomb dropped in support of the ANZAC beach head is described as being a '500lb' bomb, dropped by Commander Samson from his Voisin bomber. This bomb is a likely contender at being an example of one of these improvised bombs.