1:32 Mk-38 Depth bombs (650 lb) (4 pcs)

Mk-38 depth charges for a large model

Fighting submarines looked nothing like attacking a ground target. The crew hunted for a periscope wake or a dark shadow under the surface, dropped down to a few tens of meters and released the load so that the blast came alongside the hull and crushed it with the pressure wave. A depth charge therefore needed neither accuracy nor penetrating power, but it did need a thin wall, plenty of explosive and a reliable depth fuze.

The designation in the name puts this weapon in the 650-pound class, among the heavier examples of its kind. It was carried by patrol and anti-submarine aircraft and by machines working over convoy routes, where the number of charges dropped counted for more than a single hit.

What you get: four complete charges, as the name states. A pack of four matches the typical load of one aircraft and is enough to fill the bomb bay of a larger machine.

A practical note: these weapons were usually single-colored in service and heavily scuffed from handling. It pays not to spare the chipped edges and the marks left by the slings; the model gains immediately.

Carriers and setting: these weapons belonged to the equipment of twin-engined patrol aircraft, floatplanes and carrier-based anti-submarine machines. Period photographs show them being hoisted by hand with a simple lift, because they had to go into the bomb bay one at a time. A diorama with the bomb bay doors open and the weapons partly loaded therefore tells the story far better than a finished aircraft on a stand.

Assembly: first clear the parts of their casting blocks and check that the body is straight.