Sd2 Butterfly Bombs
Anti-personnel bombs
The Luftwaffe employed a range of anti-personnel bombs, but the one that was used against the UK in large quantities was the Sd2, or Sprengbombe Dickwandig.
These 2kg bombs were dropped from containers that held 23 bombs or more bomblets. Once dropped the containers blew open triggered by an air burst fuze, causing them to scatter the Sd2's far & wide. As the bombs fell the outer case flicked open by springs which caused four light metal drogues chutes with a protruding 13 cm steel cable to deploy in the form of a parachute & wind vane. causing it to spin as it descended to the ground. These bombs would fall onto the ground like a conventional bomb, but frequently they would get caught up in trees, fencing, on roofs and just sit there until a unwary person decided to move them. |
When deployed from an aircraft these bombs were safe, but once released and the bombs wings were deployed the airflow would turn the spindle that was screwed into the fuze arming the bomb.
The Sd2 came in two variants, the Sd2 and Sd2B. The Sd2 & Sd2B were both used against the Civilian population in many towns & rural areas throughout the UK. Frequently the butterfly bomb along with other incendiary weapons, were dropped with normal bombs so as to hamper any clean-up or damage control efforts. To aid in this, the Sd-2 could be fitted with a variety of fuses as listed. |
Fuze types used in the Sd2 Butterfly Bomb. Z.(41) – impactZ (41) A – airburst or impact L.ZtZ (67) – clockwork long delay (30 minutes) L.ZtZ (70) A – combined chemical & clockwork, anti-handling & long delay 30 minutes to 20 hours. Z (70) B clockwork anti-handling The most common of the Sd2 butterfly bomb dropped across the UK were standard field grey/green in colour all over, usually with a type 41 fuze.
The type 41 fuse had two settings that could be selected using the switch. between the Zeit and AZ, Zeit was the airburst setting and AZ was the impact setting. |
Once armed, the butterfly bomb could not be defused and had to be blown up. The last known death in the UK due to an Sd2 butterfly bomb was in 1956. But even today Bomb Disposal teams deal with about 3 butterfly bombs across the United Kingdom each year.
The Sd2 butterfly bombs were released after the container was released from the aircraft and had burst open, because Sd2's were always dropped in groups never individually the discovery of one unexploded Sd2 was a reliable indication that others had been dropped nearby.
This bomb type was one of the first cluster bombs ever used in combat, and it proved to be a highly effective weapon. The bomb containers that carried the Sd2 bomblets and released them in the air were nicknamed the “Devil’s Eggs” by Luftwaffe air and ground crew.
This bomb type was one of the first cluster bombs ever used in combat, and it proved to be a highly effective weapon. The bomb containers that carried the Sd2 bomblets and released them in the air were nicknamed the “Devil’s Eggs” by Luftwaffe air and ground crew.