German butterfly bomb SD2

Pieces of a butterfly bomb mounted inside a glass frame. Completely inert! We are grateful to DB who contributed the image.

This bomblet was German 2 kilogram anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War and was one of the first cluster bombs ever used in combat and it proved to be a highly effective weapon.

On the night of 13th June 1943, the Luftwaffe dropped thousands of ‘butterfly bombs’ on Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Scores of people were killed and hundreds injured. In an attempt to keep the enemy unaware of the success of this new type of anti-personnel device, to lower the chances of repeat attacks elsewhere, reporting restrictions were applied. To this day, the story of the chaos and destruction in the Grimsby area is not well-known outside Lincolnshire.

Parts of ‘butterfly bombs’ were found in Grimsby loft spaces well after the war. ended. One was found in Malta in 2009.