SD2 Butterfly Bomb (Field Grey with Red and Yellow Stripes).

All butterfly bombs dropped on Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Great Coates during the raid of 13/14 June 1943 were painted field grey, a distinctive grey-green colour commonly used on German ordnance. This example is unusual because, although it retains the standard field-grey finish, it also carries red and yellow stripes.

The purpose of these markings remains uncertain. At least one striped SD2 is known from the Grimsby area, demonstrating that such variants were present among the bombs used in the raid. It is possible that striped examples originated from stocks originally intended for use outside the United Kingdom, although this remains unproven.

The SD2 fuze types used in the United Kingdom were the Type 41, Type 67 and Type 70B (not the 70A). Butterfly bomb wings recovered from Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Great Coates have been identified as originating from bombs fitted with all three fuze types.

The butterfly bomb wings shown here were made in 1941 and used in the Grimsby raid in 1943.