Relic shell of a WW2 ‘butterfly bomb’ bomblet from Grimsby; totally inert 1943.

A completely empty and inert, corroded shell of the bomblet part of a ‘butterfly bomb’ (or Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2 kg or SD 2). This would’ve weighed 2kg when it was packed with explosive. The WW2 era writing, in white paint, indicates that it was found in Grimsby. A few more of these possibly still lurk in the Grimsby and Cleethorpes area, particularly in loft spaces. If you find one, seek advice immediately. This safe one is for information purposes only. The writing says, “Luftwaffe Butterfly Bomb Grimsby 1943” and there is a little picture of a complete ‘butterfly bomb’.

This anti-personnel submunition (bomblet), used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, 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.