Journal of the Company of Military Historians
5
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery: How the U.S. Took a German Ordnance Item for its Own Thomas A. Crawford Introduction hile history is resplendent with examples of one belligerent using the tactics and weapons of another, it is less known the United States has done this as well; especially in the twentieth century. Yes, most know of the importation of former German scientists for our fledging rocket program that ended with the Apollo Moon landings; however simpler, more lethal examples are lesser known. By being able to learn about and following the development of German ordnance supplied to the United States by Great Britain prior to our entry into World War II, the United States had a better start on countering the current threat. These threats were not insignificant, learning to counter some of the first submunitions developed and deployed for the sole purpose of denying areas to troops and causing civilian displacement. Utilizing inerted specimens of the German SD–2“Schmetterling” (butterfly), U.S. Army Picatinny Arsenal conducted tests and produced a copy of this munition for our own use. These were initially classified as 4 pound fragmentation bomb T10, with fuzes T47, 48, and 49; later given the proper type approved nomenclature, M83 with fuzes M129, M130, and M131. The fuzes as produced for use in the American copied bomb, performed in the same manner as the German original, just with slightly simplified construction. These small changes were employed solely to increase and simplify production and their leading to increased quantities of bombs in less time.1 In addition, the design of the bomb was simplified in order to facilitate yet another increase in its rate of manufacture. The U.S. design yielded a weapon produced in two equal halves, welded together around its circumference; whereas the German design produced a bomb made as a single piece. This unique difference is a feature used today as a positive means of identification feature in the field by Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel. The M83 4-pound Fragmentation Bomb, was finally classified as obsolete in 1975, but not before it was supplied to other countries as a result of the participation by the United States Mutual Defense Aid Programs. Deplopyment of these “Butterfly Bombs” can still be encountered in the fields of foreign nations today. This is a lasting legacy indeed for German ordnance technicians.2
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A Detailed Description of the German Bomb The “Butterfly Bomb” (or Sprengbombe Dickwandig 2kg or SD–2) was a 2-kilogram anti-personnel submunition used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. It was so named because its thin cylindrical metal outer shell when hinged open when during deployment gave it the
FIG 1. Field warning sign used in European Theater. Courtesy of U.K. MoD/ U.S. Army Historical Archives.
superficial appearance of a large butterfly. The distinctive design of this antipersonnel weapon made it easy to recognize. SD–2bomblets were not dropped individually, but were packed into containers holding between 6 to 108 submunitions e.g., the AB 23 SD–2and AB 250–3 submunition dispensers, or carried on under wing racks that dropped the submunitions in series or salvos. The SD–2 submunitions were individually released after the container was dropped by the aircraft and respectively burst open. Owing to the fact SD2s were always dropped in groups (never in singlet) the discovery of one unexploded SD–2 was a reliable indication any number of bombs had been dropped nearby.3 This bomb device 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 and released the SD–2 bomblets and scattering them into the air were alternatively referred to as the “Devil’s Eggs” by Luftwaffe air and ground crew.4 The SD–2 were targeted against British cities, often being dropped in combination with other high explosive and incendiary ordnance. A relatively small weapon, its primary purpose was as an area denial, anti-personnel
