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BUTTERFLY BOMB - SD2 and M83 ' COLLECTION '
- Thread starter butterfly
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- butterfly bomb m83 sd2
That is too bad, I know that many of us were looking forward to the book. But I also don't know of anyone else out there who has the knowledge of, or passion for, the SD-2 like Kev did.
Kev sent me this pic by email so I cropped the photo, not sure if its any good.
Dave.
Following up on my earlier photos of the 70A fuze here is some information on its construction and operation.
I don't have a clue where I got this original information from, apologies to anyone who may have sent it to me that I've not acknowledged.
Dave.
Construction
Operation
Line drawing
Unarmed
Armed
Fired
There's a lot of deeply pitted and corroded SD 2 bodies for sale at the moment. It's not so easy to find ones in near-original condition. I'm happy with this 1942 example with most of its original green paint remaining with the red undercoat showing through in just a few places. It's totally inert, of course.
Just keeping photographs together, I posted some M83 photos here.
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/97255-Help-!!!!
http://www.bocn.co.uk/vbforum/threads/97255-Help-!!!!
jeeeensy
Well-Known Member
I picked this up today.
Its obviously fairly old but is not what it seems at first sight.
Its solid metal.
It is very well made. The "fuze" is made from the same solid piece of metal and is not a separate item from the body.
The stamping on the fuze is very odd
The 4 x small holes on the rim are the same as the very unusual early 41 fuzes (see post 187 above) BUT The "70" stamping cannot possibly be correct as the 70 fuzes were only made in bayonet fitting not screw fitting. Also 70 fuzes did not exist, they were either 70A, 70B, 70B1 or 70B2
It has stamped "AZ" and "ZEIT" which would be expected on a 41 fuze either side of circle that may be there to represent the switch.
The arming spindle hole is too small to accept an arming spindle from a standard SD 2
I don't know what the remainder of the markings mean.
My opinion is its not a fake. By the look of the markings someone obviously had access to information or specimens of SD 2 fuzes but why would such obvious errors be stamped onto the object?
Perhaps it is some sort of educational object made soon after the first SD 2's were dropped and there wasn't ready access to specimens. Someone has obviously gone to an enormous amount of effort to make it.
Thoughts anyone?
Dave.
Its obviously fairly old but is not what it seems at first sight.
Its solid metal.
It is very well made. The "fuze" is made from the same solid piece of metal and is not a separate item from the body.
The stamping on the fuze is very odd
The 4 x small holes on the rim are the same as the very unusual early 41 fuzes (see post 187 above) BUT The "70" stamping cannot possibly be correct as the 70 fuzes were only made in bayonet fitting not screw fitting. Also 70 fuzes did not exist, they were either 70A, 70B, 70B1 or 70B2
It has stamped "AZ" and "ZEIT" which would be expected on a 41 fuze either side of circle that may be there to represent the switch.
The arming spindle hole is too small to accept an arming spindle from a standard SD 2
I don't know what the remainder of the markings mean.
My opinion is its not a fake. By the look of the markings someone obviously had access to information or specimens of SD 2 fuzes but why would such obvious errors be stamped onto the object?
Perhaps it is some sort of educational object made soon after the first SD 2's were dropped and there wasn't ready access to specimens. Someone has obviously gone to an enormous amount of effort to make it.
Thoughts anyone?
Dave.
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Just to let you guys know, for the past 10 years I have been researching and writing a history of the Butterfly Bomb raids on Britain 1940-1945. Kev's book was a wider history of the SD2 and its use on all fronts, but my book is purely on its usage in Britain, listing the raids and the official response. I also include the use of other APBs, SD1 and SD10.
I am a writer and journalist, with a regular column in Britain At War magazine on Militaria Collecting, plus three previous books on the British Home Front (another due next year) and have spoken on TV and radio about the subject. I have also collected related militaria for the last 30+ years.
I have been a member of this forum for around 10 years now and talked/emailed/traded with Kev 2011-2016. Kev invited me to see his collection and we were arranging a time but it never happened. Like all on this forum, I'm still shocked at his passing and this forum is a lot quieter without him. Kev will be mentioned in a dedication in the foreword of my book. Similarly, I interviewed Eric Wakeling, also now passed on.
I have a publisher but no publication date as yet, as I'm still undertaking the research: for supposedly 'limited' (it wasn't) usage over Britain, there's a lot of information to gather on these APB raids.
All sources will be listed in the book.
Thanks,
Austin J. Ruddy.
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Hi Montagu, thanks for your interest. Sorry for the very tardy reply - I received no notification to this thread. I have written over 150 pages of research and have a good chronological diary of all the recorded APB incidents in Britain 1940-45. However, since Covid, getting into any archive has been very difficult for nearly a year now - the National Archives is near impossible and access is via almost a lottery. However, I was working on the book last night and have some really nice original reports etc to go in the book. Like everything else in the world at the moment, we all crave some sort of return to 'normality' so we can, hopefully, restart where we left off. PS: Next month will be 5 years since Kev passed away - still gutted, shocked and can't believe it.
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