The Forgotten Blitz of WW2 - Grimsby and the Butterfly Bomb
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ย. 2024
- When you think about the bombing of the UK during the Second World War, many initially think of the Blitz and the use of horrific terror weapons such as the V1 and V2 rockets. Yet in the north too, towns and cities suffered from similarly terrifying air raids. One such city was Grimsby, situated on the southern bank of the Humber estuary. In 1943 the residents of Grimsby and Cleethorpes became the victims of a new type of morale-wrecking weapon: the butterfly bomb - history's first ever cluster explosive. Join historian James Rogers as he tells the story behind the butterfly bomb: why it was such a deadly weapon of war and how the local residents of Grimsby and the surrounding area pulled together to deal with this new threat.
I was a six year old in Grimsby and remember the night of the Butterfly bombs. My mother with my 2 sisters and brother hurried us to an air raid shelter near Bath Street. On the way my brother said look !and there was a German bomber (Dornier 217-researched) illuminated by its pathfinder flare. (Researched) to me it was a silver aeroplane. I then must have fallen to sleep because it was the next day and can recall going with my brother looking at the bombed buildings of Freeman St etc. I do recall being told not to pick up anything. Almost a month later the Germans attacked again but with standard bombs and my house in Bath Street was hit killing my mother and oldest sister plus about 90 other people.
The main reason for not publicising the effect of the Butterfly bombs was that any beachheads in the forthcoming invasion might have been saturated by those deadly bombs. Grimsby suffered approx 25 bombing raids during the war the last two 12/13th June 1943 and 13/14th July 1943. Over 200 hundred people in Grimsby died through bombing in WW2.
Thanks for sharing Anthony.
Thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry to hear about your mother and sister. War is a terrible thing.
Thank you so much for sharing this, my nana was a teenager on Blundell Avenue during this time and I cannot imagine what it must have been like. I'm so sorry to hear about your mother and sister Anthony.
My grandfather was a victim of one, Grimsby 1943. Killed on his front porch....
Your description of the fuses is incorrect as far as the amount of fuses the SD2 came with. There are actually 4 . The 41 was airburst or impact, but the 67 was 30 minutes and called a long delay, the 70A was a long delay/anti handling up to 20 hours, The 70B was the anti-handling. The 70A was the one kids brought home which detonated later killing more people in households. I own an original SD2 painted yellow with red stripes on the wings. It is inert with all markings and original paint in excellent condition.
This is a great video. I am surprised it does not have more views and comments. Definitely the most historical video about the SD-2 bomb that I have found on the internet. Where is the museum that you began the video at?
Grimsby fishing heritage centre
My mother worked part-time in Turners Ironmongers down Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes. On the morning after the raid, she cycled to work and noted the damage and a few strange bombs lying around. When she got to work she was told that one such bomb had gone through the roof of the shop and was sent home while the authorities were called to deal with it.
Cheers Paul, thanks for sharing. When I was over in Grimsby for the 70th anniversary, I had a few older members of the community reveal similar experiences. Best, James
My mother (now age 99) was born in Grimsby, and her father was injured by one of these. She remembers walking through an alley with her mother to visit him in the hospital. On their way home they found the alley closed off, because more of the bombs had been discovered. I always thought it was a miracle that my mother and grandmother had not been injured.
I was born in 1984, but I remember my Mum telling me about those bombs. She was worried I would find one long forgotten in the waste land sort of areas that I used to go an explore. What were the chances really, but it shows the impact those bombs had.
Really good video. I did not realise Gy & Clee were the 1st area to get this one. I remember being shown a defused one of these an a scouts visit to the police station in the 1980s to their museum. This was along with knuckle dusters, knives and all sorts of henus stuff.
And they Butterfly Bombs are still in the museum today. Thanks Robert.
My mother told the story of the night of this raid We lived in Annersley Street,. After the all clear, one of the kids found a butterfly bomb and took it into the shelter to show everyone what he had found! Fortuately it was a dud and didn't go off.
What a fantastic video and what a great channel.