Below are some 'snapshots' of paperwork I have relating to these early raids on Ipswich and Wattisham. I apologise for taking only part photos of them, however if one day I do eventually get around to writing a book on the subject then I do need to retain some 'new or interesting' material to include - or it simply will not be worth the efffort!! Unfortunately days are only 24 hours long and they appear to get shorter the longer I live?
Anyway back to events of October 1940.
It was the 27th October 1940 when a single Donier 17 flew low across Southern Ipswich, the time was just before 6.30 pm. At the time the SD2's were held in internal racks withing the Do17, each rack could hold 90 SD2 and there was a maximum of four racks - this would give the total number dropped at a maximum of 360 SD2, but wether all the racks were used remains unclear. The SD2's would have been fuzed only with the type 41 fuzes armed either for airburst or impact, however subsequent reports showed that not all of them exploded, which may suggest that some of the fuzes although armed did not function or that the aircraft was below the height for arming them fully - although as found out later in the war the unexploded type 41 fuzed SD2's were very sensitive and acted very much like the later type 70B fuze, any slight touch could set them off. There were a number of casualties resulting from this first raid, no doubt from people who were curious about these strange objects. One particularily sad case was the following day the 28th October, at Ransomes some workers were examining just such an SD2 when it exploded killing six people instantly.
It was on the 28th that the alert went out to all controllers in the Eastern region about this new weapon....
On the 29th October at dusk, three bombers flew low over RAF Wattisham, they dropped 20 high explosive bombs causing damage to a hanger as well as the airfield. It was not until the next day that the SD2's were discoverd littering the airfield. Two men died directly from the SD2's before action could be taken and the bombs dealt with.
I believe that this first attack on an RAF airfield at Wattisham was a deliberate trial for what was to come later in June 1941. This time it would not be the UK but Russia that would feel the full force of this relatively new weapon. The prelude to Operation Barbarossa, Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the Soviet airfields the SD2 being used en-masse. Before the Russians realised what was happening the Luftwaffe aircraft flew in low releasing its deadly loads across the neatly parked aircraft, over 1,200 Russian aircraft were destroyed during these inital attacks, many directly accountable to the use of the SD2.
below are some images of items relating to the days following the raid on Ipswich and Wattisham, these would have been the first anyone in the Uk would have heard of this new weapon.
- the first three photos show various warnings relating to the new weapon, each have a basic drawing of the new small anti-personnel bomb.
- the target photos/maps of Wattisham consist of four seperate items which give details of the Raf airfield. Note, in the information there is direct reference to the raid on the 29th October and the damage caused. (this was the raid that the SD2's were dropped)
Kev
