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M83 butterfly bomb

BMG50

BMG50

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
The M83 Butterfly bomb the American copy of the German WW2 SD2 version, i was just wondering how common the M83 is to aquire.
 
Ive personally never seen one for sale but im sure some of our US members may be able to source one for you?

best

waff
 
BOMBSaway1980 said:
I have a few how do you tell between the german and M83?
Click to expand...

I was actually taught the external lugs as a key ID feature to differentiate between the 2. Mostly because it is thicker metal and would tend to be the first thing exposed by weather if it impacted soft earth with the wings in an open position and failed to function. The lugs are also present on all German versions including the practice munition.
 
BOMBSaway1980 said:
I have a few how do you tell between the german and M83?
Click to expand...

At the risk of boring you guys here are some differences:

Wing frame
SD 2 always has one made out of a solid piece of metal
M 83 can be solid similar to SD 2, multi piece construction that is similar to the solid SD 2 one or a different type of construction made from a folded piece of metal.

Arming wires.
SD 2 wires are fairly rigid made out of solid wire that has been twisted, the base of it fits into a slot in the arming rod of the fuze and is screwed into place with 2 tiny screws, and the top or the arming wire is of a square profile when viewed from above.
M 83 wires have a much more flexible wire made of multi strand wire that has been twisted, the base of them screws directly into the top of the arming rod. The top of the arming wire is circular when viewed from above.

Wings - end paddles
With the exception of the odd exotic ones most full wing set SD 2 wings are either a curved bracket or the standard with a small square bracket to fix the wing in place.
M 83 have several versions including SD 2 type (small square bracket, never curved bracket) and one piece wings where the bracket is formed from part of the wing itself.

Wings - main brake wings.
SD 2's have a bracket that a clip fits onto to hold the wings shut.
M 83's nearly always don't have the bracket the clip fits directly flush with the wing surface (there are early versions that appear to direct copies of SD 2's which do have the bracket)
SD 2's always have small spacers where the hinges on the wings fits onto the wing bracket. M83's don't apart from on the ones that are direct SD 2 copies

Bodies.
SD 2 bodies are larger and more cylindrical than M 83's.

Fuzes.
All M 83 fuzes are screw fitting. They screw into the bodies in an anti clockwise direction. They are larger diameter than on SD 2 fuzes.
SD 2 fuzes are either screw fitting (41 type which screws into the body in a clockwise direction) or bayonet fitting (41A, 67 and 70 fuzes).
(I won't go into the details of the different fuzes here)

Gain pots.
SD 2 gain pots are always bakelite.
M 83 gain pots are almost always metal (some early version are plastic/bakelite)

Stampings.
Generally SD 2 wings are stamped on one of the end paddles with makers mark and date whereas M 83's aren't (apart from occasionally "inert" has been stamped on them)

Stencilling
Very rare on SD 2
Common on M 83


There are other subtle differences but this covers enough to help work out if you have an SD 2 or an M 83.

Dave.
 
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