Unkown bomb item?

[Darkman]

My mate Ron bought this strangle little thing. It was sold to him as a WW2 German bomb electrical generator.

It has a Bakelite body, a zinc vane/impeller and the top is plastic. The diameter is approximately 40mm.

I have a few concerns about this item. Firstly I don't think plastic was invented in WW2. Then the 2 little prongs that look like terminals are in fact plastic, so are more like locating pins. The vane does not extend past the body, and looks more like a fluid impeller to me rather than a vane.

As the vane/impeller is no wider than the body, it looks like it is made to fit inside a pocket or well, rather than exposed to air.

It does not come apart easily without breaking the top plastic part, so we can't tell what's inside.

Any ideas?

 

[US-Subs]

He was told correctly. It is a fuze for German submunitions, SD-4s or SD-10s. I don't remember the designation off the top of my head (AZ-62?) and I am not near my books, but I'm sure plenty of folks will have it for you once they wake up and check the posts. There was plenty of plastic in WWII, known by various names, bakelite being one of the common ones.

 

[Bellifortis]

It is most probably an eAZ (66)A, a magnet type fuze that produces a little electric energy on impact. Besides the bomblets mentioned above it was used in hollow charge bombs, but was not really fast enough in its reaction time. But, it is the only german WW2 bomb fuze that used the magnetic system. Your sample looks quite corroded already, so you most probably will destroy it if you try any disassembly. The designation should be embossed in the middle of the metal-top.
Regards,
Bellifortis.