Munitions in the news

Army detonates World War II-era shell


Friday, February 1, 2008 11:26 PM EST

— Authorities still don’t know how an unexploded ‘bunker blaster’ ended up in a Fairfield Township ditch.

By Dan Cherry

Daily Telegram Staff Writer

FAIRFIELD TWP. — Lenawee County Road Commission workers clearing brush and trimming trees Thursday afternoon near the corner of Carleton Road and Furman Highway found an item in the ditch they never thought they would see.

Lying exposed was an unexploded artillery shell, described by military officials as a 188 mm World War II-era German “bunker blaster.”

According to Robert Lewis, operations manager for the road commission, an employee spotted the device at the bottom of the ditch and called it to the attention of his two co-workers. The discovery was reported to the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department at 12:57 p.m.




In a report released Friday by the sheriff’s department, responding officers confirmed the presence of the unused military-issue shell, approximately 30 to 36 inches in length and about 8 inches in diameter. Treating the shell as live, they in turn contacted the Michigan State Police bomb squad.

Deputies immediately secured a perimeter around the location of the shell and went door to door in the surrounding community, alerting residents to the situation. Officers also contacted nearby Sand Creek schools and informed them of the perimeter to prevent school buses from coming near the area.

Only one house was found to be unoccupied during the police officers’ initial attempt to contact people in the neighborhood.

When the bomb squad members arrived, they assessed the situation and called for assistance from the U.S. Army explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team from the Selfridge Army/Air National Guard Base near Detroit.

The EOD personnel arrived on the scene at 10 p.m., determined the shell was too risky to transport and made preparations to detonate the device on site. Police officers again made contact with surrounding residents to inform them of the impending detonation and worked to ensure public safety.

At 11:05 p.m., military officials used C-4 explosives to detonate the shell. The shock wave from the blast was felt moments later in areas as far away as Hudson and Addison. Police officials again contacted surrounding residents to confirm their safety and to assess any possible, preliminary damage. At that time, only pictures were found to have been knocked from walls.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the unoccupied house from the officers’ checks of the neighborhood received significant damage.

When Amie Fetzer returned from her home at 1 a.m., she discovered what the shock wave of an artillery shell detonation in close proximity to a house can do.

Fetzer was not home when sheriff’s deputies went door to door. Her home was the closest to the scene.

The shock wave from the detonation, Fetzer said, “blew the indoor shutters from the wall to the center of the room.”

It also knocked a shelf off the wall, and items from the fallen shelf not only plugged the sink, but in a domino-like effect, activated the faucet handle into the “on” position.

The faucet ran unchecked for almost two hours.

In addition to the flooding, Fetzer reported that the home’s plaster walls and drywall are cracked, and pictures came off the wall.

Fetzer’s pet dogs, inside the house at the time of the detonation, were unnerved but appeared unharmed otherwise, she said. A bird cage housing a pet bird was tipped over, but the bird also appears physically fine.

“I had the sheriff’s department come out and look at the damage,” she said.

Fetzer is working with her insurance company regarding the damage.

Officials don’t know how the shell ended up at the location or to whom it belonged. The matter is under investigation by the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department. If anyone can provide information about the shell or its previous owner, they are asked to call the department at 263-0524.


Army detonates World War II-era shell

and,

Artillery shells from World War II destroyed in Serbia


Belgrade - Two artillery shells dating back to World War II were destroyed on Friday in the Serbian city of Kragujevac, after being removed from the quarry in which they were located. The shells were uncovered on Thursday during the reconstruction of a city street in Kragujevac, located some 120 kilometres south of the capital Belgrade.

The explosives were transported with the joint efforts of the city police, ambulance and fire department, and destroyed by an expert team of the Serbian Defence Ministry.

City officials stated that over 1,000 explosive devices have been located in the vicinity of Kragujevac since 2006.


http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/...ls-from-world-war-ii-destroyed-in-serbia.html

 

Scrap metal dealer stumbles upon World War II grenade


KUCHING: A police bomb disposal unit was called into action yesterday after an unexploded grenade, believed to be a World War II relic, was discovered by a scrap metal dealer in his junkyard at Mile 16, Jalan Kuching-Serian here.
The relic was found by the dealer on Friday while he was sifting through a pile of scrap iron brought in the previous day.
A Peninsular Malaysia-born dealer, who is also an ex-navy personnel, immediately recognised the grenade as a WWII relic.
He told reporters that he knew he had to report the matter to the police and
not simply discard the grenade into the jungle because of the danger it could still pose to nearby residents.
He placed the unexploded bomb on an isolated footpath and called the officer-in-charge of the Siburan police station, chief inspector Jamaluddin Abdul Latiff, to inform him of the discovery yesterday morning.
Jamaluddin then notified the bomb disposal unit at district headquarters who sent a team to detonate the relic around 3pm.
Police are now trying to locate the scavenger who brought in the pile of scrap metal to ascertain where he found the grenade so as to ensure there are no other unexploded bombs at the location.

The Borneo Post Online

 

WW II bomb found in Malate

A World War II-type bomb was discovered by construction workers digging for foundations of a nine-story building in Malate, Manila on Monday.

ABS-CBN News correspondent Maan Macapagal reported that laborers were digging for the foundation of the building on Leon Guinto Street when they noticed a piece of metal protruding from the ground.

When the workers dug deeper, they found that it was actually the tail end of a bomb.

The workers immediately called up the Manila Police District-Explosives and Ordnance Division. Experts confirmed that the explosive was an 81-mm drop munition type used during World War II.

The bomb squad brought the still active vintage bomb to Camp Crame to detonate it.

Meanwhile, workers in Pritil in Tondo district found an M-67 fragmentation hand grenade. The MPD-EOD said the grenade was also used during WW II.

ABS-CBN Interactive

 

WWII bomb found in flat

A SECOND World War bomb was found in a flat in Leith today.
Army bomb disposal experts were called to the property near Commercial Wharf at around 4pm after a resident called police.

When officers arrived the resident had already removed the bomb from the property and left it in a grassy area next to the block of flats.

The area surrounding the flats was cordoned off by police and residents were told to stay in the building.

A police officer at the scene said: "There was a 1930s mortar round found in someone's premises.

"It was removed by the resident and taken to an open area. It has been taken away by the Army for analysis."

The cordon was taken down just after 5pm, when police left.

Police described it as a "Second World War mortar bomb" which measures about three inches in diameter. They said the Army bomb disposal experts had made it safe.

WWII bomb found in flat - Scotsman.com News

 

House renovators find WWII bomb

Bomb disposal experts have safely removed a suspected World War II device which was found in a house in Cornwall.
Builders renovating the property in Marlborough Road, Falmouth, found the suspected incendiary bomb while they were working near the roof. Bomb disposal experts from Plymouth were sent to the scene to examine it and make it safe. Police were told to evacuate the buildings on either side, but they were empty at the time.


BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | House renovators find WWII bomb

 

WW II bomb found in Malate

A World War II-type bomb was discovered by construction workers digging for foundations of a nine-story building in Malate, Manila on Monday.

ABS-CBN News correspondent Maan Macapagal reported that laborers were digging for the foundation of the building on Leon Guinto Street when they noticed a piece of metal protruding from the ground.

When the workers dug deeper, they found that it was actually the tail end of a bomb.

The workers immediately called up the Manila Police District-Explosives and Ordnance Division. Experts confirmed that the explosive was an 81-mm drop munition type used during World War II.

The bomb squad brought the still active vintage bomb to Camp Crame to detonate it.

Meanwhile, workers in Pritil in Tondo district found an M-67 fragmentation hand grenade. The MPD-EOD said the grenade was also used during WW II.

ABS-CBN Interactive

 

Canadian golf course may hold WW2 bombs


Published: Feb. 6, 2008 at 12:52 AM


EDMONTON, Alberta, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A golf course in Canada may conceal unexploded bombs from World War II training flights.

The Indian Lakes Golf Course and other parts of the Enoch reserve outside Edmonton, Alberta, are to be searched this spring, The Edmonton Journal reported. Several practice bombs were discovered in 2006 when the golf course was under construction.

Austin Baird of Defense Construction Canada said the practice bombs could still cause serious injury. They had charges that emitted smoke during the day or flashes for night drops.

Pilots who participated in the British Commonwealth Air Training Program at City Center Airport in Edmonton also dropped larger bombs weighing from 50 pounds to 500 pounds. Baird says any unexploded bombs buried in the area would not be dangerous unless someone digs them up.

An air survey last year using a sensor-equipped helicopter turned up 200 pieces of metal that could not be accounted for. Workers will dig excavate each one up to determine if it is a bomb.

Anything buried more than three feet deep will be left in place.

Canadian golf course may hold WW2 bombs - UPI.com

 

WWII bomb emergency ends safely




An emergency caused by an unexploded bomb dating back to World War Two has ended.

Workmen raised the alarm after diggging up the mortar bomb in Moneymore, County Londonderry, at 1100 GMT on Friday. Army bomb experts were sent to the scene and a number of homes were evacuated while an exclusion zone was set up around the Station Road area. After tests were carried out, the bomb was found to be incapable of exploding, and the area has returned to normal.

BBC NEWS | Northern Ireland | WWII bomb emergency ends safely

 

Pace boys find WWII grenade

Hurlburt EOD called to retrieve the explosive discovered with metal detector

Robbyn Brooks

Friday February 15th, 2008




They’d already found nails, pennies and bolts, but Thursday two Pace boys found a live grenade.

Sidney Mathis, 8, and his friend were playing with a metal detector in a grassy area near the apartment complex where they live on Select Court.

When the detector’s alarm sounded, the boys hoped they’d find a treasure worth more than the Hot Wheels car they had previously dug up.

Their Valentine’s Day discovery was much more unusual. Sidney and his friend unearthed the bottom portion of a World War II-era grenade. Using the metal detector, they eventually found the top part of the hand-held bomb that contains the “pin.”

Chris Mathis had come over to visit with his son at the apartment complex Thursday afternoon.

“They had a bucket they were putting water in and said, ‘Dad, you gotta see this. You gotta see this!’ ”

Mathis said he immediately took the grenade from his son before he could place it in water. Sidney’s mom thought the grenade was a toy.

The first thing that popped in Mathis’ head, he said, was to get the explosive away from the boys and the apartment complex. He got in his SUV and held the grenade outside the window as he drove. Mathis eventually put the grenade in the floorboard.

“I hit a bump and that’s about the time I realized moving the grenade wasn’t the brightest thing to do.”

Mathis’ wife called the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office for help. They, in turn, called Mathis and told him to pull over and exit the vehicle. Mathis found an empty parking lot near Target in Pace and waited for help. When deputies arrived, they asked him to step at least 200 feet away.

Then two members from Hurlburt Air Field’s Explosive Ordinance Division arrived. They put on helmets and body armor and placed the grenade on a bed of sand to transport it.

“It was still dangerous because it had explosives in it,” said S Sgt. Joseph Deslauriers with the EOD. The grenade had also been exposed to the elements, which Deslauriers said tend to make explosives more sensitive over time.

Deslauriers and his partner transported the grenade back to the base where they destroyed it early Friday morning.

“We used a good amount of explosives on it because it was cased in thick metal,” Deslauriers said.

But the metal casing might not have been enough to prevent an explosion if the boys had dropped the grenade or placed it in the bucket of water.

“Kids are going to do kid things,” Deslauriers said, stressing safety education and encouraging people to not pick something up they expect to be explosive. “It’s better to take that chance it could be dangerous and call for help.”

Mathis said he explained to his son how dangerous the situation really was.

“We told him he could find jewelry and things like that, but he couldn’t play with bombs,” Mathis said. “I think I called him four times last night to tell him that.”

Pace boys find WWII grenade - Northwest Florida Daily News

 

Unexploded bomb from WWII removed from Polish city

The Associated Press
Feb. 14, 2008 12:42 PM
WARSAW, Poland - Thousands of people were evacuated Thursday from buildings in a western Polish city as experts removed an unexploded World War II bomb.

Technicians used a crane to lift the bomb from a building site onto a truck in central Wroclaw, known by its German name, Breslau, until the borders were shifted after the war's end.

The bomb weighed 1,100 pounds, police spokesman Wojciech Wybraniec told the Polish news agency PAP.

Unexploded bombs from World War II are a relatively common find in Poland and Germany, even more than 60 years after the conflict's end.



Unexploded bomb from WWII removed from Polish city

 

WW2 bomb forces highway closure
February 11 2008 at 12:59AM Hanover - Traffic backed up on a main autobahn through Germany, the A2, on Sunday as bomb disposal experts gingerly tugged the detonator out of a World War 2 Allied bomb.

The recovery of the unexploded 500kg bomb from the soil of Hanover, northern Germany, had been planned weeks in advance, with 12 000 people ordered to leave their apartments nearby for part of the day.

Most went for walks or excursions.

Police re-opened the highway after the bomb was declared safe to dig up and transport away.

The municipality regularly digs up unexploded bombs. Its previous major evacuation was on January 1.

Hanover has a department that hunts for the "duds" using grainy, Allied aerial photographs that were taken just after the bombing raids. - Sapa-dpa

IOL: WW2 bomb forces highway closure

 

Simlar finds happen all the time, In, Germany, Normandy and in Alsace they expect to find bombs for another century at least.

 

Town lake searched for WWII bombs


The Army is to search a mid Wales lake to see if ammunition was dumped there after World War II.


Powys Council has been told by people living in Llandrindod Wells that items of ordnance may have been tipped into the town lake at the end of the war. Army personnel will use a boat fitted with sophisticated metal detecting equipment to make a sweep of the lake later this month. A decision will be made on what steps to take if to any items are found.


BBC NEWS | Wales | Mid Wales | Town lake searched for WWII bombs

 

WWII bomb explodes at Czech work site
6 minutes ago


PRAGUE, Czech Republic - A World War II-era bomb exploded Tuesday at a construction site in the southeastern Czech Republic. One worker was injured, officials said.

The 220-pound bomb was set off by an excavator in the outskirts of Znojmo near the Austrian border, police spokesman Jan Krepela said. The worker operating the machine suffered light injuries, Krepela said.
Unexploded bombs and ammunition from World War II are still unearthed from time to time in the area, Krepela said.

WWII bomb explodes at Czech work site - Yahoo! News

 

7 WWII-era bombs found in Italy


Published: Feb. 20, 2008 at 7:38 PM

VICENZA, Italy, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Seven World War II-era bombs were found Thursday during construction work at an airfield to be used by U.S. military forces in Vicenza, Italy.

It marks the second time unexploded ordnance has been discovered buried at Dal Molin airfield since work started last fall on construction of barracks and offices for the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Stars and Stripes reported. A 250-pound bomb was unearthed last November.

The Southern European Task Force (Airborne) said the bombs varied in size and type, the military newspaper reported. The office of Paolo Costa, the Italian government's commissioner overseeing the proposed U.S. use of the site, said five of the bombs were of Italian origin and two were U.S. made.

Italian military authorities were called in to dispose of the bombs.

The U.S. military expects to start deploying troops at the post in 2010 or 2011. While the Italian government supports the U.S. presence, the project has drawn large protests in the city, Stars and Stripes reported.

7 WWII-era bombs found in Italy - UPI.com

 

Charity worker finds hand grenade

Jeanette Hart took the grenade home and washed it

Several houses were evacuated after a charity worker found a World War II hand grenade in a box of donated goods.
Jeannett Hart had been collecting donations in Birmingham to raise money for the air ambulance when she found what she thought was an ornament.
Mrs Hart said she took the grenade home and washed it before her husband spotted it and "had a panic attack" and told her to phone the police. Hawthorn Road, in Kingstanding, was cordoned off for more than an hour. The device was made safe by the bomb disposal team.

BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | Charity worker finds hand grenade

 

we'd found an RPG round at a rummage sale, the dolt was telling me it was inert and proved it by pulling the pin. My brother brought it back to his garage and contacted the National Guard. Long story short, the EOD crew was called from Ft McCoy. The first guy to look at the munition came trotting out rather briskly stating it's live and some idiot pulled the pin! We got to watch as they transported it to the armory firing range and detonated it as a storm was rolling in. That's the first time I heard thunder followed by a shock wave.

 

They find stuff like this in Europe all the time, like unexploded lindmines and hand grenades and such. Some of it is still live, which is the scary part. There are also still thousands of mines buried in the North African desert that are still live that nobody has found yet.

 

Bomb clean up begins








THE first stage of a project to remove unexploded WWII bombs from Princess Royal Harbour has started.
A team of local divers has begun work removing debris from the sea bed in front of the wharves.
Albany Port Authority CEO Brad Williamson said this would expose the sediment where the bombs were expected to be found.
The $2 million project is not expected to be completed until June. Mr Williamson said a dredging device would be used to help prepare the area for removal of the bombs.
“The debris is from the old jetties,” he said.
The bombs were dumped into Princess Royal Harbour shortly after World War II and were discovered in 2000.
The port won its argument last year that it was the responsibility of the Defence Department to provide funding for the bomb removal. The Government agreed to pay $5.25 million to the Albany Port Authority for the cost of removing the bombs, plus $1 million towards the port’s legal costs.

Bomb clean up begins - Local - General - Albany Weekender

 

New Area In Orange County Could Be Hiding Buried WWII Bombs


POSTED: 5:48 pm EST February 29, 2008



ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- One neighborhood's nightmare just became worse. There's a new area that could be in danger from some buried WWII bombs.

Channel 9's been on top of the story since first finding out about the possibility of buried munitions underneath and around Odyssey Middle School. This time, a nearby county landfill and its 320-acre expansion could contain old military bombs.

Landfill workers will be receiving some special safety training. Many are already trained to spot bombs, but it's too late for a 320-acre area that was already cleared. Workers had no idea they were bulldozing a bombing target.

Friday, Eyewitness News toured a giant football field ready to be topped with garbage, but it's what might be underground that has engineers concerned.

"We're gonna do a survey, magnetic survey," explained landfill engineer Jim Flynt. "So we'll be checking the whole site for anomalies and depending on what we find then we'll do excavations."

The newest maps of bomb targets show two newly reported targets two miles from Odyssey Middle School, right in the middle of the landfill's new expansion area and causing concern among those who work there. They're even considering specially armored vehicles when it's time to bring in the garbage.

But with all those safety precautions, it's not like anyone is in immediate danger. The real danger was four years ago, when the forest was cleared.

"It was real recent information. So we talked about how before we were dumb and happy. Just got lucky, I guess," Flynt said.

They were very lucky, in fact, considering that when they were clearing trees they were also digging up gopher tortoises, more than 100 of them.

The first hint that something was very wrong out near Odyssey Middle School was last July, when a property owner next door discovered the practice bombs. In the last seven months, crews with the Army Corps of Engineers have painstakingly surveyed and cleared the land around the school.

By Valentine's Day, crews cleared the nearby Tivoli Gardens subdivision. Crews began their search of the Warwick subdivision last Monday.

http://www.wftv.com/news/15453820/detail.html?rss=orlc&psp=news