Munitions in the news

LOL!!!

 

WWII Bomb Forces Runway Closure at Amsterdam Airport


Runway at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport Closed After World War II Bomb Unearthed


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands June 3, 2008 (AP)
The Associated Press


Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has closed one of its five runways after a World War II bomb was unearthed during excavations nearby.
Army explosives experts say the 500-pound (226-kilogram) British bomb must remain still for 54 hours because it was moved during its discovery by workers building a road.Bert van Denham from the local municipality says the bomb is expected to be removed on Thursday.
Schiphol spokeswoman Kathelijne Vermeulen said Tuesday that flights are being diverted to other runways at the airport and no delays are expected.

ABC News: WWII Bomb Under Runway Closes Amsterdam Airport

 

Wartime bomb find disrupts Tube



Thousands of commuters faced severe delays on the London Underground after an unexploded World War II bomb was found near a Tube station.
The bomb was found in a river at Sugar House Lane, near Bromley-by-Bow station, at about 1151 BST on Monday.
Parts of the District Line were suspended from 1640 BST to 1720 BST while the Army investigated the device.
The Hammersmith and City Line was also suspended for a short time between Barking and Whitechapel.
The District Line was suspended between Whitechapel and Plaistow, according to Transport for London. The immediate area was evacuated following the discovery of the bomb. A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said cordons will be in place for three days and there are restrictions along the River Lee navigation from Bow Locks to Old Ford Locks.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Wartime bomb find disrupts Tube

 

This has made the front pages here today : 'Blitz Bomb Brings East End To Halt' etc etc

From photos in the newspapers, it looks to be an SC2000 'Hermann' - a fair-size bomb. Blowing it up in situ is out of the question as too much damage would be caused, so the Royal Engineers have been quietly working on the bomb on successive nights since it was discovered on Monday.

I am shocked to think that I worked within a few hundred yards of this site 15 years ago - shocked, because if I'd known , I could have dug it up and added it to my memorabilia collection....

 

Looking at the pics on the news, in fact this looks to be a SC1000 ( still nicknamed 'Herman' ).

Interesting find, and one wonders how many more lurk in or around the area of the Olympics site.....

 

There still working on it, must be a real beast.

 

WW II-vintage ammunition recovered in Zambo City


By DYBORRHAE JEWEL M. REYES
ABS-CBN Zamboanga City
More than 60 anti-tank ammunition and point detonating fuse believed to be dating back to 1930s were recovered in an excavation site during a chapel repair in Zamboanga City.
The vintage bombs were recovered by carpenters in Sitio Corote, Barangay Malagutay, Saturday.
Barangay Chairman Allan de Guzman said carpenters immediately rushed to his house early Saturday to report their discovery.
The carpenters said the explosives were found in an excavation site where they were supposed to place a post to repair the Our Lady of Lourdes Chapel.
Barangay officials immediately called the Army’s Explosive and Ordnance Disposal Unit, whose camp is just a few kilometers away in the area.
Col. Darwin Guerra, Task Force Zamboanga commanding officer, said the ammunitions were probably that of either the guerillas or the Japanese Imperial Army. The Japanese army used to have a post in the area way back the 1930's.
Maj. Joel Aquino, EOD chief said they are still verifying the make of the vintage bombs.
Chaplain Rev. Fr. Philmore Calibo said the archdiocese is at present involved in a P1-million worth construction in the area.
A few meters away, a marker was built by the Japanese government as a memorial to Japanese soldiers who died in World War II but residents said it has been many years since Japanese nationals paid a visit to the marker.

ABS-CBN News Online (Beta)

 

Maine Bomb Squad Called In Over World War II Mortar Round


Web Editor: Ken Christian, New Media Manager
Created: 6/11/2008 4:58:54 PM
Updated: 6/11/2008 5:04:44 PM

LEWISTON (AP) -- The discovery of a World War II mortar round sent the Maine State Police bomb squad into action in Lewiston.

​

The discovery of the mortar round at KTI Biofuels led police to evacuate the area, set up a perimeter and shut down Alfred Plourde Parkway. Making a dicey situation even more complicated, there was an oil business located right next to the site.

Officials say it turned out to be a practice, or dummy, round, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=89016

 

Blast from the past: WWII bomb detonated

By IVAN LOH


IPOH: The World War II bomb found at Sungai Pinji, Tambun, near here had to be detonated twice before it was completely destroyed.
Ipoh OCPD Asst Comm Azisman Alias said the first attempt by the bomb disposal unit at 10am only destroyed a part of the bomb.
“After the smoke had cleared from the site, we noticed it was still intact.
“In the second attempt 50mins later, we successfully destroy the bomb,” ACP Azisman told reporters near the blast site immediately after the operations on Saturday.
No one was injured and nothing had been damaged, he said.
ACP Azisman said the bomb was believed to have been made by the British during the war.
“It could have been dropped during the war to blow up the bridge in Tambun near here,” he said. The remaining pieces of the bomb would be kept at the Tambun police station as a souvenir, he said.
All roads leading into Tambun had been cordoned off by 7am on Saturday, while residents staying within a 500m radius were evacuated to two army camps and the Tambun Mosque.
All returned to normal at 12.30pm after ACP Azisman had given the green light.

Blast from the past: WWII bomb detonated

 

UPDATED: World War II munitions found in garage



July 3, 2008

• A World War II-era mortar round was detonated this afternoon after being found in a garage at 18 E. Speaker St., Sandusky.
  
  Police Chief Paul Cowley said two mortar rounds and a German hand grenade were found in the garage about noon. An elderly man who had lived in the house has moved to Florida, and relatives found the items while cleaning.
  
  The grenade and one of the mortar rounds had been deactivated. Officials detonated the one round because they couldn't determine if it had been deactivated.
  
  Cowley said the man who had lived in the house was a World War II veteran. No one was injured.

UPDATED: World War II munitions found in garage | thetimesherald.com | The Times Herald

 

WW2 mine found just north of edinburgh...
BBC NEWS | Scotland | Edinburgh, East and Fife | World War II mine found in Forth

quite surprising really as there will have been zillions of minesweeping training exercises carried out in the forth as there were flotillas of minesweepers based at rosyth and port edgar up till fairly recently

 

WWII grenade found at Army office



A World War II hand grenade discovered at an Army careers office in a north Derbyshire town has been found to be perfectly safe, police said.
Part of the area around West Bars in Chesterfield was cordoned off after the device was found . But subsequent examination by a bomb disposal squad revealed it actually contained no explosives. A police spokesman said that at no point did it pose any danger to staff or the public in the area.

BBC NEWS | England | Derbyshire | WWII grenade found at Army office

 

WWII Explosive Detonated in Oilfield 7/7/08


Eddie Garcia
CBS 7 News
July 7, 2008

Andrews County, Texas - It happened about 20 miles west of Andrews on Hwy 115. It was a live bomb dropped over 65 years ago in an aircraft training exercise.

During the days of World War II empty fields throughout West Texas were designated as munitions testing grounds.

Sheriff Sam Jones said: "Military planes that were practicing before they went overseas during WWII it's a practice bomb."

Oil expansion into these fields uncovers un-detonated bombs from time to time.

"Some of them that have been found in the past years have been live, some of them have not," Jones said.

Just to be sure the sheriff contacted the Odessa Police Bomb squad who determined it was a live explosive.

Sheriff Jones said: "With the oilfield booming the way it is right now, you know any number of things could happen so we need to take all the precautions we can."

At around 6:45 Monday evening the bomb was detonated. No injuries or property damage were reported.

The sheriff says the public was never in danger from today’s bomb and says it's possible that more of these explosives could be found in the future.

CBS 7 - Your Eye on West Texas

 

More WWII-era bomb materials found on Odyssey Middle School property

Rich McKay | Sentinel Staff Writer 4:57 PM EDT, July 7, 2008 ORLANDO - As the hunt for WWII-era bombs and bomb debris in and near some southeast Orlando communities enters its twelfth month, the Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it found another rocket and 10 more projectiles beneath the grounds at Odyssey Middle School.

Odyssey and parts of the Vista East communities were built on the western fringe of the former 12,483-acre Pinecastle Jeep Range. It was announced last July that the site, including the school grounds, contained live bombs and bomb debris. Since then, the Corps has removed more than 300 munitions and more than 14.4 tons of bomb debris.

The Corps said that the latest munitions were found in a follow-up investigation of the school site, which was previously declared safe by the Corps but with the caveat that the ground was cleared only to a depth of 12 inches.

The munitions are scheduled to be destroyed on site by detonation between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thursday, if the weather allows.

More WWII-era bomb materials found on Odyssey Middle School property -- OrlandoSentinel.com

 

Thousands of Unused World War II Weapons, Explosives Found Near Beach in Poland

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

• WARSAW — A huge cache of unused World War II ammunition and explosives was found near a public beach in northern Poland and is being destroyed, an official said Wednesday.

The explosives came to light when a mushroom picker stumbled across a machine gun belt sticking out of the ground in a pine forest near the Baltic Sea village of Swibno, said Piotr Bik, the official in charge of removing the material.
The stockpile included about 155,000 pounds of explosives buried by German troops and never detonated. In addition, 20,000 pieces of other explosive material were also found, including detonators and ammunition, Bik said.
The explosives, if detonated, would have rivaled the force of a quarter-ton bomb, he said. Several of the materials were positioned in an extremely dangerous location, just 230 feet from a public beach.
Each piece "is dangerous enough to rip off an arm," he said.
Combat engineers destroyed most of the material Tuesday, and were completing the job Wednesday.
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.

FOXNews.com - Thousands of Unused World War II Weapons, Explosives Found Near Beach in Poland - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News

 

Japan: WWII bomb forces mass evacuation





TOKYO (AP) -- About 5,400 residents were evacuated in Osaka in western Japan and highways were closed as army experts disposed of a large unexploded bomb believed to have been dropped by the U.S. military during World War II, authorities said.
An explosives disposal unit from the Japanese military safely defused the rusty 1-ton bomb in the crowded residential area during a 50-minute operation Sunday, local army spokesman Shoji Matsumoto said.
Nearby highways and roads were closed, and city buses, boats and flights in and out of nearby airports were rerouted, city officials said in a statement.
The bomb -- about 6 feet (1.8 meters) long -- was found by workers at a construction site last month, Matsumoto said.
Although the war ended more than 60 years ago, unexploded bombs still turn up regularly in Japan, where U.S. forces conducted extensive air raids against major cities.
A similar bomb was found in the outskirts of Tokyo in March, forcing 16,000 residents to evacuate for a disposal operation two months later. Another one was unearthed in Osaka three years ago.

Japan: WWII bomb forces mass evacuation - CNN.com

 

Hungary: WWII Bomb Discovered
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Published: July 17, 2008
As many as 10,000 people were evacuated from a residential area near the center of Budapest after an unexploded American bomb from World War II was found at a building site, the police said. Two other American bombs from the era were discovered in Budapest in May and were destroyed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/world/europe/17briefings-WWIIBOMBDISC_BRF.html

 

227kg WWII bomb found on campus site in Ulu Pauh




KANGAR: A 227kg bomb, said to be remnant of World War II, was found at the construction site of Universiti Malaysia Perlis permanent campus in Ulu Pauh near here yesterday.
Heavy machinery operator Shafie Abdullah, 41, said he initially thought it was a gas tank when he stumbled upon the metal object when carrying out earth removal work at about 11.30am.
“After realising that it was an old bomb, I immediately alerted the project contractor and they contacted the police,” he said.
Shafie who has been operating heavy machinery for 16 years said it was the first time he accidentally unearthed a bomb and was grateful to God because no untoward incident occurred.
The police bomb disposal unit detonated the bomb at 4.45pm. During the operation, police closed all roads near the site to ensure public safety.
Perlis Criminal Investigation Department head Supt Mohd Nasir Hussein said the bomb, measuring 100cm long and 95cm in circumference, was probably dropped by a British warplane but did not explode.
It was the biggest World War II bomb found in the state, he said.
A smaller bomb was found in the same area last year and destroyed several hours later. – Bernama

227kg WWII bomb found on campus site in Ulu Pauh

 

Dangerous World War II Relics Found In North Bay Garage


POSTED: 12:00 pm PDT July 23, 2008
UPDATED: 12:15 pm PDT July 23, 2008



Police evacuated a San Rafael neighborhood Tuesday afternoon when live World War II ordnance was discovered in a garage.

The resident said he found two hand grenades and a mortar that had been brought back from the war as souvenirs by his wife's late husband and had been stored in the garage for more than 50 years, police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said.

Police found a live 37mm anti-tank projectile, a live hand grenade and an inert mortar.


The Napa County Sheriff's Department bomb squad and the San Rafael Fire Department evacuated residents on Wolfe and Antonette avenues after the discovery was reported at 12:13 p.m.

Wolfe Avenue and portions of D Street were closed until the items were detonated. Streets were reopened by 4:30 p.m., Rohrbacher said.

Dangerous World War II Relics Found In North Bay Garage - News Story - KNTV | San Francisco

 

Army Corps: WWII munitions still potential danger



HOPE (AP) The federal government has begun a study to identify and address potential dangers from explosives and munitions in the Hope Upland Wildlife Management Area, property that once was in an Army testing ground for munitions.
The Army Corps of Engineers at Little Rock said other phases of the federal government's safety efforts of more than 10 years regarding the Southwest Proving Ground have been completed. More than 8,000 ordnance items have been removed from private property, but it's hard to say when the job is completed.



"Because of the size of the proving ground and the amount of ordnance tested, the risk may never be eliminated," the corps said in a news release. "Large areas of the 50,000-acre site still contain heavy concentrations of rusting munitions."
Zapata Engineering began the latest study in April. It focuses on the 2,000-acre wildlife area and property that once served as a buffer to the proving ground. The buffer property amounts to about 40 acres one acre around each of 40 homes.
Munitions found during the investigation are being detonated as a safety measure, and an overall cleanup plan for the wildlife area and buffer property will be developed from the study findings. After a news conference Friday, corps spokesman P.J. Spaul said that much of what is found is inert but explosive material also has been recovered. .story-ad { width: 310px; float: left; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; padding: 4px; }
The Army used the proving ground between 1942 and 1945 to test munitions. The explosives included small arms ammunition, 20mm to 155mm artillery rounds, mortars, rockets, grenades and 500-pound bombs.

The operation was closed after World War II and ordnance was cleared from the property's surface. The land was then turned over to state, municipal and private owners.
Since then, munitions and explosives worked their way to the surface. And even though they are 60-years-old, the materials can be dangerous, the corps said.
In 1949, five people died from injuries in an accident involving ordnance when they apparently tried to remove the brass rotating ring from an artillery round, the corps said. Two children also were killed in an accident in the late 1940s.
In the 1990s, the federal government conducted studies to identify where the potential dangers were, as well as what steps should be taken.
"Large amounts of munitions have been discovered," the corps said. "Interim removal of found ordnance has occurred as necessary during the investigations to protect human health and the environment."

TheCabin.net ·· Army Corps: WWII munitions still potential danger 07/26/08