Munitions in the news

Poles to be evacuated as World War II-era bomb is cleared


Warsaw - Several hundred residents will be evacuated from their homes on Wednesday so soldiers can remove a World War II-era bomb found in the South of Poland, local media reported. Residents of Raciborz, a mid-sized town in the country's Silesia region, will leave their homes for several hours so the military can clear the bomb found on Tuesday by a construction worker. Several streets have also been closed, reported the Polish Press Agency.

Police say the bomb weights 300 to 500 kilograms.

Poles to be evacuated as World War II-era bomb is cleared : Europe World

 

Bob Edgemon says he'll be a little more careful cleaning out the toolshed from now on.
He found a live World War II-era hand grenade in a toolbox there last week. Authorities destroyed it Friday night outside the shed in Roane County's Paint Rock community.
"They called me later and said they did take it up in the woods and set it off, so it was live," Edgemon said. "Things have pretty well quieted back down now."
Edgemon said he bought the property on Tennessee Chapel Circle south of the Tennessee River a few weeks ago. It belonged for years to Cliff Mowery, now dead, who served with the Army from 1942-1947.
Edgemon remembers finding Mowery's discharge papers recently and figures the grenade must have been his. He said he's not sure where Mowery served during the war.
The land became Edgemon's after Mowery's son died. The new owner said he'd gone into the shed Tuesday to sort through the tools when he found the grenade wrapped in a red rag.
"I was standing there, wondering what I was going to do with that thing," Edgemon said. "I laid it up in the shed and just kind of forgot about it."
He mentioned finding the grenade to Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton during a visit to Kingston on Friday. Chief Deputy Tim Phillips followed Edgemon to Paint Rock and called in the Knox County Sheriff's Office Hazardous Materials Team after getting a look at the grenade.
"The biggest thing I was worried about in that shed was finding snakes," Edgemon said. "Looks like I was worried about the wrong thing."

New owner of land found grenade in toolbox of late WWII vet : Local News : Knoxville News Sentinel

 

WW II vet's grenade in trunk causes tense moments

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

HIGHLAND TOWNSHIP -- An 88-year-old township man's concerns about a hand grenade in the trunk of his car proved groundless but caused some tense moments Tuesday for Oakland County Sheriff's deputies and others.
The man, a World War II veteran, showed up at the sheriff's township substation on North John Street around 11:30 a.m. wanting to know how to properly dispose of the grenade, which he had brought home from the war but was unsure of whether it was a "dud" or not, Undersheriff Michael McCabe said.
"He found it while cleaning out his barn and wanted to know what to do with it," said McCabe. "When the deputy asked where it (grenade) was, he said 'In the trunk of my car outside.'"
The device had a yellow band around its top indicating "high explosive" so the Michigan State Police bomb squad was contacted, McCabe said. Township hall employees were evacuated and some immediate neighbors were notified.

"It turned out to be a grenade, all right, but all the explosives had been removed some time ago and it was harmless," said McCabe. "Someone had turned it into a cigarette lighter."

WW II vet's grenade in trunk causes tense moments

 

It's just amazing at all the stuff they find. Back when I was in the Boy Scouts w/ Troop 147, we used to go to Loyola Beach - which is about a 20 minute drive from Kingville-where I lived, and we'd go there for scouting stuff, and always in the trees, we'd always find whole and partial WWII practice bombs that WWII Navy pilot/traineees from NAS, Kingsville, dropped for practice. Of course back then, the area wasn't built up like it is now-which still aint much.

 

WWII artillery shell found in southside home

Posted: Sep 6, 2008 07:48 PM PDT
Updated: Sep 6, 2008 08:48 PM PDT



Posted by Martha Serda - email
The discovery of a World War two artillery shell at a Tucson home this morning.
Officers responded to a burglary call at the home, in the 4,00 block of east Dover Stravenue, near Drexel and Alvernon.
Once inside the home, officers noticed the World War 2 shell. They quickly left the house and called a bomb squad to check it out. No word on whether the device is still live.
Police turned the shell over to explosive experts.
Neighbors voluntarily evacuated while police investigated.

WWII artillery shell found in southside home

 

Live Grenade Detonated By Bomb Squad

A live grenade is found inside a home of a former World War II veteran who recently died, and the bomb squad is called to take care of it, but not before a few tense moments.
The family members who found the grenade while cleaning out the house in St. Anthony tell the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office it was in a trunk, wrapped in a blanket.
They brought it to a house in Mobile Home Estates east of Idaho Falls on Sunday afternoon. They wanted to show it to another man who was also in WW II.
The elderly man's son did not want to talk on camera about the incident, or be identified, but he says based on his military experience, if the Japanese-made grenade went off, it could have been deadly. He says the grenade was missing the safety cap and could have easily gone off.
He also said the family had the grenade in their car for more than a month before bringing it to show him. He said he was concerned when he came to his door and saw a woman holding a grenade in her hand.
He tells us he took the grenade from the woman who was holding it and carefully placed it in the front yard, put a tire over it and called 9-1-1.
The Idaho Falls Regional Bomb Squad responded. It was detonated in a gravel pit north of Idaho Falls Monday morning.

NBC Newschannel 6 Where News Comes First - Live Grenade Detonated By Bomb Squad

 

WWII bomb discovery see 5,000 evacuated

September 9, 2008, 8:28 pm
Five thousand people are being evacuated in southern Italy after an unexploded World War II bomb was found in downtown Salerno, near Naples.
Authorities said they have ordered the evacuation of everyone living within 250 metres from the bomb, which resurfaced during construction work. Salerno town hall officials say the evacuation will last until Sunday, as experts decide how to dispose of the device. Makeshift accommodation is being set up in a nearby stadium.
Salerno is near the Amalfi coast - one of Italy's top tourist draws. The town's railway line linking northern and southern Italy has been closed and highway traffic disrupted in the area.
The Defence Ministry says about 2,000 bombs are found and deactivated each year in Italy.

WWII bomb discovery see 5,000 evacuated - Yahoo!7 News

 

WWII bomb finally exploded

By CLARA CHOOI


PANTAI REMIS: A live World War II bomb, apparently used for years by unsuspecting villagers as a tool sharpener and even a dumbbell, has finally been destroyed.
Not only that, much to the relief of villager Kamarudin Johari, yesterday’s detonation only damaged three floorboards in his house.
The 0.3m-long bomb was lying among the wooden stilts beneath his house at Kampung Batu Tiga in Segari, here.
“I am relieved. Not only are my family and the villagers safe, even my house was left intact,” he told reporters after the detonation.
It took the bomb disposal unit three attempts to detonate the bomb after attaching explosives to it.
What a relief! : Kamaruddin looking at the bomb shell after it was detonated in Kampung Batu Tiga in Segari, Pantai Remis, yesterday.
Manjung OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Jamil Osman said the first two attempts at 9.15am and 10am, had only dented the surface of the bomb.
“The final explosion at 11.15am managed to split the bomb in two, destroying it completely,” he said.
ACP Mohd Jamil added that the sandbags placed around the bomb cushioned the blast and stopped it from destroying Kamarudin’s home.
He also said that the nine families living within a 500m radius of the bomb and who had been evacuated could now return safely to their homes.
On the origins of the bomb, ACP Mohd Jamil said there were no inscriptions on it to indicate where it had been made or how long ago.
“We are only sure that it was a live bomb and it was left behind from World War II,” he said.
Kamarudin’s late father, Johari Abdullah, first discovered the bomb when he moved into the house 34 years ago.
According to villagers, since no one had a clue that the large, heavy object was actually a live bomb, some people had even used it to sharpen their knives or had lifted it as weights.
Kamarudin, who works as a boatman in the village, said that he had never suspected that the object beneath his house was dangerous.
“My father never let us touch it and I, in turn, never let my kids play with it.
“It has been there all these years, surrounded by some of my gardening tools and other work material,” he said.
Kamarudin said that his father-in-law’s friend, a patrol policeman, had been the one to identify it as a bomb when he came by for a chat last week.

WWII bomb finally exploded

 

Bombs Under Germany

September 12, 2008: Yet another three unexploded World War II allied bombs were found outside the German town of Kaiserslautern recently. Here, during World War II, 60 percent of the buildings in the area were destroyed by allied bombs. Many of those bombs did not go off, and were buried in the rubble. Since then, every few years, more are uncovered. The recent find was a hundred meters from a rail line, and 300 from a residential neighborhood. Everything in the area was shut down for half a day, as bomb disposal teams came in to disarm the weapons and haul them away.
World War II era munitions continue to show up throughout Europe. Although most of the millions of land mines were removed from Europe within a few years of the war ending in 1945, there are still a huge number of unexploded of grenades, shells and bombs buried all over the place. At least the mine fields were easy to find, although dangerous to clear. But the remaining munitions were left behind, in unrecorded locations, for some pretty simple reasons. First of all, many bombs, artillery and mortar shells (over ten percent, for some manufacturers) do not explode when they are supposed to, but just buried themselves into the ground. These shells are still full of explosives, and often have a fuze that, while defective, is often still capable of going off if disturbed. Other munitions were left in bunkers, or elsewhere on the battlefield, and got buried and lost. Most of these lost munitions eventually get found by farmers, or anyone digging up the ground for construction. London and Berlin, two of the most heavily bombed cities during World War II, still suffer from construction crews unearthing unexploded bombs.
The problem goes back farther than World War II. Unexploded munitions from the World War I (which ended in 1918), and the American Civil War, which ended in 1865, are still showing up, and some of them are still deadly. Currently, over a thousand World War II munitions are discovered each year in Europe.

Peace Time: Bombs Under Germany​

 

Authorities safely detonate WWII-era hand grenade



Gannett Wisconsin Media • September 14, 2008

TWO RIVERS — Authorities safely detonated a hand grenade Saturday after a man reported he found it while cleaning out his father-in-law's garage.Responding officers assessed the device and determined it probably was a World War II-era hand grenade, according to a press release from the Two Rivers Police Department.
Three neighboring homes were evacuated, and occupants of several other nearby homes were instructed to stay inside and away from windows.
Personnel from the Outagamie-Brown County Explosive Disposal unit removed the device, which Brown County Sheriff's Lt. Chris Knurr said was a live hand grenade that had sustained severe deterioration, according to the press release. The device was detonated outside the city.
Personnel from the Two Rivers Fire Department stood by as a safety precaution, but there were no injuries or property damage.

Authorities safely detonate WWII-era hand grenade | Postcrescent.com | Appleton Post-Crescent

 

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Police say a 13-foot (four-meter) German torpedo from World War II has washed up on a beach along the Baltic coast.
Luebeck police spokesman Detleff Riedel says the torpedo was found early Wednesday by a cleaning crew at Timmendorf Beach. Police secured the area and explosives experts were called.
Experts say it is a German torpedo made during World War II. Only the midsection fuel tank washed ashore. The explosive warhead was not attached.
Riedel says the torpedo has been taken away for further examination.
Bombs that failed to detonate during World War II are often found in fields and construction sites in Germany. Many tons of unused German munitions were also dumped in the Baltic Sea after the war ended.

WWII torpedo washes up on German beach - CNN.com

 

47 WWII bombs seized from Caloocan junkshop
By Pete Laude
Friday, September 19, 2008

Northern Police District-Explosives and Ordnance Division (NPD-EOD) personnel seized yesterday at least 47 different kinds of World War II-era bombs from a junkshop in Caloocan City.
Chief Inspector Reynante Bastian, NPD-Special Weapons and Tactics chief, said the vintage bombs were confiscated by his men from the Advance Metal Inc. compound in Barangay 8, Dagat-Dagatan.
A concerned resident informed the District Intelligence and Investigation Division (DIID) about the presence of old bombs at the junkshop.
Explosives expert SPO1 Zachary Vitaliano told The STAR that the bombs no longer posed any danger – they did not have explosive components and were already corroded – the police still seized the bombs to ensure the safety of residents.
Bastian said two of his men, explosives experts PO3 Jesus Simon and PO2 Joselito Llantano, were dispatched to Barangay 8, Dagat-Dagatan to verify the report on the bombs.
“The bombs were placed inside a drum filled with water and put separately from other scrap metals when we seized them,” Simon said.
According to Matthew Sy, Advance Metal supervisor, most of the vintage bombs, made up of anti-aircraft projectiles and artillery bombs, came from the provinces and were segregated from other forms of scrap metal.
Vitaliano advised scrap metal buyers to immediately inform proper authorities once they get hold of old bombs because they could still explode if not properly handled.
He also said that for temporary safekeeping, they must follow the example of Advance Metal and place the bombs inside a container filled with water.

Philippine Star - Articles - -&

 

You're damned fast. You beat me in posting this story and I'm the guy living in the Philippines LOL!. Good work again!

 

Thanks LOL. It just appeared when I was checking the news.

 

Austria: Quake sets off buried WWII bomb
Sat Sep 20, 7:29 AM ET


VIENNA, Austria - Austrian authorities say a small earthquake set off a large World War II-era bomb in the garden of a Vienna home. No one was injured in the explosion.
Investigators think the bomb weighed up to half a ton. It lay buried for decades in the garden, and no one knew it was there.
But when a minor quake shook parts of the Austrian capital, the bomb exploded.
Officials say the homeowner heard a dull bang Friday evening and went outside to see what happened. Experts were still on the scene Saturday to examine the crater left by the blast.
Unexploded ordnance from World War II remains strewn across Austria.

Austria: Quake sets off buried WWII bomb - Yahoo! News

 

ROBOT CLEARS WW II GRENADE: Resident finds 'unstable' explosive in front lawn





BY ALLISON WATERS-MERRITT

Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 12:34 AM EDT
Palatka Daily News

A Palatka pediatrician found a grenade while gardening Monday morning.

Described by authorities as an unstable World War II explosive, the grenade was safely destroyed by specialists from St. Johns County.

Dr. Eric Jump said he initially hit the grenade with a spade.


"At first there was disbelief of 'No, this can't really be,' and then I ran," he said. "I just wanted to get away."

He made the discovery shortly after moving a bench from its usual position near a front sidewalk at his home in the Round Lake Park subdivision.

"The weeds had grown up under the bench over the last three months and so I moved the bench out of the way," Jump said. "It was in the middle of the bench, right where people put their feet."

Jump said friends often sit on the bench while visiting, and that while he has two benches in his front garden, visitors typically gravitated to that one, even though it was near the sidewalk.

The pineapple-style grenade was live, said Sgt Kerry Tanner of the St. Johns County Sheriff's Department bomb squad.

"It was in very poor condition," he said. "It was in such poor condition I would say it was very unstable."

Jump said he called 911 then went back and moved the grenade to the edge of the street with a shovel.

"All I thought of was getting it away from the house," he said. "This is probably a lesson of what not to do."

Jump said it was "really chilling" when he was told the grenade was live.

The grenade didn't appear to have a pin, Jump said, and was badly rusted.

He said the explosive was in a portion of the yard that had trees prior to the 2004 hurricanes and he was just getting to work in that area.

"Now I need to know where do I get a metal detector or someone who knows how to use one," Jump said.

The St. Johns County deputies worked quickly in the quiet neighborhood. At one point, Deputy B.J. Hall scooped up a loose pet that scurried past the grenade.

"We'll put you in for the life saving award," Sgt. David Tarbert yelled to Hall, who grabbed the Shih Tzu named Abbie and returned her to her owner, Jane Creel.

The explosives specialists then used Andros F6A, a bomb retrieval robot nicknamed Frosty, to collect the grenade and place it in a containment box.

The specialists then took the grenade to woods past the Palatka airport, where it was detonated with a counter charge.

Tanner said bomb squad members were training Monday morning when the page came to respond to Putnam County.

Tanner said the unstable grenade was a perfect example of why residents need to call law enforcement officers when an explosive device is found.

"It is better for us to respond and be nothing versus us not respond and it detonate and an innocent bystander get hurt," he said.

http://www.palatkadailynews.com/articles/2008/09/23/news/news01.txt

 

WWII bomb found in town centre



Part of a Somerset town was cordoned off and businesses were closed after what was thought to be an unexploded World War II shell was found.
Police were called to Oldway Park, Wellington, at 1430 BST.
Officers placed a 223ft (68m) cordon around the site and homes and businesses were evacuated.
Police have said the solid shell is not dangerous. It was removed from the scene and people were allowed back to their homes at about 1730 BST.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Somerset | WWII bomb found in town centre

 

French airport evacuated after woman tries to board plane with WWII bomb in handbag

26/09/2008
An airport had to be evacuated when a woman tried to board a plane with a second world war BOMB in her bag.
The 55-year-old was getting on a Ryanair flight at Bergerac when security guards spotted the Second World War shell while scanning her luggage.
More than 1,000 passengers and staff had to be evacuated.
The woman, flying home to Nottingham from France, said she bought the 37mm explosive it in a junk shop as a present for her husband.
Police said: "She said she didn't realise it would cause a fuss." It was destroyed by bomb disposal experts.

French airport evacuated after woman tries to board plane with WWII bomb in handbag - mirror.co.uk

 

Beach 'bomb' found to be inactive



A suspected World War II shell uncovered on a Somerset beach has been removed.
Part of Berrow beach was cordoned off after the foot-long (30cm) device was seen by a beach warden buried in the sand close to Unity Farm holiday camp.
Bomb disposal officers travelled to the site and after examining the shell they said it was inert.
The 200m cordon was lifted and Unity Farm said it had not caused any disruption.

 

WWII mine blown-up off Kent coast



A 1,800lb World War II German mine has been successfully destroyed in a controlled explosion.
The 8ft (2.4m) long device had become entangled in the nets of a fishing vessel a mile off Sheerness on the north Kent coast.
It was destroyed by Royal Navy bomb disposal experts.
The leader of the bomb disposal team, Chief Petty Officer, Sid Lawrence, said the fact it had survived so long was quite rare. "These mines were the biggest the Germans made - they were designed to destroy ships the size of aircraft carriers and they caused severe damage to British ships during the war," he said. "You don't see many left because most of them went off. This one probably has survived for so long because it has remained in shallow waters for all these years."

BBC NEWS | England | Kent | WWII mine blown-up off Kent coast