Kraut eggie go BOOM!

[K Frame]

The Brits were attempting to do a controlled burn out of the explosives in a WW II bomb that was found during construction work.

It didn't go as planned.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-norfolk-64604115

[Hawkmoon]

That was a rather large oops. It's good they had installed sand-filled buffers, but it appears they should probably have used another tier or three.

[MechAg94]

The other downside of a hard core civil war in the US.  Lots and lots of ordnance thrown around and probably lots of landmines. 

[230RN]

One of those "blockbuster" bombs went off accidentally in Frankfort, once again in a river.*

I'm thinking maybe they don't necessarily go off when they hit water.

In any case, I guess if possible, we should follow the firecracker rule "lay on ground, light fuse, retire quickly" instead of  trying to defuse them.  In other words, set them off with an external charge, where they'll either explode on cue or be blown apart into smaller manageable pieces.

Terry, 230RN

*ETA  According to the original reports and video of the event that I saw..  Later versions indicate it was a smaller bomb and was set off deliberately. = ? ? ?

[WLJ]

Got the BBC mini series Danger UXB (shown on Masterpiece Theater in the US) on a hard drive, it follows a British bomb disposal unit during the war. Starts out with that's a bomb, figure it out and if you live long enough you get to see the Germans progressively coming up with ways to make defusing them harder and harder. and more deadly to the disposal units.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_UXB

[Perd Hapley]

The other downside of a hard core civil war in the US.  Lots and lots of ordnance thrown around and probably lots of landmines.

I don't see how that could be any worse than all the AR-14s out there, cutting people in half.

[K Frame]

One of those "blockbuster" bombs went off accidentally in Frankfort, once again in a river.*

I'm thinking maybe they don't necessarily go off when they hit water.

In any case, I guess if possible, we should follow the firecracker rule "lay on ground, light fuse, retire quickly" instead of  trying to defuse them.  In other words, set them off with an external charge, where they'll either explode on cue or be blown apart into smaller manageable pieces.

Terry, 230RN

*ETA  According to the original reports and video of the event that I saw..  Later versions indicate it was a smaller bomb and was set off deliberately. = ? ? ?

That blockbuster went off a couple of years ago in a Polish canal, IIRC.


Yeah, October 2020 -- https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54522203

[K Frame]

Got the BBC mini series Danger UXB (shown on Masterpiece Theater in the US) on a hard drive, it follows a British bomb disposal unit during the war. Starts out with that's a bomb, figure it out and if you live long enough you get to see the Germans progressively coming up with ways to make defusing them harder and harder. and more deadly to the disposal units.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_UXB

HOLY CRAP I LOVED THAT SERIES!

IIRC it came out in 1979... yes. Anthony Andrews played the main character.

[K Frame]

That was a rather large oops. It's good they had installed sand-filled buffers, but it appears they should probably have used another tier or three.

Buffering like that is SOP, especially given where it was located.

The OOPS would have been had they not put any sort of buffering in place.

The burn out process is... a crapshoot at best, but sometimes it's the most viable option.

[230RN]

Yess, yess, the Polish one was what I was thinking of.

https://youtu.be/uZnnj3J4Lw8

Hell of a way to just catch a couple of fish.

[HeroHog]

Wonder how much aquatic life "bit the big one" in that explosion?

[WLJ]

Wonder how much aquatic life "bit the big one" in that explosion?

Fish of color were effected the most.

[K Frame]

Good Utoob history video on the Tall Boy and Grand Slam bombs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F7PbHSkFYI