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At random: Probably the most expensive ballast ever carried by a ship was two tons of gold and eighteen tons of silver coins carried by the U.S. submarine TROUT while on a trip from Corregidor to Pearl Harbor early in World War II. TROUT had removed her moveable ballast to allow for a larger cargo of ammunition to be transported for the defenders on the embattled island. Lcdr. Fenno, TROUT's CO, planned on replacing the ballast with sand bags, but found none were available. The gold and silver from the Bank of the Philippines was substituted as ballast, which also solved the problem of removing the treasure to a safe place prior to invasion by the enemy.

British Army Defuses Giant WWII-Era Bomb in London Moderators: Jump to page : 1 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page]
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Ric

Posted 2008-06-06 1:45 PM (#16532)

Plankowner

Posts: 9165

Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map.

Subject: British Army Defuses Giant WWII-Era Bomb in London

British Army Defuses Giant WWII-Era Bomb in London

Friday, June 06, 2008

LONDON — Military engineers defused a giant bomb from World War II that was discovered in east London during construction for the Olympic Games, a military spokesman said Friday.

A team of Royal Engineers, from the British Army, made the 2,200-pound bomb safe on Friday afternoon, said spokesman Simon Saunders.

The bomb, which Metropolitan Police said was the largest found in London in three decades, was discovered Monday by construction workers preparing a site for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The bomb had started to tick at one point but engineers dealt with the problem, Saunders said.

Service on two nearby subway lines was suspended Friday as a precaution while the bomb was being defused.

Thousands of bombs fell on east London during World War II and unexploded devices are found from time to time, particularly at construction sites.

An unexploded bomb of the size of this one is very rare in Britain, although devices as large as 4,000 pounds were dropped, according to Zetica, a consulting firm that analyzed risks in the Olympic area for the London Development Agency.

Government statistics indicate that most unexploded bombs found between October 1940 and May 1941 were either 110 pounds or 550 pounds. An average of 84 bombs fell on civilian targets and failed to explode every day from Sept. 21, 1940, to July 5, 1941, government data says.

Some bombs were not designed to explode on impact, but were fused with timing devices. Records indicate that nearly one-fifth of the bombs failed to explode.

Since 1955, there have been no recorded incidents of an unexploded bomb detonating in Britain, Zetica said in the report published last year.

Boy Throttleman

Posted 2008-06-07 3:31 PM (#16556 - in reply to #16532)

Old Salt

Posts: 431

Subject: RE: British Army Defuses Giant WWII-Era Bomb in London

A pretty good dramitization of this time during WW2 was "Danger UXB" shown on PBS a few years back

Hairball

Posted 2008-06-09 2:42 AM (#16592 - in reply to #16556)

Senior Crew

Posts: 168

Location: St. John's, Newfoundland.

Subject: RE: British Army Defuses Giant WWII-Era Bomb in London

I was born in 1944 and grew-up in London. As a kid I can remember sitting in the living room when there would be a deep, powerfull THUMP! It was an unexploded bomb from the Blitz going off. This went on for a few years and the guys who had to dig them out and de-fuze them are heroes! My dad was a Fireman (English for Firefighter) all during the Blitz, that was one tough bullet to chew! They did NOT go into the Bomb-Shelters but stayed out fighting fires all through the bombing raids.

He was also at Coventry when it got Blitzed. Two buildings left standing, one a pub, the other part of the Cathedral. Dad said that as they gazed at the still standing pub they said, "There's still a God!"

Cheers and many beers to you all!

Hairy.

Jim M.

Posted 2008-06-09 9:44 AM (#16598 - in reply to #16532)

Great Sage of the Sea

Posts: 877

Subject: The Germans..

have the same problem... not too long ago, when a shopping center in some city in Germany, methinks in downtown Dortmund, was being built, they came across a 4,000lb blockbuster from WWII, dropped on one of the many night raids over Dortmund.

Ric

Posted 2008-06-09 10:53 AM (#16603 - in reply to #16598)

Plankowner

Posts: 9165

Location: Upper lefthand corner of the map.

Subject: RE: The Germans..

There is part of a WW I battle field that you still can't go on to because of mines and bombs and artillery shells filled with deadly gas. Can't remember where it is but seem to think it is northern France or Belgium. It is just the way it was left almost 90 years ago.

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