Victoria Station unexploded bomb

Victoria Station unexploded bomb

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Discussion

dubloon

64 posts

104 months

Friday 5th February 2016
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IIRC there are areas in Belgium and Germany where you can't get planning permission without an "unexplored bomb survey". So I suspect the occasional ones found in UK are only a minor irritation in comparison. Unless, of course, they decide not to remain unexploded.......

Blue Oval84

5,276 posts

160 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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What are the chances of one of these many unexploded bombs suddenly deciding to make a big bang? I guess without some sort of intervention (like a digger hitting it) then vanishingly small? Even when they are discovered by a JCB they never seem to blow.

I mainly ask because I find the biggest pile of unexploded bombs in the country fascinating (the SS Richard Montgomery) and I do wonder what the chances are that it could ever blow...

Beati Dogu

8,865 posts

138 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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They have to assume they are still live. Besides, would you want to take any chances with a German 4,000lb "Satan" bomb?

A German excavator driver was killed by a WW2 bomb only 2 years ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25594000

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39XWo6rI-TU

Dr Jekyll

23,820 posts

260 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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It seems difficult to dig a hole anywhere in Central London without finding either a bomb or a plague pit. Has anyone ever found a bomb in a plague pit?

yikes

motco

15,919 posts

245 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Is there any such thing as an exploded bomb?

glazbagun

14,259 posts

196 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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smn159 said:
Trevatanus said:
Did you not know?

Muslims now have time machines, they went back and started WW2! It's all their fault!
Is there not an EU / BBC / poor people angle to this as well?

PH is slipping
Well I haven't heard any Muslim leaders or lefties protesting against it, so they must agree that bombing London was a great idea!

Cotty

Original Poster:

39,391 posts

283 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Willy Nilly said:
Cotty said:
Cool kit
Where can you buy one of those from?
How about this
http://www.gearbest.com/kits/pp_304180.html

Cotty

Original Poster:

39,391 posts

283 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
quotequote all
Blue Oval84 said:
What are the chances of one of these many unexploded bombs suddenly deciding to make a big bang? I guess without some sort of intervention (like a digger hitting it) then vanishingly small? Even when they are discovered by a JCB they never seem to blow.

I mainly ask because I find the biggest pile of unexploded bombs in the country fascinating (the SS Richard Montgomery) and I do wonder what the chances are that it could ever blow...
Seems pretty even
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomer...
An investigation by New Scientist magazine concluded in 2004, based partly on government documents released in 2004, that the cargo was still deadly, and could be detonated by a collision, an attack, or even shifting of the cargo in the tide. The bad condition of the bombs is such that they could explode spontaneously

Digga

40,207 posts

282 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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funkyrobot said:
s2kjock said:
Cotty said:
Victoria Station was evacuated after an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered during building works.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-ra...

Cool kit
Why would a bomb disposal type police person have a sidearm? Is it for dealing with sea-mines like in the movies?
It's to shoot the bomb from a safe distance. Like in the films, ya know!
hence the irony of my joke at the top of the thread. None so blind as those who cannot see.

Yellowjack, that's interesting stuff. How do they contain or collect what's steamed out of the casing?

Trevatanus

11,109 posts

149 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Digga said:
funkyrobot said:
s2kjock said:
Cotty said:
Victoria Station was evacuated after an unexploded Second World War bomb was discovered during building works.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-ra...

Cool kit
Why would a bomb disposal type police person have a sidearm? Is it for dealing with sea-mines like in the movies?
It's to shoot the bomb from a safe distance. Like in the films, ya know!
hence the irony of my joke at the top of the thread. None so blind as those who cannot see.

Yellowjack, that's interesting stuff. How do they contain or collect what's steamed out of the casing?
I drove one of those (or its predecessor) back in the early 80's as an army cadet. They were called "wheelbarrows". Not sure if they still are

yellowjack

17,065 posts

165 months

Saturday 6th February 2016
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Digga said:
...Yellowjack, that's interesting stuff. How do they contain or collect what's steamed out of the casing?
Have a read of this...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-day-the-blit...

...as Mike Lobb was my troop commander during the 1991 Gulf War. He was awarded a QGM for that bomb job.

Briefly, though, steam sterilization contains the explosive fill onto a big sheet, and it gets bagged up, and trucked off to be burned. In small quantities, and without a fuse, detonator and booster charge, explosives burn fiercely but most won't explode, as they are designed to be stable to permit shipping and handling prior to use. It's the fuses and detonators which are far easier to initiate, hence why they tend to be kept separately and are only brought together with the bulk explosives when they are being prepared for use.

Some of the German explosive types from WWII are now very unstable, and grow less stable as they age. Other types become less 'explosive' as they degrade. Modern stuff is very stable, especially C4/PE4 (plastic explosive). You could mould that stuff into a ball and play baseball with it without risk. Only when you add a detonator or detonating cord does it go 'bang' in a big way.

Back during WWII things didn't always go to plan... http://www.royalengineersbombdisposal-eod.org.uk/2...frown

There is a lot of dry unit history, dates, names and such, in this page... http://www.bombdisposalclub.org.uk/BD_history.htm ...but the top portion does explain the mechanics of German fusing and bomb construction in decent detail for anyone interested.

Digga

40,207 posts

282 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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Cheers for all that. Most interesting. Not a job I'd fancy!

Riley Blue

20,915 posts

225 months

Sunday 7th February 2016
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I wonder how many of these are left to go 'pop'?

http://bombsight.org/#15/51.5050/-0.0900