Any ex Army/bomb disposal types here?
Discussion
GSU MACA Troop successfully took part in the safe demolition of a WW2 German Bomb in Kingston Upon Thames
Can anyone explain what the bit on top of the bomb is? Some kind of cooled heatsink with a fan on the side?
Either way top work to everyone involved in removing these. I find it fascinating, you must have nerves of steel.
Can anyone explain what the bit on top of the bomb is? Some kind of cooled heatsink with a fan on the side?
Either way top work to everyone involved in removing these. I find it fascinating, you must have nerves of steel.
I sold a car to an ex-Navy bomb disposal guy a few years back, he wrote a book about it and it’s a great read if anyone fancies it.
Frog Tales https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1483621782/ref=cm_sw_r...
Frog Tales https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1483621782/ref=cm_sw_r...
Oldandslow said:
A group of my friends and I were walking on Drigg beach in Cumbria (in 1989/90) and found some old mortars shells exposed by the tide. Being upstanding citizens we stopped at Egremont police station to report it.
I walked into the cop shop and up to the desk and announced that we'd found unexploded mortars on the beach. The guy at the desk turned white and backed away slightly. He said "You didn't bring them with you did you?", "Umm, no" I said. "Thank God", he said, "last time the fella brought them in here with him."
This was apparently followed by an evacuation (of the station I assume although colons might have been involved too) and a long wait for bomb disposal to get there and make safe.
As opposed to "you've not brought us back more of that crap Sellafield discharged have you".I walked into the cop shop and up to the desk and announced that we'd found unexploded mortars on the beach. The guy at the desk turned white and backed away slightly. He said "You didn't bring them with you did you?", "Umm, no" I said. "Thank God", he said, "last time the fella brought them in here with him."
This was apparently followed by an evacuation (of the station I assume although colons might have been involved too) and a long wait for bomb disposal to get there and make safe.
One of my numb nutted (can you be numb nutted if female) has one of those Geiger / dose counter apps on her phone - and she is a qualified health physics person spends her holibobdays trying to beat Sellafields machines to find a particle or other bit of radiation from Drigg / Sellafield / Windscale / Calder Hall.
Working in Kuwait a few years ago, the biggest problem on the new oilfield projects was the debris still hanging around from the 1st gulf war. In theory most of the areas we were working had been swept, but there was still constant stream of ordinance being turned up from bullets to shells. On one site we actually discovered a T-54 which had been buried there for 25 years. These things need radiological clearance before we could get in EOD guys to clear any ordinance. Ended up with an area of the site quarantined for 5 months before all the respective groups could complete there stuff & the thing could be removed.
jollysoutherner said:
GSU MACA Troop successfully took part in the safe demolition of a WW2 German Bomb in Kingston Upon Thames
Can anyone explain what the bit on top of the bomb is? Some kind of cooled heatsink with a fan on the side?
Either way top work to everyone involved in removing these. I find it fascinating, you must have nerves of steel.
In answer to your question, that may be a modern version of something that made an appearance. I think, way back in WW2. It may be a piece of kit used to stablise or otherwise disrupt the explosive process within the bomb casing. IIRC they would use various methods, injecting a chemical compound into the explosive filler through the bomb casing after drilling a hole in it. I may have read years ago about them freezing some types of UXO using liquid nitro or something. Can anyone explain what the bit on top of the bomb is? Some kind of cooled heatsink with a fan on the side?
Either way top work to everyone involved in removing these. I find it fascinating, you must have nerves of steel.
In the above case, such a process may have been used to stabilise the UXO before it could moved to a safer location for controlled demolition.
Echo66 said:
In answer to your question, that may be a modern version of something that made an appearance. I think, way back in WW2. It may be a piece of kit used to stablise or otherwise disrupt the explosive process within the bomb casing. IIRC they would use various methods, injecting a chemical compound into the explosive filler through the bomb casing after drilling a hole in it. I may have read years ago about them freezing some types of UXO using liquid nitro or something.
In the above case, such a process may have been used to stabilise the UXO before it could moved to a safer location for controlled demolition.
I don't think it was moved very far, if anywhere, before the controlled explosion. Which was a BIG one, and fIn the above case, such a process may have been used to stabilise the UXO before it could moved to a safer location for controlled demolition.
g loud (I live not far away). 
GT03ROB said:
Working in Kuwait a few years ago, the biggest problem on the new oilfield projects was the debris still hanging around from the 1st gulf war. In theory most of the areas we were working had been swept, but there was still constant stream of ordinance being turned up from bullets to shells. On one site we actually discovered a T-54 which had been buried there for 25 years. These things need radiological clearance before we could get in EOD guys to clear any ordinance. Ended up with an area of the site quarantined for 5 months before all the respective groups could complete there stuff & the thing could be removed.
It was probably half buried at the time was destroyed. Hopefully not by a DU round. Nasty stuff once it has done its job.Evanivitch said:
GT03ROB said:
Working in Kuwait a few years ago, the biggest problem on the new oilfield projects was the debris still hanging around from the 1st gulf war. In theory most of the areas we were working had been swept, but there was still constant stream of ordinance being turned up from bullets to shells. On one site we actually discovered a T-54 which had been buried there for 25 years. These things need radiological clearance before we could get in EOD guys to clear any ordinance. Ended up with an area of the site quarantined for 5 months before all the respective groups could complete there stuff & the thing could be removed.
It was probably half buried at the time was destroyed. Hopefully not by a DU round. Nasty stuff once it has done its job.We used to play in an old munitions factory as kids in the 70's, we'd sneak in through a hole in the wall, had plenty of bullets as trophies, still got one somewhere (don't ask me what caliber, I'm no expert)... all harmless fun until one day of the lads turned up at Sunday School with a shell about 8 inches long!
Here's a clip of the result of the detonation in Kingston.
https://www.facebook.com/david.gneza/videos/101618...
https://www.facebook.com/david.gneza/videos/101618...
I once found an old rusty iron cannonball whilst out metal detecting. Took it home, cleaned it up, and here it is.
Hmmmm, it seems to have a funny indented ring. Whatever can that be?
I weighed it and measured its volume. Hmmmm, it seems to be a few pounds lighter than solid iron should be. Hmmmmm.
I gingerly removed it from the house and got rid of it. Shame, it was in nice condition.
Hmmmm, it seems to have a funny indented ring. Whatever can that be?
I weighed it and measured its volume. Hmmmm, it seems to be a few pounds lighter than solid iron should be. Hmmmmm.
I gingerly removed it from the house and got rid of it. Shame, it was in nice condition.
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