Has a world war II bomb actually gone off in the last 30 years?

Question

It was in the news this week that 2 unexploded bombs left from the 2nd world war had been discovered in the eastend of london and had to be deactivated by the military. This caused travel chaos whilst the risk was supposedly high that they could detonate. Over the years I've heard about many of these remaining bombs but to my knowlege not one has ever exploded! is it really worth the fuss over these things and has one really gone off after all this time?

Answer 1

I'm sure some have. People are getting killed by unexploded ordnance just about constantly. In North America it's rather uncommon, because not very many wars have been fought here since the invention of explosive shells. It's more common in places like France, Germany, Vietnam, Britain and so on, where many thousands of unexploded shells and bombs remain lying in the ground or embedded in buildings. Finding unexploded ordnance while farming in France is so common that it has been given a name: The 'iron harvest'. Although the vast majority of these devices are either no longer dangerous or are successfully disposed of without harm to human life, every once in a while one of them goes off accidentally, in which case someone is often injured or even killed. In Europe, there are not only dangerous explosives left over from World War II, but even from World War I, and in fact knowing what war a shell dates to is useful for bomb disposal teams in order to assess the risk it poses and better decide how to get rid of it safely.

Answer 2

Sorry that you have been delayed on your train between Southend and Fenchurch street.



Bombs that have lain unexploded for 60 years are highly unlikely to go bang.



Until you disturb them. As soon as they are unearthed and moved by the actions of a digger or earthmover all sorts of things can happen.......



Clocks can restart.( Apparently one of this weeks bombs did start to tick again until the fuse was rapidly dowsed in Liquified gas to freeze it)

Pins that didn`t properly release when dropped from the aircraft may suddenly retract making a bomb live

Acetone discs that prevent the firing of a bomb in a chemical fuse may dislodge and allow the thing to fire.



I am sure that it was a major pain in the butt with the delays but I`m sure you wouldn`t be too happy if a 2200lb bomb went off near the track and caused a month of delays.



You would be less chuffed if you were rolling by on a train at the time as it would appear you are suggesting that the trains should have been left to run.



The main reason you haven`t heard of one of these detonating in recent years is down to the skill and bravery of the men of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps who sit down a hole with these things to attach devices to disarm them.



Maybe you would care to help with the next one?



Ray.

Answer 3

I am certain there are many unexploded bombs from World War 2 considering no one knew where they would land or if they would go off right away. Land Mines are probably still a problem in Europe as they were normally hidden.

Answer 4

just last year one went off in Germany, killing a man performing road construction

Answer 5

Check this out: http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=70438