In message , Andrew Robert Breen
writes

A bomb that's been sitting in the ground for 60-plus years could
be much more sensitive to vibration than it originally was.
Explosives can get very unstable in their old age. Not nice.

They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life and isn't in
any way water proof. 60+ years buried in mud and you don't have a hair
trigger device..... you have a rusty cylinder full of sludge :-)

When they find the next I'll gladly drive the truck to the dump.

--
Edward Cowling "Must Go - Eldrad Must Live !!"

In message
Edward Cowling London UK wrote:

In message , Andrew Robert Breen
writes

A bomb that's been sitting in the ground for 60-plus years could
be much more sensitive to vibration than it originally was.
Explosives can get very unstable in their old age. Not nice.

They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life and isn't in
any way water proof. 60+ years buried in mud and you don't have a hair
trigger device..... you have a rusty cylinder full of sludge :-)

When they find the next I'll gladly drive the truck to the dump.


Any preference for flowers?

--
Graeme Wall
This address is not read, substitute trains for rail.
Transport Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail/index.html

On 7 Jun, 12:30, Edward Cowling London UK
wrote:
In message , Andrew Robert Breen
writes

A bomb that's been sitting in the ground for 60-plus years could
be much more sensitive to vibration than it originally was.
Explosives can get very unstable in their old age. Not nice.

They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life and isn't in
any way water proof. 60+ years buried in mud and you don't have a hair
trigger device..... you have a rusty cylinder full of sludge :-)

Well you could be right, I suppose.

Perhaps this video (CCTV) footage of a 1000-pounder being detonated in
Coventry in March is a fake:

http://videos.icnetwork.co.uk/covent...raph/bomb2.wmv

In which case it would be kind of you to put the Coventry Evening
Telegraph right on the matter:

http://tinyurl.com/42m2nf

It certainly seems to go up with a hell of a bang for a "rusty
cylinder full of sludge".

Ian

On 7 Jun, 12:30, Edward Cowling London UK
wrote:

They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life and isn't in
any way water proof. 60+ years buried in mud and you don't have a hair
trigger device..... you have a rusty cylinder full of sludge :-)

When they find the next I'll gladly drive the truck to the dump.

Did you read this link?:

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/avi...-uxb-3148.html

In particular, did you read this bit?

"Since 1945, at least two bomb-squad members a year have died defusing
similar bombs in Germany."

If only they'd had you around to sling 'em around on a truck.

Ian

On Sat, Jun 07, 2008 at 12:30:56PM +0100, Edward Cowling London UK wrote:

They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life ...

The Germans used all kinds of stuff because they had poor access to raw
materials.

When they find the next I'll gladly drive the truck to the dump.

Please don't drive it past my house.

--
David Cantrell | Official London Perl Mongers Bad Influence

In message
Edward Cowling London UK wrote:

In message
,
Mizter T writes

A policeman on the local television news yesterday was stressing just
how potentially dangerous this bomb was, a

Are they though ? I understand that TFL must take public safety as
their first priority, but is a 60 year old bomb that's been in the mud
all that time a credible risk ?

A much greater risk than a brand new bomb. After 60 years the explosives have
parly decomposed and can be very unstable, even a slight knock could set the
thing off.


I think that trains stopped running and London City airport was
disrupted for a rusty canister full of harmless sludge !

You carry on thinking that. Tell you what, next one they find you can
volunteer to deal with it.


I'd love to know what the military really think about this.


The military think it is a very dangerous object. There are around a dozen
people killed every year by WW1 munitions dug up on the Western Front in
Northern France and Belgium and the sludge in those rusty canisters is 90
years old.

--
Graeme Wall
This address is not read, substitute trains for rail.
Transport Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail/index.html

In message , Graeme Wall
writes

The military think it is a very dangerous object. There are around a dozen
people killed every year by WW1 munitions dug up on the Western Front in
Northern France and Belgium and the sludge in those rusty canisters is 90
years old.


Really ? I'd love to see the source of info ? There was a TV programme
a few years ago which showed French farmers regularly ploughing up all
sorts of WW1 ordnance and selling the decent stuff.

No one seemed to think it was any threat !

--
Edward Cowling "Must Go - Eldrad Must Live !!"

"Edward Cowling London UK" wrote in message
...
In message , Graeme Wall
writes

The military think it is a very dangerous object. There are around a
dozen
people killed every year by WW1 munitions dug up on the Western Front in
Northern France and Belgium and the sludge in those rusty canisters is 90
years old.


Really ? I'd love to see the source of info ? There was a TV programme a
few years ago which showed French farmers regularly ploughing up all sorts
of WW1 ordnance and selling the decent stuff.

No one seemed to think it was any threat !

Edward,

I should stop now.
You are coming over as something of an idiot with a death wish.

Paul

In message , Paul Stevenson
writes

"Edward Cowling London UK" wrote in
message ...
In message , Graeme Wall
writes

The military think it is a very dangerous object. There are around a
dozen
people killed every year by WW1 munitions dug up on the Western Front in
Northern France and Belgium and the sludge in those rusty canisters is 90
years old.


Really ? I'd love to see the source of info ? There was a TV
programme a few years ago which showed French farmers regularly
ploughing up all sorts of WW1 ordnance and selling the decent stuff.

No one seemed to think it was any threat !

Edward,

I should stop now.
You are coming over as something of an idiot with a death wish.

Just maybe you worry I might be right ? :-) Yes the authorities need to
be seen to be going through the usual headless chicken routine. But the
media love all this stuff and I honestly wonder if 2 guys with a crane
from the municipal dump could have dealt with it just as well and with
no disruption.

When was the last time one if these thing actually went off ?


--
Edward Cowling "Must Go - Eldrad Must Live !!"

In message
Edward Cowling London UK wrote:

In message , Graeme Wall
writes

The military think it is a very dangerous object. There are around a dozen
people killed every year by WW1 munitions dug up on the Western Front in
Northern France and Belgium and the sludge in those rusty canisters is 90
years old.


Really ? I'd love to see the source of info ? There was a TV programme
a few years ago which showed French farmers regularly ploughing up all
sorts of WW1 ordnance and selling the decent stuff.

No one seemed to think it was any threat !


If you paid attention to the TV programme it mentioned the dangers.

--
Graeme Wall
This address is not read, substitute trains for rail.
Transport Miscellany at http://www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail/index.html