Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

In message
David Hansen wrote:

On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 12:49:36 +0100 someone who may be "Jim Hawkins"
wrote this:-

Interesting data on WW2 German bombs he-
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Bomb-Fuzes...00000001177383

Thanks.

The only thing I would add is to the entry, "23 rd November 1939 Lt
Cmdr Ouvery recovers first magnetic mine at Shoeburyness,and
successfuly defuzes it."

The Germans had delayed laying their "secret weapon" for some weeks
because they were worried that its secrets would eventually be
revealed to the British. When the Royal Navy examined this "secret
weapon", after extracting it from the mine, they were mildly amused.
The method of operation was similar to the fuze the RN had designed
in the First World War. Because of its deficiencies they had soon
abandoned the method, ISTR before the end of the First World War.


The difference was the Germans had actually got it to work reasonably well.

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

Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

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

Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

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

Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

Graeme Wall wrote:

In message
Edward Cowling London UK wrote:


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


Any preference for flowers?

Gypsophylla could be the smart choice - enough blooms for all the bits.

--
http://gallery120232.fotopic.net/p9632876.html
(33 105 at Bournemouth, 15 May 1985)

Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

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

Large UXB in Bromley-by-Bow
 

Edward Cowling:
They used AMATOL then, which doesn't have a long shelf life ...
you have a rusty cylinder full of sludge :-)

"Ian":
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 says 50 kg. That's 110 pounds, not 1000. (For the Coventry UXB;
the Bromley-by-Bow one was bigger.)
--
Mark Brader | "I have on occasion manufactured technical terms that
Toronto | have made it into common use in the literature.
| But not many, and I'm licensed." --John Lawler