|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
|
 Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:16 am Post subject: One big old bomb starts ticking in London |
 |
|
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/06/london.bomb/index.html
| Quote: |
LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British Army bomb disposal team is working carefully to dismantle a large unexploded World War Two bomb unearthed this week near the future Olympic Park in London, officials said Friday.
Contractors clearing a site in east London unearthed the 2,200-pound German bomb Monday, the Ministry of Defense said, and called in the army experts to make it safe. The bomb measures four feet by two feet and is the largest one found in the capital since 1975, defense officials said.
"It's enormous," said Simon Saunders, the spokesman for the British Army's London district.
The bomb's discovery has forced subway and train lines in the area to shut, transportation officials said.
The contractors who unearthed the bomb at first didn't know what it was and pulled it from the ground, Saunders said.
"When they realized what it was, they got out of the way quite quickly," he said.
They called in the army bomb disposal engineers, who covered the bomb with sand to safeguard against an explosion and established a 250-yard cordon around it, Saunders said.
At one point, the bomb started ticking, which suggested a timing device, he said. Disposal experts put strong magnets next to the bomb to shut down the clockwork and the ticking stopped, he said.
Thursday night, the army team began trying to remove the explosives inside the bomb. They drilled into the shell casing using high-pressure streams of water, Saunders said.
The army team hoped to find that the explosives inside were in powder form, which could simply be removed with water -- but they found the substance must instead be steamed out, which is a longer process, he said.
"Having steamed it out, that will expose the detonator," Saunders said. "That will have to be made safe with a small charge, which will then make the detonator safe."
The army hopes to complete the process by Friday afternoon, though it could take longer, he said.
"The danger is that because it is old, it is now unstable and unreliable," Saunders said. "The tricky bit, of course, is damaging the detonator whilst they are effectively limiting the explosive charge around it."
The bomb is not in a residential area, but it is near several transportation lines and that has disrupted service on two subway lines and a rail line, transportation officials said.
"That we can't run a Tube service is always bad. It's difficult," said a spokesman for the transportation authority Transport for London, who asked that his name not be used. "Obviously this is no one's fault. It's an historical thing. Everyone just sort of has to bear with us while we get it fixed."
It's not uncommon for World War II-era bombs to be unearthed in Europe. In London, which suffered the aerial bombardment of the Blitz, bombs are uncovered two or three times a year, Saunders said.
The London Blitz lasted from September 1940 until May 1941. German bombers attacked the city every day or night for the first two months, but the worst night was the last -- May 10, 1941, when 3,000 people were killed in London, according to the Museum of London.
Much of the Blitz focused on east London.
In all, more than 20,000 people were killed in the Blitz, short for "Blitzkrieg," the German word for "lighting war. |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007
Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 9:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
| This bomb appears to be an SC2000 "Herman" bomb. First one to be found in 35 years. This bomb was nicknamed after Herman Goering, due to its girth, and is a massive 1000 pound beast. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
OneWayTraffic
Joined: 14 Mar 2005
|
| Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| bassexpander wrote: |
| This bomb appears to be an SC2000 "Herman" bomb. First one to be found in 35 years. This bomb was nicknamed after Herman Goering, due to its girth, and is a massive 1000 pound beast. |
The Grand Slam weighed 22,000 pounds and would break the sound barrier when falling. It was designed to bury itself before exploding, hence undermining the foundations of buildings.
Barnes wanted to builld it in 1940 along with a specially designed aircraft to drop it from 40,000 feet. Imagine the headaches that would have given the Germans. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
