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posted by martyb on Friday June 28 2019, @02:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the Ka-Boom! dept.

https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-bomb-self-detonates-in-german-field-leaves-crater/a-49331435
Impressive picture too.

A loud explosion in a field startled residents in the town of Limburg in western Germany on Sunday. The blast occurred in the middle of the night and was large enough to register a minor tremor of 1.7 on the Richter scale, according to local media.

[...]Prior to the news release, residents were puzzled and confused by the crater, with some online speculating that it had been caused by a meteorite.

But RĂ¼diger Jehn, of the European Space Agency, told German newspaper Frankfurter Neue Presse that this was false. "A great deal of heat is released during an asteroid impact," the ESA expert said, adding that no evidence of heat or melting could be seen from the crater footage.

[...]The real culprit was an aerial bomb, which was buried at a depth of at least 4 meters, weighed 250 kilograms (550 pounds) and had a chemical detonator, investigators said. Authorities confirmed that the bomb had exploded by itself, without any external trigger.

[...]Two unexploded bombs were discovered on Monday in the central German town of Giessen, prompting the temporary evacuation of some 2,500 people. Earlier this month, an unexploded device was defused in a busy area of central Berlin.

[...]Between 1940 and 1945, some 2.7 million tons of bombs were dropped on Europe by US and British forces and half of them landed in Germany. Half of those that were dropped on Germany landed in North Rhine-Westphalia, the country's most populous state today.

Of the roughly quarter million bombs that did not explode, thousands are still hidden underground all over Germany.


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  • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday June 29 2019, @11:49AM

    by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday June 29 2019, @11:49AM (#861302)

    Wow, that was fascinating. I don't recall ever hearing of these before, or was long enough ago to fade (say, since last week...getting old sucks...).

    Thanks.

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