Suspected UXB found on our field!!!

[Geoff Copping]

Just had email to say our field at Warboys has been closed for now as a walker has found a suspected unexploded bomb.

 

It's an old second world war pathfinder airfield so, if it is then there may be more.

 

I'll stay at home for now?

[J D 8]

              Our field is still an MOD training site but not live fire, however used smoke grenades, flash bangs and blank rounds often found. A few years ago someone even found SA80 rifle that had been left behind. It was returned.

   As Coastguard I was tasked to investigate many a possible UXB, most were something else that was misidentified . The biggest was a 25foot tube of two foot diameter with black and white check on it brought in to the harbour on the deck of a fishing boat !!! looked like a torpedo and I had to shut down all operations at the harbour. Turned out to be the used first stage of a missile and we were advised to get it back in the water ASAP as there could be unused fuel in it.  The boat captain then moved his vessel a few yards and dropped it in the harbour instead of taking it to deep water much to my frustration.

        The next time dredging takes place someone is in for a shock.

[leccyflyer]

We had one at our field, with my boy's unsuccessful maiden flight of his JP Ju87 Stuka. ?

[J D 8]

  Another "bomb" story.  Call out to a beach to check on a report of a large bomb being found on a beach known to have been used in WW2 for air drop practice but supposedly only inert bombs. The very low tide had uncovered what looked like a 500lb job just showing in the seabed and covered in concretion's. 

 Bomb squad could not attend until the next day and anyway it had to be at low tide so Coastguards were tasked with guarding the beach overnight.

  I stayed until the early hours until others took over and returned the next day just as bomb disposal turned up. Then a chap came down to the beach and said " You lot are wasting your time there because what you have there is old so and so's acetylene cylinder that fell off his fishing boat years ago"  At the same time a bomb disposal chap was hacking off some the concretions when there started a hiss and the distinct smell of acetylene filled the air. Ah said the bomb chap not a bomb so its the councils problem now and off they went.

  Council could not come until the next day so we spent another night on the beach guarding the thing in case someone silly came and tried to light it.? 

   

 Let us know how your field problem went Geoff.      Cheers, John.

[leccyflyer]

Quite a few years ago a former colleague was doing some interesting work on early siderite (iron carbonate) cements and had found some very modern concretions which had been exhumed on the mud flats of The Wash. They had collected quite a few of these, sub-spherical concretions and as part of the analysis were engaged on cutting them in half with a diamond rock saw, to make some thin sections for microprobe use. The early work had involved just chipping bits off and examining those with a scanning electron microscope. It was with some surprise that they watched as the saw revealed a shiny brass cut surface, with a circular cross section, before the penny dropped. ?

The sideritic concretions were all nucleated on shells -and not the molluscan variety! 

[PatMc]

From Wiki "Concretion" :  

 

Origins[edit]

Detailed studies have demonstrated that concretions form after sediments are buried but before the sediment is fully lithified during diagenesis.[3][4][5][6][7][8] They typically form when a mineral precipitates and cements sediment around a nucleus, which is often organic, such as a leaf, tooth, piece of shell or fossil. For this reason, fossil collectors commonly break open concretions in their search for fossil animal and plant specimens.[9] Some of the most unusual concretion nuclei are World War II military shells, bombs, and shrapnel, which are found inside siderite concretions found in an English coastal salt marsh.[10]

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Like being on Open University. ?

[leccyflyer]

38 minutes ago, PatMc said:

From Wiki "Concretion" :  

 

Origins[edit]

Detailed studies have demonstrated that concretions form after sediments are buried but before the sediment is fully lithified during diagenesis.[3][4][5][6][7][8] They typically form when a mineral precipitates and cements sediment around a nucleus, which is often organic, such as a leaf, tooth, piece of shell or fossil. For this reason, fossil collectors commonly break open concretions in their search for fossil animal and plant specimens.[9] Some of the most unusual concretion nuclei are World War II military shells, bombs, and shrapnel, which are found inside siderite concretions found in an English coastal salt marsh.[10]

That's my former colleague, Stuart.

[Andy Stephenson]

There was a bomb found at the local tip (recycling centre) and it was closed off for a controlled explosion. When I was next there I asked one of the operatives if there was a special skip for bombs, he was not amused.

[Don Fry]

In 1985, I was an area car driver in the fuzz. My patch was the docks, and all bits south of a main road, ie the poor bits. Busy.

The area north of the main road was posher. Done by a lazy copper, who answered the radio if it suited him. I used to end up lumbered with his work, to the detriment of mine. He ended up a Chief Superintendent, so managers are born, and there’s no justice in this world.

Call one day, some hand grenades found in an attic. His patch, can’t raise him. So off I went.
Story, bloke has died, WW 2 service man, Regular Army, from before the war and after, ummm. So off up the attic I went, and there is a cheap but strong wooden  box, lid on, but not attached. So I opened it, and there were 2 dozen Mills Grenades, in racks. Blood went cold. Training stuff was usually bright painted. These things were dull satin black. I retreated. It was shifted by the ordinance people. 
Turned out, when a bit of persuasion was put on the widow, he used to use them for trout and salmon fishing. She also remembered his Luger pistol and ammunition.

[Geoff Copping]

Quick update.

It was a practice bomb.

I'm on the mowing team so not so worried now?

[perttime]

On 31/08/2021 at 14:46, J D 8 said:

              Our field is still an MOD training site .... A few years ago someone even found SA80 rifle that had been left behind. It was returned.

...

Somebody might have had some explaining to do over that.

 

I recall hearing of a taxi driver finding a Police 9mm carbine in the middle of the road. He called the emergency number and the police patrol who had lost it through the open rear door of their van came back to get it, double quick.

 

Way back during my Finnish conscript service, when we were marching in the woods the instructors kept reminding us not to lose our rifles: "If it is not on you, tie the sling around something that you are pretty sure to pick up when we continue".

Edited September 4, 2021 by perttime

[Don Fry]

Used to be called writing long reports on short bits of paper.