Biggest World War Two Bomb Found in Poland Explodes

Tallboy bomb, the biggest World War Two bomb ever found in Poland, explodes underwater while being defused, in Swinoujscie, Poland, October 13, 2020 in this still image obtained from a video. Polish 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla/Poznan University of Technology/Handout via REUTERS

WARSAW, Oct 13 (Reuters) – The biggest World War Two bomb ever found in Poland exploded under water on Tuesday as navy divers tried to defuse it.

More than 750 people had been evacuated from the area near the Piast Canal outside the town of Swinoujscie where the Tallboy bomb used by Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) was found. It weighed nearly 5,400 kg, including 2,400 kg of explosive.

“The deflagration process turned into detonation. The object can be considered as neutralized, it will not pose any more threat,” Second-Lieutenant Grzegorz Lewandowski, the spokesman of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, was quoted as saying by state-run news agency PAP.

“All mine divers were outside the danger zone.”

BOOM! The biggest WWII bomb ever found in Poland exploded underwater as the Polish Navy worked to defuse it. The Tallboy bomb weighed almost 12,000 lbs, including 5,000 lbs of explosives. A spokesperson said no one was injured and divers were at a safe distance. pic.twitter.com/j9jBMpPIR3

— KDKA (@KDKA) October 13, 2020

Swinoujscie contains a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal but a spokesman for the town’s mayor told PAP noone was injured and no infrastructure had been damaged.

The Piast Canal connects the Baltic Sea with the Oder River on Poland’s border with Germany. The bomb was dropped by the RAF in 1945 in an attack on the German cruiser Lutzow.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020.

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