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.
This article contains reporting from Reuters, published under license.
Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update
Essential maritime and offshore news, insights, and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox
Updated: November 18, 2020 (Originally published May 11, 2020) Deepwater searchers have located the wreck of the famed USS Nevada off the coast of Hawaii. A team consisting of U.S.-based...
Updated: November 18, 2020 (Originally published November 14, 2018) A U.S. Navy-led salvage team has successfully removed 229,000 gallons of oil from the sunken World War II vessel ex-Prinz Eugen...
For almost 75 years, the stern of the destroyer USS Abner Read lay somewhere below the dark of the Bering Sea off the Aleutian island of Kiska, where it sank...
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
