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Hundreds of people were evacuated in northwestern Poland for several days to allow Navy explosives experts to neutralize a large British Tallboy-type World War II bomb, which was on a navigable route to the port of Szczezin.
The 5.4-ton pump was located in September 2019 during work to dredge the route. It is located at the southern end of the popular Baltic seaside resort of Swinoujscie, which like Szczecin was an important military port for Nazi Germany during the war.
Work to deactivate it began on Monday and was expected to last five days. Experts hoped to neutralize the device underwater by burning its explosives in a controlled manner.
It was believed to be the first submarine operation of its kind on a Tallboy, a model bomb that has already been neutralized on land in Germany, Norway and France.
Evacuation
For security reasons, more than 750 residents within 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) of the bomb had to evacuate for the duration of the operation, and ferry service in the area was suspended.
The Tallboy bomb was designed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis, the British Air Force used it to destroy targets under Nazi control with underground shocks.
It is likely that the one in Swinoujscie was used in April 1945 against the Nazi warship Luetzow. Polish military experts in Wolin said they did not have an explanation as to why it did not explode then.
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