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During this complex operation, in an attempt to safely dispose of the British-made five-ton Tallboy bomb, also known as the “earthquake bomb,” the explosion finally shook, but no casualties or damage was caused.
Polish naval officials have previously said that the bombs could not be destroyed in the usual way, a controlled explosion, for fear of damaging a bridge some 500 meters away.
The bomb was detected near the western Polish port city of Swinoujscie, formerly owned by Germany, while cleaning a 12-meter-deep canal.
The bomb dropped by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1945 during an attack on a Nazi warship “can be considered neutralized,” said Grzegorz Lewandowski, spokesman for the Eighth Fleet of the Polish Coast Guard based in Swinoujscie.
The bomb was six meters long and its load consisted of 2.4 tons of explosives, equivalent to 3.6 tons of trotile in its capacity.
The military planned to use the so-called deflagration method: detonate explosives without detonating them. The remotely operated device had to ignite the bomb shell and set the cartridge on fire.
But in the end, “the deflagration process turned into a detonation,” Lewandowski said. He added that “there was no danger to those directly involved in the operation.”
Breaking: The Polish Navy reports that the largest unexploded WWII bomb ever found in Poland, a British 5.4-ton ‘Tallboy’ or ‘earthquake’ bomb, detonated prematurely during the deactivation process. Fortunately, all the military divers were out of the danger zone. #BREAK #Breaking news pic.twitter.com/4oRav10fW5
– Global Intelligence Solutions Ltd (UK) (@GIS_Breaking) October 13, 2020
A spokesman for the mayor of Swinoujscie told AFP that he had not heard of casualties during the operation, as well as damage to the city’s infrastructure.
Some 750 local inhabitants were urged to evacuate before the bombing operation began. Additionally, shipping in the surrounding area was suspended.
During World War II, Swinoujscie, then called Swinemunde, was one of the most important German naval bases in the Baltic Sea, and the city was repeatedly heavily bombarded by Allied aviation.
On April 16, 1945, the RAF sent 18 four-engined heavy bombers to Lancaster, part of Squadron 617, known as the “Dam Destroyers”.
The planes dropped 12 Tallboys, targeting the German heavy cruiser Lutzow, but at least one of the bombs did not explode.
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