Marseille, France Workers uncovered a WWII era U.S. 500 pound bomb from a construction site. The police were called and the area around the construction site was secured. The responding bomb squad decided to leave the bomb in place for over two weeks under tight security while plans were made for its disposal. Authorities needed the time to organize the safety plan which involved evacuations and warnings to over 10,00 workers and residents within the travel path to the selected offshore disposal site.

[More]

Brunswick, Maine Construction contractors working near the Mere Creek Golf Course on the former Brunswick Naval Air Station found a munition item lying along an embankment near a drainage ditch. The contractors called the police to report the find. The Brunswick Police Department responded to the scene. The responding officer who was a former Marine identified the munition as a sand filled practice bomb. Concerned that the bomb may have had a live spotting charge, the police coordinated with a UXO contractor doing work on the former installation on a separate project to safely inspect and dispose of the munition. The bomb, shown below, was identified as a WWII era 100-pound practice bomb.

Edison, New Jersey A construction crew working in the Raritan Center office-industrial park unearthed an unexploded shell. Workers called the police who responded with the New Jersey State Police Bomb Squad. The bomb squad safely removed the round for disposal. The area where the munition was found is a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) used as a munitions depot from 1917 till 1963 when the property was transferred for development.

Wick, United Kingdom A crew digging a hole for a new flag pole near the foundation of a building uncovered a cache of unexpended WWII era hand grenades. The police were called to respond to the find. The police identified the grenades as 1940s era No 76 incendiary grenades. The No. 76 grenades consisted of a glass bottle with a metal stopper, filled with benzene, water, white phosphorous, and a dissolved rubber-based compound to make the liquid sticky.

[More]

Geraldton, Australia Quarry workers were shocked when they uncovered a cache of disposed WWII era bombs while digging. The workers called the police who responded with technical support from an Australian Defence Force EOD team. EOD identified the bombs as practice sand-filled WWI era munitions. The bombs were removed from the quarry and disposed of by EOD.

College Station, Texas A maintenance worker at Texas A&M University made a startling discovery in a manhole while attempting to route a water hose underneath a runway. The discovery turned out to be 27 cases of WWII era explosives approximately 1,400 pounds of explosives in all. Authorities suspect that the explosives date back to WWII when the area served as Bryan Air Base.

Ironically enough, the explosives cache was discovered just a short distance away from the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) UXO school's UXO training grid. In fact, the maintenance worker initially contacted the school after he noticed the markings on the cases. The manager of the UXO school, Ed Fritz, responded and identified the explosives as TNT. Following proper protocol, the school immediately contacted the police and campus security.

[More]

Lewes, Delaware A visitor to Cape Henlopen Stake park using a metal detector on the sand dunes found a munition item. The visitor called the park rangers who secured the area until the Delaware State Police Bomb Squad and the Dover AFB EOD unit could arrive.

The munition, identified as a practice 3.5" rocket with a potentially live rocket motor was safely transported by the EOD unit for disposal. The area where the munition was found was once part of Fort Miles that was built in the 1940s and was active through 1958 when the decision was made to close the fort.

More information on Fort Miles can be found in the UXO Site Inventory - Fort Miles.

Ocean City, Maryland Construction workers at the Villa Nova Cottages in West Ocean City found two projectiles on the porch of a cottage slated to demolition. The workers called the police who responded with the Worcester County Fire Marshal's office and the Ocean City Bomb Squad. After confirming that the ordnance were military, Dover Air Force Base was contacted for technical support.

Dover dispatched a team from their EOD unit to investigate. The Air Force EOD team identified the two projectiles as possible live CWM filled munitions and therefore requested assistance from the U.S. Army 22nd EOD technical escort team based in Indian Head, Maryland. The Army responded and after a lengthy investigation involving X-Ray and other technologies, determined the munitions were not filled with CWM.

[More]

Austria Ice skaters along the Danube River noticed an object under the ice resembling a large bomb. The skaters notified the police who responded with bomb disposal team. The team cut holes through over 1 foot thick ice to access the bomb. The bomb, identified as a WWII era 250KG bomb, was safely removed from the river and properly disposed of.

Berrylands, United Kingdom A chimney sweeper form 1-2-C Chimney Sweep Services was cleaning out the chimney of a residential house discovered something lodged inside the chimney. After working the item loose, he got the shock of his life when he discovered that it was a munition item.

The worker called the police who evacuated the area and called in a bomb disposal team for technical support. The bomb disposal team identified the munition as a WWII era mortar. The chimney reportedly was not used for over 30 years and was only now being cleaned because a new unsuspecting owner moved into the house. The munition was reportedly wedged into an inner compartment of the chimney indicating that it had been but there purposely verses falling in through the flue.

[More]