# Finding old unexploded WWII era bombs: preferred to defuse it in place or move it first? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 14, 2014, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308 "2014-02-14T05:57:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/21 "2014-04-04T19:49:24Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Why do they care about its origin? I bet they bill us (the US) for it. I bet we also pay the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/22 "2014-04-05T01:19:35Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Why do they care about its origin? Well, for example, if it’s a US made bomb, there’s no point in going through the historical EOD files to look up how to defuse a German 250 kg bomb with a type 17 fuse. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/23 "2014-04-05T03:29:57Z")
More Cafe Society territory, but has there ever been a short story (or a real life occurrence) of, say, a French infantryman having a narrow miss with a dud bomb, only to have his grandson or great grandson blown up by the bomb that was intended for him? Cause that would be, like, poetic and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/24 "2014-04-05T13:30:19Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > _EXACTLY._ When I roll up on a UXO or IED, I ask, ‘What am I finding, and can the area withstand a high order detonation?’ If I’m in a farmer’s field, sorry pal, but three acres of your barley isn’t worth my Bomb Tech’s life. Downtown suburb? Then I’ll accept some risk. The problem here, as it pertains to the Iron Harvest mentioned upthread, is that many of those shells are actually filled with toxic crap - chlorine, mustard gas, phosgene… So they can’t really blow that stuff up then and there because it could contaminate the ground & seep into the water table or worse : aerosolize and drift to the next town over. And since we’re talking century old shells rusted beyond all recognition, identifying which are the \*very \*bad ones from the merely crap news is non-trivial. Which doesn’t prevent farmers from just digging them up and putting them by the side of the road as Somebody Else’s Problem :p. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/25 "2014-04-05T15:20:49Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Note to self: do not use cutting torch to find out what unknown, large, manufactured metal objects may be. > > [Bangkok Post: Explosion kills seven people](http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/403072/old-bomb-explodes-killing-six-in-lat-pla-khao) The death toll is up to eight now after [parts of a three-year-old girl were found](http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/403283/blast-toll-rises-as-one-more-bomb-found). And they’ve found another one in an industrial estate over on our Eastern Seaboard. This one they’re trying to figure out how to defuse properly. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/26 "2014-04-05T15:30:04Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Note to self: do not use cutting torch to find out what unknown, large, manufactured metal objects may be. > > [Bangkok Post: Explosion kills seven people](http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/403072/old-bomb-explodes-killing-six-in-lat-pla-khao) Hey, did we ever find out what that metal sphere was? ---
**Author:** ![deregulated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7bcc69/32.png) [@deregulated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deregulated)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/27 "2014-04-06T07:59:11Z")
Hey Tripler, just in case you have not heard this lately, Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/28 "2014-04-06T08:12:38Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Hey, did we ever find out what that metal sphere was? It was some sort of tank ( maybe liquid helium ) from a disintegrated spacecraft. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/29 "2014-04-06T11:16:40Z")
Something that surprised me the first time I saw a video of Tedax (EOD) in action was that the news always talk about “defusing” the explosives, something which sounds like a clock getting stopped when it shows 007. As has been mentioned, a lot of the time what they do is blow it up under controlled conditions. That’s got to be one weird job: on one hand you get to blow stuff up, and on the other you’re trying to cause the smallest possible bang. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/30 "2014-04-06T13:33:56Z")
> [@deregulated](#): > > Hey Tripler, just in case you have not heard this lately, Thanks! Indeed. Also, didn’t “Defused” used to be spelled “Defuzed”? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/31 "2014-04-06T17:10:25Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Something that surprised me the first time I saw a video of Tedax (EOD) in action was that the news always talk about “defusing” the explosives, something which sounds like a clock getting stopped when it shows 007. As has been mentioned, a lot of the time what they do is blow it up under controlled conditions. That’s got to be one weird job: on one hand you get to blow stuff up, and on the other you’re trying to cause the smallest possible bang. Being married to an EOD tech and surrounded by others for nearly 5 years I can attest there’s certain types of people who enjoy this work. And while [this article](http://www.duffelblog.com/2014/02/eod-take-long-respond-fuck/) is a parody…it’s also dead on. _potty language_ ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/32 "2014-04-06T18:00:53Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Hey, did we ever find out what that metal sphere was? [This one?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678744) A piece of industrial sculpture. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/33 "2014-04-06T19:47:33Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > It was some sort of tank ( maybe liquid helium ) from a disintegrated spacecraft. Okay, I was thinking of a different mysterious hollow sphere. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/34 "2014-04-07T03:58:42Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > … [in other cases], you have such a rarely preserved UXO that you need to study it to write RSP procedures on the fuzing or devices itself. Every IED or UXO is a chance to learn! When you have the chance to safely exploit it, ya do it! This is what I did on my last deployment… By coincidence, I just saw the excellent Israeli movie [Beaufort](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0758732/), in which a local commander cannot understand why they send in a bomb specialist instead of just blowing the thing up. Thank you for your service. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/35 "2014-04-07T10:19:17Z")
I have heard it also has caused a strain on international relations at times when say the Germans find a British or American bomb under what was then a residential area or vise versa. It doesnt take long for old memories to come back. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/36 "2014-04-09T10:24:26Z")
Ah, yer welcome guys. There are perks to the job, believe me. $150 a month extra in ‘demo pay’. Plus, I get all the chicks. Tripler Have I told you? My gal _is_ the bomb! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/37 "2014-04-09T11:27:00Z")
Sometimes I think there are UXOs buried absolutely everywhere. A year or two ago, some construction workers dug up a pair of old mortar shells underneath the playground at the elementary school I went to in the early 90’s in Japan. Still not sure how I feel about that. Met an EOD officer years ago who claimed that his preferred tool for defusing bombs is an M14 rifle. Set up behind a nice rock a few hundred meters away and start plinking at it until something happens.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/38 "2014-04-09T17:21:13Z")
Thanks, **Tripler** , for your posts and your service. A Civil War shell killed a collector in 2008: [http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/05/02/virginia-man-killed-in-civil-war-cannonball-blast/](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/05/02/virginia-man-killed-in-civil-war-cannonball-blast/) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/39 "2014-04-09T19:06:42Z")
**Tripler** , did you ever get that new hat with the farts and darts? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/40 "2014-04-10T10:19:37Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Met an EOD officer years ago who claimed that his preferred tool for defusing bombs is an M14 rifle. Set up behind a nice rock a few hundred meters away and start plinking at it until something happens.🆒 Oh sure, you can SMUD stuff (Standoff MUnitions Disruption), which is pretty good for submunitions on an airfield, or sitting a mile away from a Mk 80-series. Either way, you’re looking to initiate a low-order detonation or deflagration. I don’t recommend it for most things though. > [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > **Tripler** , did you ever get that new hat with the farts and darts? I did! My lovely wife got it for me as a Christmas present. I’d been meaning to get a formal picture done with it. Tripler Dang man, if yer gonna SMUD, go big or go home. Go M107 _Barrett_ big. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308.md?page=3)