# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/121 "2023-02-11T14:13:24Z")
And looking at the video, my thought is: “and that’s just one bomb that was dropped in the Blitz”. 😬 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/122 "2023-02-11T15:02:32Z")
Indeed. And more still in Germany and elsewhere in mainland Europe, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/123 "2023-02-11T20:41:06Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And, FTR, one of the old tv MD dramas–the one I think with George Clooney before he was George Clooney–had this UXO in body requiring surgery hospital wide drama ensues in addition to hero surgeons thing, but lacked the whole “I fell on it it’s a sex thing” reveal-- again truth is not only stranger, but funnier than fiction. Grey’s Anatomy had a very similar event - a two-part episode where a guy had fired a homemade bazooka and the shell was lodged in his body, unexploded. Looking it up, they are “It’s the End of the World” and “As We Know It” from Season 2. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/124 "2023-02-11T20:51:20Z")
I’ve heard of people with violent mental problems described as “walking time bombs”, but sheesh … that guy’s ridiculous! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/125 "2023-02-14T19:41:46Z")
“All army & emergency service personnel are accounted for.” That’s not _exactly_ the same as saying no one was hurt. 🤔 ---
**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:** [February 15, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/126 "2023-02-15T00:31:30Z")
If they were doing what I think they were doing, then it was a remote procedure. Tripler The only thing that should’ve been hurt is some feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/127 "2024-10-03T13:32:52Z")
Getting back to the question in the OP: or, you could just wait until the UXO goes off by itself. In Tokyo. Under an airport runway. Yikes! > **[An American bomb from WWII explodes at a Japanese airport, leaving a crater...](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/us-bomb-world-war-ii-explodes-japanese-airport-114419077)** > > A U.S. bomb from World War II has exploded at a Japanese airport, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/128 "2024-10-03T13:49:01Z")
To clarify the record … The dateline of that article is Tokyo. The UXO that is no longer “U”, just XO was at Miyazaki, a small city on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, roughly 550mi from Tokyo… ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/129 "2024-10-03T14:11:23Z")
I imagine there is still a lot of UXO in Tokyo, although this wasn’t part of it. Apparently the [aerodrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyazaki_Airport) goes back to a WWII Imperial Japanese Navy airbase, so it makes sense it would have attracted a lot of bombardment attention in the end stage of the war. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2024, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/130 "2024-10-05T02:22:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > To clarify the record … > > The dateline of that article is Tokyo. The UXO that is no longer “U”, just XO was at Miyazaki, a small city on the southernmost main island of Kyushu, roughly 550mi from Tokyo… > [@gnoitall](#): > > I imagine there is still a lot of UXO in Tokyo, although this wasn’t part of it. > [@](#): > > “When I was a small boy, I always hated facts. Thought they were nasty, hard things, all nobs.” > > — Lord Peter Wimsey ---
**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:** [February 11, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/131 "2025-02-11T18:55:57Z")
Another one, this time in northern England: > **[Scores of unexploded World War II bombs discovered under children’s playground...](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/10/uk/wwii-bombs-playground-england-scli-intl-gbr/index.html)** > > Scores of unexploded bombs dating from World War II have been recovered from a children’s playground in northern England after a chance discovery. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/132 "2025-02-11T23:54:16Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Apparently the [aerodrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyazaki_Airport) goes back to a WWII Imperial Japanese Navy airbase, so it makes sense it would have attracted a lot of bombardment attention in the end stage of the war. That particular airbase was one of the major bases for launching kamikazes during the battle of Okinawa and got a lot of attention. As runways are easily repaired and the planes would be dispersed to mitigate destruction, it was bombed repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/133 "2025-02-12T00:08:10Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Another one, this time in northern England: It looks like they were practice bombs, but they do have charges so they needed to go. From the same article: > [@](#): > > In February 2024, thousands of residents were evacuated in Plymouth, southwest England, as authorities worked to remove an unexploded 500-kilogram (1,102-pound) bomb discovered in a garden in the city. > > This is not the only time that unexploded ordnance has been discovered in England recently. > [@](#): > > The bomb was moved before being disposed of at sea, after it was decided that detonating it in situ would have risked significant damage to nearby properties. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/134 "2025-02-12T20:00:08Z")
Here’s a short movie from the 1960s about bpmb disposal in the UK [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gOvWsPHnUyw/hqdefault.jpg "Look at Life Vol 2 Military Rendered Safe 1962") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOvWsPHnUyw) ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/135 "2025-02-13T21:10:48Z")
I live in Plymouth, and my sister was one of those evacuated. The bomb was found very close to the naval dockyard, where the navy bomb disposal squad is based. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/136 "2025-03-06T02:56:23Z")
Incredible. I can’t buy a toaster oven that lasts more than three years, and yet here you have UXBs that can still go off after 70! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/137 "2025-03-06T13:25:09Z")
That’s because the bomb is a one-use item. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/138 "2025-03-06T14:02:56Z")
And we can’t overlook the fact that the bombs didn’t work when they were originally supposed to. That’s comparable to a powerful flashlight that won’t turn on until you look straight at it. ---
**Author:** ![sunstone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunstone/32/3372_2.png) [@sunstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunstone)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2025, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/139 "2025-03-06T14:45:00Z")
Why know where an unexploded bomb comes from? That may have been addressed above; I didn’t read everything written in the thread. But as a former USAF munitions officer with an EOD unit, I can tell you that my guys wanted to know everything they could about unexploded munitions before doing anything else. Different bombs had different arming/disarming details that vary quite a bit depending on country of origin and the model of the fusing. Knowing what a particular bomb is makes it a lot more safe to work on. Going in and moving or defusing without that knowledge increases the dangers for everyone involved. EOD personnel may be crazy, but they are not stupid…at least the ones who survive. ---
**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:** [March 7, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-old-unexploded-wwii-era-bombs-preferred-to-defuse-it-in-place-or-move-it-first/681308/140 "2025-03-07T01:19:58Z")
> [@sunstone](#): > > Different bombs had different arming/disarming details that vary quite a bit depending on country of origin and the model of the fusing… . . . that also vary depending on the condition of the UXO as found _in-situ_. Your M904 as found on a pristine ‘belly-lander’ is a lot easier to RSP than the ‘nose-in first’ where things are all smooshed-to-hell in the nose well. “BIP it, man.” Tripler Fun times, fun times. . . [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=6) [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=8)