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WWII Bomb From 1945 Explodes Underwater Whilst Navy Try To Defuse It

WWII Bomb From 1945 Explodes Underwater Whilst Navy Try To Defuse It

An estimated 750 residents had to evacuate their homes because of the high-risk operation.

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

A bomb from WWII exploded underwater in Poland as the Navy tried to diffuse it. Watch footage of the blast below:

In September 2019, a 5.4-ton bomb, nicknamed Tallboy, detonated in the northwest below the waterway nearby the port of Szczecin.

Despite it being the first time a bomb of this kind has been diffused, the Navy demolition squad managed to neutralise the bomb, in October 2020, by burning out its explosives.

No member of the team was harmed during the process.

It is said that the bomb was originally dropped by the British Royal Air Force in an attack on a Nazi warship in 1945.

An estimated 750 residents had to evacuate their homes because of the high-risk operation.

At the time, some locals were said to be more worried about the risk of catching COVID-19, than any implications from the explosion - people were in a sports hall where they were given shelter.

I don't blame them. In Poland they were averaging over 25,000 cases of coronavirus a day, which was more than the UK at that time.

Many traffic and commuting was suspended during the operation.

Lt. Cmdr. Lewandowski said: "The deflagration process turned into detonation.

"The object can be considered neutralised, it will not pose any more threat to the Szczecin-Swinoujscie shipping channel.

"All divers were outside the danger zone."


The blast could be felt though by residents in Swinoujscie, which was part of Germany when the RAF dropped the bomb during the war.

This occurred during a raid which sank the Lützow warship.

Speaking at a press conference prior to the detonation mission, Lt. Cmdr. Lewandowski said the dangerous mission was a 'world first'.

He said: "Only its nose is sticking out. It's a world first.

"Nobody has ever defused a Tallboy that is so well preserved and underwater.

"The bomb is dangerous because it contains a lot of explosives.

"The chemical processes that have been taking place in the bomb over time means that any impact, any vibration, any change of pressure caused by moving it could cause it to explode."

Well, he wasn't wrong there, eh?

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock

Topics: War, WWII, World War Two