Two World War II Bombs found in German River..

[SirFozzie]

The Rhine river in the German city of Koblenz has dried up after recent droughts.. and amongst the items exposed by the river hitting record lows is a 1.8 Ton RAF bomb, dropped on the city during World War II.

The city has evacuated/closed down the area around the bomb (displacing about 45,000 people), and is drying out the area.. once that is complete they will defuse the bomb and a smaller US Bomb.

Amazing that 65 years after first dropped, that it has been uncovered..

BBC News - Koblenz evacuated for WWII bomb removal from Rhine

[SirFozzie]

Wow.. I found this story from June, also from the BBC (linked to the story).. apparently 600 tons a year of unexploded ordinance (bombs and the like) are found and defused each year in Germany, Insane that there's still much that left over from World War II

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13792357

[molson]

I think this is one of the reasons modern Western Europe is so much more pacifist than the U.S. Their WWII experience was a lot different than ours, a lot more intense. Hell, they're still living it, they have to worry about bombs when they go for walks in the woods.

[cartman]

I remember having to walk to work when the subway in Milan was shutdown because of this:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3231304.stm

[Apathetic Lurker]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Wow.. I found this story from June, also from the BBC (linked to the story).. apparently 600 tons a year of unexploded ordinance (bombs and the like) are found and defused each year in Germany, Insane that there's still much that left over from World War II

BBC News - Defusing Berlin's WWII bomb legacy

Near to where my parents and relatives live in Poland( Upper Silesia) there are still a lot of WW2 bunkers and such that are still partially unexplored. Whenever I go there I drag out the old metal detector and go crazy. Found lots of shell casings, some bayonets, German and Russian equipment, parts of weapons, medals, old coins even dating back over 200 years and other war crap. Found a mine once.Had to report it but luckily it was not live anymore..... About 5 miles from my parents house some farmer dug up a 7.5 cm Pak 40 AT gun in decent condition.... Still lots of WW2 stuff to dig up in Europe, especially up in the mountains.

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by Apathetic Lurker

Near to where my parents and relatives live in Poland( Upper Silesia) there are still a lot of WW2 bunkers and such that are still partially unexplored. Whenever I go there I drag out the old metal detector and go crazy. Found lots of shell casings, some bayonets, German and Russian equipment, parts of weapons, medals, old coins even dating back over 200 years and other war crap. Found a mine once.Had to report it but luckily it was not live anymore..... About 5 miles from my parents house some farmer dug up a 7.5 cm Pak 40 AT gun in decent condition.... Still lots of WW2 stuff to dig up in Europe, especially up in the mountains.

That's cool. I would also go crazy if I had the opportunity to look for WW2 stuff.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Apathetic Lurker

Near to where my parents and relatives live in Poland( Upper Silesia) there are still a lot of WW2 bunkers and such that are still partially unexplored. Whenever I go there I drag out the old metal detector and go crazy. Found lots of shell casings, some bayonets, German and Russian equipment, parts of weapons, medals, old coins even dating back over 200 years and other war crap. Found a mine once.Had to report it but luckily it was not live anymore..... About 5 miles from my parents house some farmer dug up a 7.5 cm Pak 40 AT gun in decent condition.... Still lots of WW2 stuff to dig up in Europe, especially up in the mountains.

I thought I saw you on Pawn Stars

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Wow.. I found this story from June, also from the BBC (linked to the story).. apparently 600 tons a year of unexploded ordinance (bombs and the like) are found and defused each year in Germany, Insane that there's still much that left over from World War II

All these claims that we "used to know how to make 'em" just keep getting proved false

[SirFozzie]

Well...according to that Bbc story.. one in eight bombs dropped on Germany in WWII failed to explode.. the primary reason being that they had tested the bombs on the harder surfaces in Scotland and that the bombs had a habit of burying themselves in the softer German soil

[cartman]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Well...according to that Bbc story.. one in eight bombs dropped on Germany in WWII failed to explode.. the primary reason being that they had tested the bombs on the harder surfaces in Scotland and that the bombs had a habit of burying themselves in the softer German soil

WHAT??!? I always thought it was Bugs Bunny testing them by hitting them with a hammer!

[SirFozzie]

Ebberybody knows dere ain't no such thing as gremlins!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/281341...n_fallin_hare/

[Apathetic Lurker]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I thought I saw you on Pawn Stars

Its tough to drag anything out of Poland due to the restrictive archeological laws. Legal to carry a detector, illegal to use one without oodles of paperwork unless its your property.Pretty much you get 5 years in the pokey if you get caught on someones land without permission and if you dont report your findings to the district conservator. And they are strict. Dont try taking your goodies on a plane when you leave. You will be staying for an extended visit. Exit by train. No x-ray machines......

Pretty much anything big needs to be reported. You find a coin? No one expects you to go racing to fill out paperwork....unless you try to export it. Anything pre 1945 is staying put unless the conservator allows the export of it.

Maybe the laws have been relaxed in the last few years...I havent read them in a while.