The German city of Hanover has evacuated 15,000 residents after construction workers unearthed a 250kg bomb dropped during World War 2.

Police shut down the area while experts defused and removed the Allied bomb.

It is not clear whether it was a British or American weapon, however, it would have contained approximately 118kg of high explosive.

250kg bomb
An american 250kg bomb is destroyed by controlled detonation in frankfurt, germany.

Germany’s Unexploded WWII Bombs

The Allies dropped millions of bombs on Germany during the war. Approximately one in ten of these failed to function.

The post-war evacuation of tens of thousands of Germany’s citizens is not an uncommon event. Even now, 70 years later, more than 2,000 tons of unexploded munitions are uncovered on German soil every year.

Germany’s largest ever evacuation occurred in September 2017 when 65,000 Frankfurt residents were removed from their homes and businesses; the result of an RAF bomb. The weapon was one of Britain’s heaviest, a 1.4 tonne high capacity bomb, colloquially referred to as a ‘Cookie’.

The UK faces a similar threat from German bombs, however on a smaller scale. The German Luftwaffe also utilised the 250kg bomb.

Capture
The bomb bay of a british lancaster bomber. The mixed load comprises 250kg bombs and a 2 tonne high capacity bomb.

UXO Specialists

With an estimated 10% of all munitions failing to explode, numerous ground intrusion and construction projects encounter UXO each year in the UK.

As unexploded ordnance specialists, we offer a range of assessment, survey and investigation services to keep your project safe.

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