An unexploded German bomb dropped during WWII has been unearthed at a site in Bordon, Hampshire.

It was discovered by contractors whilst digging at the SANG drainage works on Hogmoor Road.

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A 200m radius exclusion zone was set up as a precaution. An army explosive ordnance disposal team then carried out a controlled explosion on the device. This suggests it was not possible to safely defuse the bomb.

Prior to destruction, army Royal Engineers constructed a “blast igloo” around the device, using 300 tonnes of sand.

Bordon
This image shows the rear end of the bomb.

From the photograph, the weapon appears to be of the SC50 (50kg) casing type. It could also have been a 41kg or 34kg incendiary / high explosive bomb. These two types used the same size casing (SC50) as the standard 50kg high explosive bomb.

Bordon Camp was a vast army complex, comprising several individual barracks. During WWII it would have been easily identifiable from the air as a military base. Anecdotal evidence suggests it was indeed identified by the Luftwaffe as a target and raided several times.

This comes just weeks after an evacuation in south-west London, caused by a German 250kg bomb. This munition was also deemed too sensitive to move and had to be blown up in-situ.

How can this specific threat be mitigated?

Brimstone provides Stage 2 Detailed UXO Risk Assessments which identify the positions of WWII German bomb strikes using original archive documents. Analysis of such data can identify zones of elevated risk. To find out more about this service, click here.