Large British high-explosive bomb removed from central Turin

Workers have encountered a large unexploded bomb under a street in Turin, Italy. The weapon was discovered in the city’s historic district.

More than 10,000 residents were evacuated from the city centre. Additionally, a further 50,000 were advised to remain in their homes.

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Once on the scene, military experts identified the weapon as a British 500lb GP bomb. This type of bomb contains approximately 64kg of high explosive.

RAF Bomber Command utilised many different types and weights of HE bomb during WWII. In total, 531,334 x 500lb GP bombs were dropped, making it the most numerous HE bomb dropped by the British.

In June 1940, Turin was the first Italian city to be bombed by the RAF. However, it was not until the summer of 1943 that it sustained large scale air raids. Between July and August, 850 people were killed in Turin.

The post-war evacuation of thousands of Italian citizens is not an uncommon event. In October 2019, another large Allied bomb caused 4,000 inhabitants of Bolzano to be evacuated.

The U.K faces a similar threat. In May this year, a German 500lb bomb was uncovered in Kingston upon Thames, London. However, the resulting evacuation was relatively small.

How can this specific threat be mitigated?

Brimstone provides Intrusive Magnetometer Survey services to the U.K construction industry. These surveys allow our customers to carry out piling works safe in the knowledge that their pile drivers will not strike any large German bombs. To find out more about this service, click here.