Huge evacuation planned in Frankfurt after British WWII bomb found
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(CNN)More
than 60,000 people are set to be evacuated from the center of Frankfurt
on Sunday after a massive World War II bomb was discovered beneath the
German city.
The bomb
was found during work Tuesday on a construction site on Wismarer Street
close to the Goethe University Frankfurt compound, according to a
statement by Frankfurt police.
Police said the size of the bomb made extensive evacuation measures necessary.
The
device is a British bomb, specifically a 1.4-ton HC 4000 air mine, the
statement said, and is under guard by police. There is no danger to the
public, police said, but they will be evacuating the area as a
precaution while they defuse the bomb.
The evacuation will take place at 8 a.m. local time on Sunday, authorities said.
The operation to defuse the bomb is expected to begin at midday and to take approximately four hours.
The disposal of the bomb that is planned for Sunday, September 3.
World War II may have ended over 70 years ago, but its legacy still lingers in cities across Germany.
In May, more than 50,000 people were asked to leave Hanover after a bomb was discovered during pre-construction work on a site in the Vahrenwald district.
On Christmas Day 2016, another 50,000 were evacuated from Augsburg in south Germany after a 1.8-ton bomb was found beneath an underground parking garage.
Blockbuster bomb
Contents
Design
Diagram of a Mark I, 4000lb High Capacity bomb
Standard American AN-M56 4,000 lb "general purpose" bomb
The Mark I 4000 lb bomb was a welded, cylindrical shell of 0.31-inch (7.9 mm) thick steel. The body of the bomb was 30 inches (76 cm) in diameter and 88 inches (2.24 m) long. The nose of the bomb was conical, and a 27-inch (69 cm) long lightweight, empty cylindrical tail with a closed end was fitted, for a total overall length of 115 inches (2.92 m). A T-section steel beam was welded to the inner surface of the bomb to strengthen it.[1] Subsequent Mark II and Mark III HC bombs differed in detail; the conical nose was replaced with a domed nose and the number of fuzes was increased from one to three, in order to guarantee detonation. The Mark IV bomb did not have the T-section beam. The Mark V and Mark VI bombs were versions manufactured in the United States.[2]
The larger 8,000 lb bomb was constructed from two 4,000 lb sections, of a larger 38 in (97 cm) diameter, that fitted together with bolts.[3] A 12,000 lb version was created by adding a third 4,000 lb section.[4][5]
The 4,000 lb high-capacity design was little more than a cylinder full of explosives—it was unaerodynamic and did not have fins. The same weight American 4,000 lb (1.81 tonne) AN-M56 general purpose bomb was aerodynamically designed as other US bombs were, with a sheet metal tailfin assembly and shaped nose and aft sections.[6] When fitted with a nose spoiler and a drum tail the British "blockbuster" bomb fell straight down. These bombs were designed for their blast effect, to cause damage to buildings—specifically to blow roof tiles off, so that the small 4 lb (1.8 kg) incendiary bombs could reach the building interiors. The high capacity bombs were used only by the RAF, the only air force with bombers with bomb bays large enough to hold them.
In 1947 Alfred Cecil Brooks of Stourbridge was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for creating the Blockbuster, although his citation was worded "outstanding services to the King of a nature that cannot be revealed".[7] The local newspaper referred to him as "Blockbuster Brooks".[citation needed]
Operational use
57 Squadron Avro Lancaster with the "Usual" area bombing load of a 4,000lb "Cookie" and 12 Small Bomb Containers, each filled with 4lb incendiary bombs
The first use of the 8,000 lb was by 15 Squadron Lancasters against Berlin on 2 December 1943. Bad weather and other factors meant their effectiveness was not noted.[8]
The 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) "cookie" was regarded as a particularly dangerous load to carry. Due to the airflow over the detonating pistols fitted in the nose, it would often explode even if dropped, i.e., jettisoned, in a supposedly "safe" unarmed state. The Safety height above ground for dropping the 4,000 lb "cookie" was 6,000 feet (1,800 m); any lower and the dropping aircraft risked being damaged by the explosion's atmospheric shock wave:
We were flying at 6,000 feet which was the minimum height to drop the 4,000 pounder. We dropped it in the middle of town [Koblenz], which gave the aircraft a hell of a belt, lifted it up and blew an escape hatch from out of the top.[9]
Post-war unexploded ordnance
Disposal of a 4,000-pound blockbuster bomb dropped by the RAF during World War II. Found in the Rhine near Koblenz, 4 December 2011.
On 19 December 2016, a British bomb identified as a 4,000 lb HC "blockbuster"[13] was discovered in Augsburg, Germany. It was defused on Christmas day 2016, requiring evacuation within a radius of 1.5 kilometres. More than 54,000 citizens had to leave their homes for the duration.[14]
On 29 August 2017, a 4,000 lb British HC 4000 bomb was discovered during construction work near the Goethe University in Frankfurt, that will require the evacuation of 70,000 people. This was the largest evacuation in Germany since the Second World War.[15][16]
Bombs
4000 lb HC bomb
- Mark I: first production design
- Mark II: three nose pistols
- Mark III: no side pistol pockets
- Mark IV: no stiffening beam
- Mark V: U.S. production
- Mark VI: U.S. production
Other uses
Air mines
A defused German parachute mine in Glasgow, 18 March 1941.
In popular culture
- The slangy nature of the term "blockbuster" made it a frequent popular culture reference during World War II, for example the Bugs Bunny cartoon Falling Hare, which begins with a gremlin trying to detonate a blockbuster bomb with a mallet.
- The climax of the 1944 film The Canterville Ghost is a race to safely detonate a blockbuster bomb dropped in England.
- "Block Buster!" was a 1973 chart-topping song by British rock band Sweet, featuring the wailing sound of air raid sirens.
See also
- BLU-82
- Firebombing
- Firestorm
- Grand Slam 22,000 pound bomb
- MOAB
- Pumpkin bomb, test Fat Man atom bomb casings filled with nearly six short tons of Composition B explosive
- Tallboy 12,000 pound bomb
References
- Citations
- Taylor, Fredrick; Dresden Tuesday 13 February 1945, Pub Bloomsbury (first publication 2004, paperback 2005). ISBN 0-7475-7084-1. Page 120.
- Bibliography
- "English Bombs of WWII". Canadian Aces. Constable.ca. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012.
- British Explosive Ordanance (PDF) (Report). Ordnance Pamphlet. Department of the Navy, Ordnance Systems Command. 10 June 1946.
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