Remains after World War II from the Szczecin area neutralized

The 8th Coast Defence Fleet divers conducted further neutralizations of explosive and dangerous items on Wednesday, April 15 on approach to the port of Szczecin. This time, remnants of World War II were disposed of, which contained a total of nearly 1000 kg of explosive material.

In the first phase of the operation, the facilities were located and excavated from the mulist bottom. As a result of the reconnaissance, they were identified as a German GH-type bottom mine and a 500-pound British aviation bomb. In total, they contained nearly 1000 kg of explosive material. Their technical condition has been defined as very good, thanks to favorable anaerobic conditions in which they have fallen behind for years.

Due to the high risk of lifting or moving objects, a decision was made to burn the explosive at the back site, using the modular cumulative charge system "Pluton". In order to ensure the safety of navigation on the Szczecin-Świnoujście route, the movement of ships was stopped until the operation was completed and several hundred metres of absolute ban zones were introduced.

The operation involved the Miner Divers Group and the crew of the H-6 tugboat from the 12th trawlers' squadron. The divers used the deflagration method, which resulted in the bodies of the objects being split apart and the bulk of the explosive burned. The remains of World War II were blown up. It should be stressed that this was another effective deflagration in recent months on the remnants of World War II, performed at the location of the find.

For the first time, miners used this method effectively on the American AN-M65 aircraft bomb in October 2019. Before the explosions were deflagrated, but on sea ground or in an ad hoc zone designated for that purpose. Last week (2 April) 30-pound phosphor bombs of British origin were also disposed of in the area of Szczecin (inflammatory bombs weighing approximately 14 kg).

These are not the last objects to be removed in this area. With the progress of work on the deepening of the Szczecin – Świnoujście water track, you can expect to find further post-war explosions.

On the other hand, preparatory work is still ongoing to neutralise the largest ever found in the area of Świnoujście, a British air bomb colloquially called Tallboy after World War II. As a result of a very thorough search of the bottom, within a radius of several hundred metres of Tallboy, a large number of ferromagnetic contacts were found. Each of these several hundred objects must remain carefully checked and removed to make prior to operation divers 8. FOW were sure that there was no other explosive object nearby. The operation requires a number of permits and preparations from civil institutions. If everything goes as planned, the bomb could be destroyed in this six months.

Source: 8 FOW