ELITE Royal Navy units detonated a Nazi bomb at sea after the biggest evacuation since World War II.
The 500kg shell was found in the Keyham area of Plymouth on Tuesday by a father who was building an extension.
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A bomb was dragged behind a rib in Plymouth as it was taken out to sea to be detonated Credit: Matt Giley
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It appears to be transported in a vessel like a buoy Credit: Matt Giley
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The bomb – seen here hanging from a digger’s arm – was loaded from a military truck into a float-type vessel
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A military vehicle carrying an unexploded ordnance passed through Plymouth this afternoonCredit: Matt Gilley
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The bomb appeared to be surrounded by white construction bags and would be dropped into the sea and detonated underwaterCredit: PA
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Images from the operational nerve center showed tense scenes as officers and experts watched live footage of the bomb’s journeyCredit: @ChSupt_IanDS
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Images show, believed to be around one meter long, buried in a garden in Keyham Credit: FPS Images – 2024 – All rights reserved.
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Police were called on Tuesday after Ian Jury, 57, hit ammunition with a shovel while digging foundations Credit: Facebook
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The discovery on St Michael Avenue triggered a “very complex operation” as 10,320 residents were ordered to leave their homes on Friday while bomb disposal experts arrived.
The German-made SC-500 was pulled from the ground and carried on a 1.2-mile route through the city.
It was loaded onto a vessel like a buoy at the Torpoint ferry slipway and towed into the canal where it was detonated at 9.51pm last night.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense confirmed an explosion under the waves – believed to be the safest option – but gave no further details.
Residents have been warned to expect a big bang and a 300-foot plume of water when the decades-old Nazi threat is seen off.
Evacuees from the city returned to their homes by 6pm on Friday after the “successful” operation, but some expressed frustration after being forced out into the field in the pouring rain.
Chief Superintendent Ian Drummond-Smith, from Devon and Cornwall Police, wrote on X: “The bomb has gone overboard! Thank you all for your patience and good cheer.”
Johnny Mercer, MP for Plymouth Moor View, thanked the emergency services for “working around the clock” to deal with the bomb.
Police were called on Tuesday after Ian Jury, 57, hit the ammunition with a shovel while digging foundations for his daughter’s extension.
After sending pictures of the grenade to the police, he got a call almost immediately and soon the officers were at the house.
He told MailOnline: “In the next few minutes they are proposing a 200m radius cordon.”
Weighing around half a ton and one meter long, the bomb was used extensively by Hermann Göring’s Luftwaffe during World War II.
The same type of shell was detonated in a controlled explosion on the north coast of Guernsey last July.
HOW THE MISSION HAPPENED
A 300-meter cordon was set up around the site on Friday, and the streets remained deserted as civilians fled the area.
Hundreds of offices, shops, schools and homes were also cleared while train and bus services were canceled as experts moved in to begin the extraction.
Officers were later seen knocking on doors to make sure residents had left before the emergency operation got under way.
After several days of planning, around 30 of the Armed Forces’ most experienced bomb disposal specialists and other emergency services began the “highly complex” three-hour operation.
Residents were sent a “severe” government alert on their phones, warning them to stay away from the waste convoy route between 2pm and 5pm.
As the mission began, a military vehicle with unexploded ordnance was seen rolling through residential areas.
It was carried on the back of a flatbed truck surrounded by white builders style bags.
Images from the operational nerve center showed tense scenes as officers and experts watched live footage of the bomb’s journey.
‘A VERY COMPLEX OPERATION’
The Ministry of Defense said the transport of the device was one of the UK’s largest peacetime evacuation operations since the Second World War.
Ian Regan told Sky News he received a government alert on his phone asking him to leave his home, which was just 10 meters away from the convoy route.
He said: “It was terrible. We put the cats in the boxes and reached my father’s spare bedroom.
“It’s very stressful. The biggest fear is that it could disappear at any time.”
He added that residents were allowed back into their homes to remove furniture and valuables before the bomb was moved.
Mr Jury had previously feared that the bomb would destroy his daughter’s house if it exploded and was concerned that local insurance companies might not cover the costs.
He told PlymouthLive on Thursday: “Last night my daughter and her two neighbors were brought together for a meeting where they were basically told to prepare for all three houses to be destroyed.”
FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS
A Nazi bomb discovered in Plymouth is a grim reminder of the utter devastation that wreaked on the port during the Second World War.
During the seven nights of the Blitz in March and April 1941, 6,000 general purpose bombs and 205,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on Devon City.
They were thrown out by German bombers who wanted to destroy the docks and the naval base in Plymouth.
From July 1940 to April 1944, 1,174 civilians were killed, including many children.
Another 3,209 were injured, while more than 4,000 buildings were completely destroyed, and another 18,000 were damaged.
The bombing led to the almost complete destruction of the city center and the displacement of tens of thousands of residents.
Source: Plymouth.Gov.Uk
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The operations team monitors how 500 kg of ammunition was transported through PlymouthCredit: @ChSupt_IanDS
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Plymouth man unearths WWII bomb in his daughter’s garden Credit: FPS Images
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Military vehicle at the scene near St Michael Avenue, PlymouthCredit: PA
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Serious warning text message sent to residents Credit: PA
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Residents were evacuated from the area in the largest evacuation since World War IICredit: PA
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The streets remained eerily deserted with a cordon in place
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Ordnance disposal specialist near the bomb site in Keyham, PlymouthCredit: PA
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A serious warning text message sent to local residents on FridayCredit: PA
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Bomb disposal vehicle at cordon site Credit: FPS Images
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Emergency workers gather in Albert Road near Torpoint ferry crossing in Plymouth ahead of Friday’s operationCredit: PA
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10,320 people were asked to leave their homes immediatelyCredit: BPM
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Disposal experts moved in to take away the Second World War bombCredit: PA
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education