British 500 pdr bomb turns out to be empty

A British 500 pdr. which was found in March in Breskens (Netherlands) was cleared today. About 100 houses were evacuated. When the bomb was detonated it was found to be empty, much to the surprise of the bomb squad. A member told that in the 150 times he had detonated ww2 bobms before, this was the first time that it was empty.

The bomb did contain its 2 detonators. It was only found to be empty when there was no secondary explosion.

Must have been a wtf?! moment for those involved.

News (in Dutch) Ruiming vliegtuigbom in Breskens afgerond, explosief blijkt leeg - NIEUWS | Omroep ZVL

 

Didn't fizz at all ?

 

I'm just wondering if this happens often, and what might be causing it. Plenty of room for speculation ...

 

The speculation was an error during filling?

 

If the bomb casing fractured and exposed the filler it quite possibly just leached out into the surrounding soil.

 

Since the explosives accounted for about 50% of the weight, someone should have noticed ... or not ...

 

If it had been a Luftwaffe bomb, we'd have said that forced labour had sabotaged in the factory !

As an aside, on the basis that it's impossible to use a ratchet strap without the mantra "That's not going anywhere", I'm absolutely 100% certain that whoever tightened the strap onto that upturned Europallet said something like "Dat gaat nergens heen!"

 

The bomb disposal guy ruled that out. His words, not mine ;-)

 

Interesting then. A mystery.

 

Could a bomb that old still explode? Wouldn't it be rusty and not work anymore?

 

The thick casings were designed to allow them to enter buildings or deep into the ground before exploding and it could easily be several centuries or more before they rust through. Projectiles from the Great War, so 110 years old or so are still exploding today if disturbed. The explosives themselves and the detonators become less stable with age.

UXO-related incidents in Germany and Austria over the past two decades

 

Do you think there are still lots of undiscovered bombs from the Blitz buried in London or any UK city that was majorly bombed during that time?

 

I have little more than a general knowledge. Bomb impacts were carefully recorded in the UK, especially duds, although they weren't always recoverable. Most were earlier in the war and civil defence never broke down. Germany on the other hand was subjected to carpet bombing late in the war and there was little organisation at the end. Whole city areas were simply bulldozed so it's likely to be more of a problem there....but there are plenty in the UK too. Fortunately, Germany didn't have the ability to drop the large bombs which particularly the RAF did.

We have an unexploded bomb thread if you're not too busy.

http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/unexploded-bombs-ordnance.54598/page-19