Hermann is finally blown up!

"Vas iz Dis?"

An unexploded World War II bomb that forced the closure of transport links in East London was detonated on the 6th June 2008, an event recorded by a remote camera. The Large UXB device - a Hermann bomb was found on the Stratford - Bow borders by a digger clearing a site being prepared for the 2012 Olympics.

Fifteen disposal experts from the Royal Engineers made the bomb safe after it started ticking and carried out a controlled explosion on Friday. Tube and railway lines affected by the incident have now returned to normal.

The Army encased the bomb in a sand and wood 'igloo' to contain a blast should it go off. It started to tick and ooze liquid when experts tried to disarm it. One Royal Engineer was sent back repeatedly to the ticking device to 'freeze it' by pouring a salt solution on to it. He used a powerful magnet to stop its timer.

Workers from nearby offices - including a film studio - were evacuated yesterday. The District and Hammersmith and City lines between Whitechapel and Plaistow, were closed while experts worked to diffuse the bomb.



Video of explosion on BBC site

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7441356.stm

The C2C line to and from Fenchurch Street was operating limited services and rush-hour trains were crammed with delayed passengers. Harassed rail staff were besieged with questions over timetable changes.

The bomb was discovered next to a gasworks and police were initially considering evacuating 40,000 people from the vicinity while it was disarmed, but eventually only a few barges close to the site had to be evacuated.

A safety cordon was put in place around the area which affected Tube and train services running nearby and a controlled explosion was carried out just before 1800 BST. It would have torn a hole in the East End up to a-quarter-of-a-mile wide if it had exploded—64 years to the day after Allied Forces landed at Normandy on D-Day 1944. This was Big Hermann’s revenge.There was still half-a-ton of high explosives left burning at 7pm, an hour after it was detonated.


Auf Wiedersehen Hermann!

Bob disposal experts have been describing ‘Hermann’ as “proven to be very stubborn” and having developed “a personality of its own, almost like a petulant child.” Say what you like about German workmanship but the bomb still worked perfectly after 64 years!