Sunday Mail - UXB from WW2

[robbain]

Has anyone seen the Sunday Mail, I have copied the article from their website
the map in the paper has locations, it has Wick with 24 unexploded bombs

Scientists expose the deadly Nazi bombs lying under our feet
Aug 31 2008 By Norman Silvester

THE deadly buried legacy of the Nazi blitz on Scotland can be revealed today.

Our map shows how more than 1500 Second World War bombs lie beneath our cities, towns and villages.

Shock figures show that 1677 of the Luftwaffe's unexploded bombs - known as UXBs - remain active across Scotland.

Today the Sunday Mail pinpoints their location, from the town of Portsoy near Inverness to Eyemouth in the south.

Experts fear there is a greater risk of bombs being accidentally detonated because of the scale of building work.

Areas targeted by the German air force include Clydebank, Dumbarton and Glasgow for their shipyards and engineering works while naval bases in Rosyth and the Forth Road Bridge were also targets.

Munitions works such as Nobles in Ardeer, Ayrshire, were bombed repeatedly as were steelworks in Motherwell and Wishaw.

Another heavily targeted area was the north of Scotland due to the many naval bases and ports there and because it was used regularly by the Army for training.

The map also lists areas where there is no official record of UXBs but there is still a potential risk, such as Dumfries, Inverness, Grangemouth and islands of Skye and Lewis.

Specialist firm Zetica can use electromagnetic equipment to scan for bombs. They also sink probes into the ground to search for deeply buried devices.

The MD of Zetica, Mike Sainsbury, said: "We are asked to inspect sites daily for unexploded bombs using latest drilling and sonar technology.

"They are still a risk more than 60 years after they were dropped.

"No part of Scotland is safe. Many are very deep and will not be found by normal excavation work.

"Once a bomb is hit during construction, it can take 72 hours to explode. Builders do not know what they are hitting when they drill deep.

"It only costs a few thousand pounds to find these bombs. It's money well spent."

Dr Tony Pollard, who runs the Centre for Battlefield Archaeology at Glasgow University, said: "This report shows the main role Scotland played in defeating Hitler and the Luftwaffe.

"Places such as Clydebank suffered far greater damage and loss of life relative to their size than cities like London.

"Some bombs missed their target but others were dropped at random by the Luftwaffe when they were journeying home to lighten the load of the planes."

Tests for unexploded bombs have been done on the Edinburgh tram construction area and will be carried out on sites for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Logistical Corps in Edinburgh average 138 call-outs a year to deal with unexploded Second World War bombs, grenades and mortars found by the public.

An army spokeswoman said: "Most of the calls are for unexploded bombs. We take such incidents very seriously."

Around 21,000 bombs are believed to be buried in Britain.

The discovery of a German bomb in Glasgow six years ago led to more than 250 people being evacuated from their homes.

[Rheghead]

No part of Scotland is safe.

How many construction workers have been killed by a UXB in recent years?

[Welcomefamily]

Thurso was Ok so I can dig all I want.

[joxville]

An army spokeswoman said: "We take such incidents very seriously."

There was I thinking they played football with them!

[Valerie Campbell]

Poor Wick really takes some beating. I know there is a cache of 'unused' or 'unexploded' bombs which were dumped just off Wick by the British Ministry of Defence post-WWII. So the Germans aren't alone...

[pat]

I am sure a ship went down just outside Wick Bay during the WW11 with a full load of ammunition, some of it used to regularly wash up on the shores of Wick bay when I was much younger.