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There is a WW2 shipwreck [1] in the Thames estuary that apparently still has 1400 metric tons of explosives aboard. Remaining explosives include 286 2000lb bomb

There is a WW2 shipwreck [1] in the Thames estuary that apparently still has 1400 metric tons of explosives aboard. Remaining explosives include 286 2000lb bombs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Richard_Montgomery

coffeeacc 9y ago
And also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort%27s_Dyke https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort%27s_Dyke
- jotm 9y ago
  Wow, really smart guys...
  - rwmj 9y ago
    The funny thing about Beaufort's Dyke is that it's a possible route for a UK-Ireland tunnel (similar to the Channel Tunnel), although of course not now since it's full of unexploded ordinance.
    - jotm 9y ago
      Yeah, I mean, Jesus, couldn't they have dumped stuff a bit farther from the islands. What the hell, it's right between NI and GB...
- grumblepeet 9y ago
  My father was in the Royal Engineers and after WWII he was part of the unit dumping this stuff. He claimed there were also tonnes of mustard gas and very dodgy dynamite dumped too. The dynamite was sweating and gave them all headaches. Terrible job dumping this stuff in the Irish Sea off of a heaving ship.
  - ridgeguy 9y ago
    My father used dynamite in his work (geological exploration). He was susceptible to migraine headaches. I could always tell when he'd been personally setting charges, because he'd come home with a killer headache on those days. Not because of overage 'sweating' dynamite, but because of his high sensitivity to headache triggers like minute amounts of nitroglycerine vapor.
lmm 9y ago
This one's very frustrating: no-one wants to touch it because then it will become their problem. The safest thing for everyone would be to dispose of it properly, with dangerous parts done at low tide with the Thames Barrier closed. But no-one wants to take the risk, so we take the much bigger risk of leaving it in place.
zaxomi 9y ago
A short video about SS Richard Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9u41aeItss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9u41aeItss

coffeeacc 9y ago

And also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort%27s_Dyke https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort%27s_Dyke

jotm 9y ago
Wow, really smart guys...
- rwmj 9y ago
  The funny thing about Beaufort's Dyke is that it's a possible route for a UK-Ireland tunnel (similar to the Channel Tunnel), although of course not now since it's full of unexploded ordinance.
  - jotm 9y ago
    Yeah, I mean, Jesus, couldn't they have dumped stuff a bit farther from the islands. What the hell, it's right between NI and GB...
grumblepeet 9y ago
My father was in the Royal Engineers and after WWII he was part of the unit dumping this stuff. He claimed there were also tonnes of mustard gas and very dodgy dynamite dumped too. The dynamite was sweating and gave them all headaches. Terrible job dumping this stuff in the Irish Sea off of a heaving ship.
- ridgeguy 9y ago
  My father used dynamite in his work (geological exploration). He was susceptible to migraine headaches. I could always tell when he'd been personally setting charges, because he'd come home with a killer headache on those days. Not because of overage 'sweating' dynamite, but because of his high sensitivity to headache triggers like minute amounts of nitroglycerine vapor.

lmm 9y ago

This one's very frustrating: no-one wants to touch it because then it will become their problem. The safest thing for everyone would be to dispose of it properly, with dangerous parts done at low tide with the Thames Barrier closed. But no-one wants to take the risk, so we take the much bigger risk of leaving it in place.

zaxomi 9y ago

A short video about SS Richard Montgomery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9u41aeItss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9u41aeItss