WWII Bomb Discovered In Marseille France

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Officials in Marseille are evacuating an area around the French Mediterranean city's port so they can remove a 1-ton German bomb that dates to World War II.

Around 1,000 people have been asked to clear out Sunday. Boat traffic has been halted and access to several coastal roads blocked. The bomb will be taken to a military base to be detonated.

It was discovered a week ago by construction workers who accidentally pierced the explosive with their back hoe.

The regional government says the bomb's ignition system no longer works but the sheer amount of explosives — 1,400 pounds (650 kilograms) — made it dangerous.

The bomb was apparently buried by German soldiers, who had planned to destroy the city's port, as they retreated near the end of the war.

Comments

[SeniorMoment]

04:29 AM on 04/10/2012

Considering just the tonage of bombs and shells used on European soil in World War I and World War II, it is unlikely all of the bombs and unexploded shells will ever be found. It was mostly the luck of the construction crew that this bomb did not exlode on contact, although the firing processes probably all do fail with enough time for corrosion and water damage.

People still get injured and killed on U. S. target ranges that have been intentionally cleared as much as practical without tearing up the landscape. It is just in Europe's case whole nations were effectively target ranges in World War II especially.

[chickenslatts]

07:36 PM on 03/20/2012

Neither the US nor France would be the free nations they are today without the help they provided each other at crucial times.

[SeniorMoment]

04:30 AM on 04/10/2012

That is a very astute and accurate observation.

[SaulBloodworth]

05:29 PM on 03/20/2012

How come there are no surrender monkey jokes about those French-Jewish schoolkids that got shot? This is what I am expecting from Americans. Have you lost your wits?

[Jan Badinski]

06:28 PM on 03/20/2012

No, but we know how to stay on topic.

[chickenslatts]

07:54 PM on 03/20/2012

Nothing to do with this story. But I'm sure there are some on that story. Plenty of hate for all. But do keep in mind, that it was Frenchmen who killed these people.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:31 PM on 03/20/2012

Every once in a while in rural France a perfectly healthy tree suddenly has all its leaves turn yellow and it dies.

Its root has penetrated an old gas shell...

[SeniorMoment]

04:31 AM on 04/10/2012

This must bve a special problem in italy because each property owner is held responsible for the heatlh and care of trees on their property.

[mjeffn]

11:29 AM on 03/20/2012

I am so embarrassed by the posts. As an American, the amount of educational abject poverty with respect to European in general and, French and American history is appalling. It's so ironic that the most obnoxious anti-French posts seem to be written using the greatest amount of English words that have their roots in the French language.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:32 PM on 03/20/2012

As a American who recalls American and British WW II graves being desecrated in France as a protest against "les Rosbeefs" in the run up to Bush's Iraq insanity in 2003, it is hard to feel sympathy.

[sanfran55]

01:06 PM on 03/20/2012

I didn't read about that, but the French mobs desecrated all the graves in St. Denis/Paris of the royalty and kings and queens - including their beloved Sun King Louis XIV during the French revolution. All the bones are buried together now behind a black wall inside the St. Denis Cathedral. France is known for its angry mobs.

[SaulBloodworth]

05:19 PM on 03/20/2012

You can't have it both ways. Either you are pro Iraq war, then you are responsible, or you are against it, then you shouldn't have a problem with the French.

[Michael GE]

06:55 AM on 03/20/2012

Quite frankly: what did really disturb me here were the demeaning Anglo-Saxon remarks about France. Quite frankly, for people generally sitting on an island or (more or less) a continent of your own, it's pretty rich to make jokes about it.
How would you like constant jokes about the fact that only a US President would start a game of chess with two towers (=rooks) less? Funny? Not so much!
So, if you feel offended when the Twin Towers are compared like that, then maybe you will consider your words about France more carefully. It is simply not fun that across continental Europe so many bombs are still found. And just to remind everybody in the US: It took 50+ years before the US released the pictures necessary to identify drop sites. How many people died just because they had to guess?

[joepilot77]

09:32 AM on 03/20/2012

Hey Mikey...you can thank the US for the fact that you can still speak French and Not German buddy...DON"T YOU EVER FORGET WHO LIBERATED YOUR COUNTRY...it was not MONTY...In fact if it weren't for OUR blood the Europe as a whole would speak to languages, German and Russian...so why don't you take a good hard look in the mirror and ask what the French have done for Humanity recently?

[Commentator21]

01:59 PM on 03/20/2012

Well, I agree with you, but they did help us out in the Revolution, didn't they?

[SaulBloodworth]

05:21 PM on 03/20/2012

What's that with the complaining about German? Europeans are lining up to learn German to get a job in Germany. Nobody is thankful for Americans to keep them stupid.

As for Russian, the U.S. sided with Stalin.

[uniqumm]

03:05 AM on 03/20/2012

Ho-hum. Nothing new. UX munitions are found all the time there, some from WW1 and maybe even before that! One ton wasn't the biggest munition that was used either!

This jogged my memory of when I read ages ago about a sunken ship which had been transporting nerve gas, probably sarin. It was dangerous being even near it back then! I wonder what happened to it. I can't imagine them having been able to "clean it up".

[kayyy]

11:27 PM on 03/19/2012

When I saw the header I thought yah, what's the big deal? We have left-overs all over the world from several wars.

Then I read the short article. They found it when a hoe struck and opened it. OMG what if that had set it off? Would this be a small article on the HP? No! It would be all over the Media about the deaths of those good people. This is why Lady Diana was working on land mines and children's (non combatants) safety.

[SeniorMoment]

04:49 AM on 04/10/2012

While the U. S. has not signed the ban on land mines, except in Korea, the most heavily mined land on Earth, the U. S. makes minimal use of mines and those that are used self de-activate, which is a technology non-existant at the start of World War II.

[kayyy]

06:33 AM on 04/10/2012

When i recieved your reply on my e mail i was confused. Then with some research i discovered a very old topic. Now your reply makes sense. If you unblock your notifications it would make it easier to catch up on old stuff.

[mimssandi]

06:12 PM on 03/19/2012

Interesting side note, the US still has stockpiles of explosive material left from WW!! that is being recycled into today's weapons.

[sunbeltvoter]

09:27 PM on 03/19/2012

Properly stored modern high explosives are very stable and long lived. In Gulf War One the last battleship fired shells made for the Korean War. No need to make any new ones, the Navy had plenty left and they still worked fine.

[LunaPark]

11:22 PM on 03/19/2012

Somewhere I read Purple Hearts handed out today were part a 500,000 Purple Heart lot purchased in preparation for the invasion of Japan, which never happened.

[uniqumm]

03:08 AM on 03/20/2012

'Haven't heard that, nor do I know if it's true, but it wouldn't surprise me.

[mburgh]

05:11 AM on 03/20/2012

The figure is 1 million. I've read this figure in many books.

[Janet Bratter]

06:03 PM on 03/19/2012

Two basic styles of commentary on this subject: snarky/cynical and hyper-concerned with details of military ordinance. It's sad that so few people seem interested in constructing a world where our joint global economy is not so dependent on periodic mutual destruction.

[Commentator21]

02:02 PM on 03/20/2012

As long as there are humans on this planet there will be war...

[waitforitwaitforit]

05:48 PM on 03/19/2012

They are still digging up and detonating munitions from WW1 for pete's sake, and probably have another 40 years of digging up and disarming all sorts of explosives from both wars.

[Michael GE]

07:01 AM on 03/20/2012

German estimates are more like: Given current technology, it takes 2000 years.

[SaulBloodworth]

05:46 PM on 03/19/2012

It is pretty funny to read all this surrender-jokes from people who have gotten their behinds creamed in Vietnam, Iran, El Salvador, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Iraq, and will probably crawl from Afghanistan with their tail between their legs any time soon after having been taken to the cleaners by Karzai.

Maybe Americans should try more fighting and less overeating on Freedom Fries.

[Maderous]

08:29 PM on 03/19/2012

Winning wars an occupying a country are two different things. Wouldn't expect the French to understand that. How many colonies have you lost? Oh and why are you still a country in the first place? Dont bite the hand that feeds you.

[uniqumm]

03:12 AM on 03/20/2012

Actually, it was France's obstinate determination of trying to hang on to their colonies in SE Asia that dragged us into Viet Nam.

[Michael GE]

07:09 AM on 03/20/2012

"Hand"? A charming description for the Wall Str. Claws. And while you are at it: Your whole oh-so-worshiped-constitution would have ended up as toilet paper hadn't France sent troops and Germans trained "the hordes". Guess what, Santorumistas, history didn't start when you Americans signed your funny "we-dont-want-to-pay-taxes-anymore" paper ... nowadays known as "Constitution".

[kayyy]

11:32 PM on 03/19/2012

Afghanistan should be our 51st state. It would simplify so much for us. Instead we are just occuping a country rather than declaring war an actually trying to win.

[uniqumm]

03:13 AM on 03/20/2012

No thanks!

[uniqumm]

03:15 AM on 03/20/2012

Don't we already have enough religious lunatics running around over here?

[Corneliusjones]

05:40 PM on 03/19/2012

It seems i've miss placed my 1 ton bomb again...

[sunbeltvoter]

09:29 PM on 03/19/2012

Alongside the plastic pink flamingos, they make lovely lawn ornaments in the trailer park, doncha know?

[Hanover Fiste]

04:58 PM on 03/19/2012

and here come the comments about France from those who have never left their trailer park....

[Maderous]

08:30 PM on 03/19/2012

Been all over the world and know first hand how annoying you guys are.

[Hanover Fiste]

10:29 PM on 03/19/2012

Us guys? Wrong my grand dad is always most amused with the done nothings He has nothing but regard for the French. Then, he landed there in 1945 while 60 + years later those who have done absolutely nothing talk about everything they know nothing about.

[Husaria]

04:50 PM on 03/19/2012

Think about Laos for a moment.............

They don't just find one there every once in a while. It is an everyday occurrence and most are still active ( aka KABOOM ).