70 years safter WW@, there are still thousands of UXB's in Germany.

[bob10]

Seventy years after WW2, there are still thousands of UXB's in Germany.

There Are Still Thousands of Tons of Unexploded Bombs in Germany, Left Over From World War II
|
History

| Smithsonian Magazine (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seventy-years-world-war-two-thousands-tons-unexploded-bombs-germany-180957680/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20200403-daily-responsive&spMailingID=42179630&spUserID=ODU1Njc2OTEyODIyS0&spJobID=1740337715&spReportId=MTc0MDMzNzcxNQS2)

[3toes]

They still turn up here too.

One in London a while ago and they wanted to evacuate surrounding buildings before attempting to remove bomb. Problem that lot of people in that part of London are not supposed to be in the country and would not co operate as they thought it was a trick to ID them. This was UK there was no war here

Or more amusing was the expansion of a cemetery which was delayed as the ground survey found 4 unexplored bombs in the area they were looking to use

A friend was digging in the garden at home and went a bit deeper than normal and struck something metal. Plenty of excitement when realised what it was

These stories are still frequent enough that do not make the headlines

[bob10]

They still turn up here too.

One in London a while ago and they wanted to evacuate surrounding buildings before attempting to remove bomb. Problem that lot of people in that part of London are not supposed to be in the country and would not co operate as they thought it was a trick to ID them. This was UK there was no war here

Or more amusing was the expansion of a cemetery which was delayed as the ground survey found 4 unexplored bombs in the area they were looking to use

A friend was digging in the garden at home and went a bit deeper than normal and struck something metal. Plenty of excitement when realised what it was

These stories are still frequent enough that do not make the headlines

Interesting story about the men who had the job of dealing with UXB's during the War. Especially the Naval men who had to find a way of making safe Hitler's magnetic mines. Lt.Cmdr John Ouvry, RN, Lt.Cmdr Roger Lewis, RN , CPO Charles Baldwin , RN, AB Archibald Vearncombe , RN, the men who dismantled two magnetic mines that had been dropped too close to shore and were exposed at low tide, were awarded the decorations, DSO for the Officers, DSM for the other ranks. These were the first RN decorations of the War. Many thought Ouvry should have been awarded the VC, so much so that the King gazetted a new medal , the George Cross, for extreme bravery not under fire, equal to the Victoria Cross as the highest mark of valour , but open to any one, citizen or serviceman. The George Medal was also established, falling directly below the GC in order of merit. During WW2, around 120 GC's were awarded but only 8 individuals were awarded both the King's Cross and Medal. Three Australians , naval volunteers John Stuart Mould, Hugh Randall Syme, Leon Verdi Goldsworthy, were part of the 8, while a fourth, George Rose , was awarded the GC.

These four Australians were the forefathers of today's Australian clearance divers. They learned on the job to become cutting edge divers and masters of mine disposal pioneering the core skills of their modern - day kin. But that's a different story.

[bob10]

No Phoney War for the Royal Navy. From " Rum Ration.".




https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/data/avatars/m/2/2625.jpg?1407724803 (https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/members/naval_gazer.2625/)





Introduction

You may have noticed the current proliferation of events and news stories marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War. Of particular interest to the RN is a lunchtime reception, including talks and audio-visual presentations, to be held on board the Imperial War Museum's floating exhibit, HMS Belfast (http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00e), on Thursday 26 November 09.



HMS Belfast on the Thames[/align]

HMS Belfast is the obvious venue because she has Ouvry’s mine on display and was herself seriously damaged by a magnetic mine as she left the Firth of Forth on 21 November 1939. This mine, laid on 4 November by the German U-boat U-21, injured 34 of Belfast’s ship's company, broke her keel and wrecked her hull and machinery to such an extent that it took nearly three years to repair her at Devonport.

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcdoa.org.uk%2Fim ages%2FBrad%2520King%2520with%2520David%2520Ouvry% 2520and%2520Noel%2520Cashford%2520on%2520board%252 0HMS%2520Belfast%25207%2520July%25202009%2520med.j pg&hash=7cc53c0a2642935b8557e2cad34a2a9c

HMS Belfast's Director Brad King, John Ouvry's son David
and veteran Bomb & Mine Disposal Officer and author
Lt Noel Cashford MBE RNVR (http://www.aboutderbyshire.co.uk/cms/people/all-mine-the-explosive-lt.shtml) beside Ouvry's mine

Historical Background

The period of WWII between September 1939 and the Battle of France in May 1940 is often referred to as the 'Phoney War' because so little action was apparent to the British public. However, the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy were heavily engaged right from the start; this was still some eight months before the Battle of France and nine months before the Battle of Britain. Within hours of war being declared against Germany on 3 September 1939, U-30 sank the liner SS Athenia off Rockall with the loss of 98 passengers and 19 crew members. On 17 September, the aircraft carrier HMS Courageous was torpedoed by U-29 in the South West Approaches with the loss of 518 lives. On 14 October, HMS Royal Oak was sunk by U-47 at Scapa Flow with the loss of 833 lives and on 16 October, German bombers attacked British warships at Rosyth in the Firth of Forth. In November, the armed merchant cruiser HMS Rawalpindi was sunk by the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst off Iceland and in December, the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles fought the German pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee, at the Battle of the River Plate, forcing her to retreat into Montevideo harbour where she scuttled herself. There was certainly no 'Phoney War' as far as the Royal Navy was concerned.




The German Mine Menace

In 1939, German U-boats were still few in number and they did not yet have the bases in France providing short and relatively safe access to the open ocean. However, merchant ships and warships around the UK coast and in the approaches to ports were experiencing mysterious underwater explosions and being sunk or seriously damaged at an unsustainable rate. The cargo ships SS Magdapur and SS Phryne were sunk on 10 and 24 September 1939 respectively and the liner City of Paris was severely damaged on 16 September, all as the result of mines laid off Orfordness by U-13 on 4 September. This area had already been swept of moored mines and, as losses mounted, the Admiralty began to suspect the use of magnetic ground mines. However, owing to their self-destruct mechanisms, no mines of this particular type had been recovered intact to confirm them as the cause or enable the development of effective countermeasures. In September and October 1939, mines accounted for almost 60,000 tons of Allied merchant shipping. In November, mines took the lead as the main threat to Allied sea communications, sinking 27 merchant ships totalling 121,000 tons. As Churchill conceded at the time, "The terrible damage that could be done by large ground mines had not been fully realised."

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcdoa.org.uk%2Fim ages%2FChurchill%2520at%2520HMS%2520Vernon%252021% 2520Sep%25201939%2520med.jpg&hash=1f219479800ac3a13b2337a0d9b5f799

Churchill as First Lord of the Admiralty
visiting HMS Vernon 21 Sep 1939

The Breakthrough

The breakthrough came on 23 November 1939, the day after a German parachute mine had been discovered on the mudflats at Shoeburyness. Commander John Garnault Delahaize Ouvry Royal Navy, then a Lieutenant Commander as a Render Mines Safe (RMS) officer based at HMS Vernon in Portsmouth, was already investigating reports of German parachute mines in the area and was soon on the scene. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Commander Roger Lewis Royal Navy (another Vernon-based RMS officer). After the mine had been staked against the incoming tide, Ouvry and Lewis photographed it and conducted an initial examination before reporting their findings. Ouvry returned some hours later with Chief Petty Officer Charles Baldwin (killed on 3 Feb 1940 along with course of 14 RNVR Sub Lieutenants on board a drifter while recovering loose British moored mines in the Forth) and Leading Seaman Archibald Vearncombe who had arrived from HMS Vernon. While the rest of his party remained well clear, Ouvry approached the mine with CPO Baldwin and proceeded to render it safe using non-magnetic tools produced specifically for the task. Lewis and Vearncombe, now joined by Doctor Albert Wood, a Principal Scientific Officer in the Mine Design Department at HMS Vernon, then helped dismantle the mine for subsequent recovery and transport to HMS Vernon for detailed investigation.
[align=center]
https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcdoa.org.uk%2Fim ages%2FOuvry%2520mine%2520at%2520Shoeburyness%2520 med.jpg&hash=411a00f1f648359fcfc30d23a06083a1

Ouvry's mine on the mudflats at Shoeburyness 23 Nov 1939

For his deed, Cdr John Ouvry was decorated with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) by King George VI at a ceremony on HMS Vernon’s parade ground on 19 December 1939. He was not awarded the Victoria Cross (VC) because his action was not deemed to be "in the face of the enemy" and the George Cross (GC), intended to recognise those in his circumstances, was not instituted until Sep 1940. Others decorated at the same time for this, and other tasks where mines were rendered safe for recovery and examination, were Lt Cdr R C Lewis (DSO), Lt J E M Glenny (DSC), CPO C E Baldwin (DSM) and AB A L Vearncombe (DSM). Of particular note, these were the first Royal Naval decorations of the war.

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcdoa.org.uk%2Fim ages%2FKing%2520George%2520VI%2520presenting%2520d ecorations%2520at%2520HMS%2520Vernon%2520med.jpg&hash=6c57c99e6724ba85c6b552364ce7b70a

King George VI presenting the first RN decorations of the war
on HMS Vernon's Parade Ground 19 Dec 1939

The recovery, investigation and exploitation of this first aircraft-laid German magnetic mine (British designation 'GA') enabled HMS Vernon to develop self-protective measures for Allied ships including degaussing coils that helped neutralise their magnetism. It also enabled the development of effective magnetic mine sweeps including the initial crude mine destructor ships containing huge electrical magnets in their holds shortly superseded by minesweepers deploying the highly successful Double L (LL) electrode sweep, used throughout the war. Thus, the German stranglehold on Allied shipping providing Britain's lifeblood at the outset of the Second World War was relaxed considerably.

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcdoa.org.uk%2Fim ages%2FKing%2520George%2520VI%2520with%2520Ouvry%2 520mine%2520med.jpg&hash=fe02af51e1f614a1f4c560d76a36a794

King George VI with Capt Riley (SMD), Lt Cdr Ouvry
and the German magnetic mine at HMS Vernon 19 Dec 1939

The proud legacy of John Ouvry and his team lives on with those involved in RN mine countermeasures (MCM) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) to this day.

[bob10]

Lt.Cmdr John Stuart Mould RANVR. WW2


Lieutenant Commander John Stuart Mould | Royal Australian Navy (https://www.navy.gov.au/biography/lieutenant-commander-john-stuart-mould)

[bob10]

Lt. Hugh Randall Syme, RANVR.

Lieutenant Hugh Randall Syme | Royal Australian Navy (https://www.navy.gov.au/biography/lieutenant-hugh-randall-syme)

[bob10]

LTCmdr Leon Verdi Goldsworthy, RANVR.

Lieutenant Commander Leon Verdi Goldsworthy | Royal Australian Navy (https://www.navy.gov.au/biography/lieutenant-commander-leon-verdi-goldsworthy)