International naval team finds 22 huge World War II bombs in Tuvalu lagoon

[bill barilko]

International naval team finds 22 huge World War II bombs in Tuvalu lagoon

Twenty-two 500lb World War II-era bombs have been found underwater at Nanumea in Tuvalu by a naval team from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

www.rnz.co.nz

International naval team finds 22 huge World War II bombs in Tuvalu lagoon

Twenty-two 500lb World War II-era bombs have been found underwater at Nanumea in Tuvalu by a naval team from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

The Tuvalu government had asked the Australian Defence Force to look for explosive remnants from the war.

With help from HMNZS Manawanui, HMNZS Matataua and crew, plus the US Marine Corps and Canadian Navy divers, along with the Australians and New Zealanders, Operation Render Safe got underway at the beginning of this month.

Beginning at Funafuti Lagoon, New Zealand military hydrographers surveyed areas of interest and the combined dive team investigated the sea floor.

When no ordnance were found in the Funafuti area, the ships sailed on to Nanumea, where all of the bombs were located.

The Commander of Australian Defence Force operations in the South West Pacific, Major General Scott Winter, said now that they had identified the bombs, they could plan and prepare for their safe disposal.

Disposal of the bombs is planned for 2023.

 

[The_Foxer]

I seem to recall reading about an early ww2 raid there where the japanese were using it as an anchorage for a bunch of supply ships and the americans attacked but couldn't hit much of anything. Guess we know why now

Both sides had some fusing issues early in the war.

 

[Ron in Regina]

Disposal of the bombs is planned for 2023.

Or…. these 22 500lb bombs where disposed of in about 1945 and we’re just stumbling across this 75+ year old previous disposal??

{In Regina SK, when they were digging out 10 m of goose shit to clean up the lake, they where finding munitions (I can’t recall if they where the era of WW1 or WW2) that they thought were disposed of elsewhere decades ago}

This might have been a common practice at one point. Out of sight = out of mind.

 

[Wise]

Interesting. They better not accidentally explode.