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World War II bomb in Hamburg prompts evacuation

Jon Shelton
May 15, 2019

A thousand-pound US bomb dropped during World War II has been discovered in Hamburg. Authorities ordered the evacuation of a densely-populated residential area of the city, affecting around 6,000 people.

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1,000-pound US WWII bomb
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Zucchi

A construction team digging in a densely-populated neighborhood in the northern German port city of Hamburg discovered a 1,000-pound (500 kilo) bomb on Wednesday.

Hamburg's fire department says the unexploded ordnance was a US-manufactured bomb dropped during World War II.

An ongoing legacy

Authorities ordered some 6,000 people to evacuate the Heimfeld neighborhood in south Hamburg while the city's bomb squad defuses the ordnance.

Operation Gomorrah in Hamburg
Hamburg was the target of the Allied bombing campaign Operation Gomorrah between July 25 and August 3, 1943Image: public domain

Those living within a 500-meter (550-yard) radius of the bomb were ordered to evacuate, whereas those within a 1,000-meter radius were ordered to stay away from windows and remain in rooms not facing the find.

Specialists on site say that the bomb's base fuse had been broken out of its seat, but the nose fuse was still intact. The team says it will use a water-jet cutter to remove the nose fuse.

Read more: WWII bomb scare leads German police to heavy zucchini

Such finds are a regular occurrence in Germany, which was heavily bombed by Allied forces during World War II. 

Bomb Disposal Expert

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