A 500 kilogram, 1.5 meter bomb was found in London this past Sunday evening during planned expansion work on King George V Docks, E16. The discovery led to a 214 meter evacuation zone and the closing of the London City Airport for the entirety of Monday, according to the airport’s online updates. Transportation of the ordnance affected also the schedule and routes of the underground public transportation system, according to Transport for London (TFL).
On Tuesday, the CEO of London City Airport Robert Sinclair announced the safe removal of the bomb from King George V Dock, meaning the “exclusion zone has now been lifted and the airport will be open as normal on Tuesday.” He went on to thank “the Navy, Police and the London Borough of Newham for their professionalism and expertise in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion,” and included his gratitude for the patience and understanding of the inconvenienced travelers and locals. Many travelers, including a large number of football fans headed to an away game, were disappointed at how the inconvenience affected their travel plans. London City Airport was able to cooperate with their airlines and nearby airports, however, to arrange for some flight plans to continue. In the meantime, the Newham Council, a local government, provided bedding and refreshments for stranded travellers unable to stay with friends and family.
An update from the Metropolitan Police explained that initially “the device was removed from its original position and taken to a secondary location within the dock.” The ordnance was then to travel down the Thames Monday evening, temporarily closing bridges along its route, to a more secure location for disposal. The Ministry of Defense expressed concern that, until it was moved and secured, the device was at risk of floating further down the Thames.
The plan was to dispose of the device Tuesday morning, but unfavorable weather conditions made the procedure too dangerous to the divers. “The bomb provides no risk to the public in its current location,” commented Commander Del McKnight of the Royal Navy on Tuesday, “so we will leave it where it currently sits until tomorrow. We can see then if the weather dies down and creates a safer environment for us to destroy the ordnance.”
BBC reported that while the Navy could not carry out its original plan to immediately dispose of the bomb, they were able to remove the device from the docks, allowing the airport to reopen Tuesday morning. The London City Airport did warn travellers, however, not to arrive more than two hours before their scheduled flights.
The bomb is one of about 60 German WWII bombs teams dispose of each year, according to the UK Ministry of Defense.
With the number of bombing waves against London during World War II—85 major raids dropping 24,000 tons of explosives—experts interviewed by BBC were unsurprised by the discovery. They commented that, while a true explosion is unlikely from the 70 year old bombs, the contents are still unstable, dangerous, and worthy of extreme caution.
Jordan is a senior majoring in English.