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A German contact mine laid in Australian waters during World War II
Polish wz. 08/39 contact mine. The protuberances around the top of the mine, called Hertz horns, are part of the detonation mechanism
Posted on 08/11/2007 8:37:54 AM PDT by Grzegorz 246
KIEV, Ukraine - A World War II mine was discovered and safely destroyed Thursday in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol during a visit by a U.S. Navy destroyer for drills with Ukraine, officials said.
The mine, weighing up to 1,100 pounds and containing up to 110 pounds of TNT, was found drifting in the water Wednesday near a navy hospital on the shore, said Valery Strelets, spokesman for the local branch of Ukraine's Emergencies Ministry.
The report came as the USS Forrest Sherman called at the port to conduct drills with the Ukrainian navy. The U.S. destroyer was about 500 yards from the mine when it was discovered, Strelets said.
The mine was secured to prevent it from floating and was later taken about a mile offshore, where it was destroyed, Ukrainian navy spokesman Voldymyr Martynyuk said.
The U.S. ship was in no danger, said Lt. Brian Badura, spokesman for the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, 6th Fleet.
Ukraine was the site of heavy fighting during World War II, and many unexploded shells, grenades and mines are discovered every year.
Wow, wars could start by accident this way.
The Forrest Sherman? That old tub? Best lines of any ship in the Navy. [runs off to find photo]
That mine must have been built to some very high specs to be floating around for 65+/- years.
Remember the Maine? Sorry, couldn’t help myself.
Just because it was a WWII mine doesn’t mean it has been there since then, It could have been planted more recently.
no wonder pootee putin
hates our guts.
we’re in his back yard.
Wasn’t the USS Forrest Gump the best ship in the Navy?
I guess the one that docked in the Ukriane was an Arleigh Burke class.
This story smells to high heaven.
ping...
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Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
I envy those sailors if they got a port call in Sevastopol! I wonder how many of them fell in love with the throngs of smoking hot Ukrainian girls who most certainly came looking for American husbands to show them a good time! I'll bet they had fun!
Uh... And it's a good thing that mine didn't blow up... At least EOD had something to do besides training exercises.
a U.S. Navy destroyer for drills with UkraineThat's an interesting, uh, kettle of fish.
The US Navy in the Black Sea. Imagine that.
I your face Vladimir!
Nothing new in that. The U.S. Navy had been going into the Black Sea for years now. A combination of goodwill visits and freedom of navigation exercises. They also conduct exercises with NATO allies such as Turkey etc.
Civil War cannon balls will still blow up.
They always have something to do if the bar is open.
I’m certainly no mine expert, but it seems to me that the salinity of the water would have corroded the mine extremely over 65 years.
Which means it was deliberate. Wouldn’t we love to see the condition of that mine before it was detonated?
Actually it doesn't - couple months ago I remember reading something specifically about black sea mines and how they're still being found and they're still dangerous.
Coincidence, or does the navy have some really cool mine detection equipment? 500 yards!
Sure does - the Russian fleet is in the BlackSea too.
Remember how old our battleships are. Of course they are maintained, but in the northern lattitudes, slinity is not that bad. There is still a huge amount of ordnance that was sea dumped from WWI that will wash ashore.
The Russian Navy sailed west through the Bosphorus one last time and never returned. They’re still out there somewhere. The US Navy has been docking at Istambul at least since 1963 when I saw them taking rooms at the Hilton.
That is what would have pressure on it and some ware.
The Russian Navy still exits the Black Sea on a regular basis. The Russian Navy still has an active fleet in the Black Sea.
Russian ships took part in anti-terrorist exercises in the Med last year.
Images of Russian Navy in the Med during 2006
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=99988&page=10
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