Posted on 07/28/2018 8:24:09 AM PDT by ameribbean expat
In Germany, firefighters are now encountering a new challenge: WWII-era ammunition being set off by the flames.
Firefighters used a tank to tackle a blaze near Berlin, as fears over WWII ammunition explosions mounted. Tens of thousands of unexploded bombs and other types of ammunition are still hidden beneath cities and in forests across the country, which regularly results in evacuations as specialists work to defuse the still-lethal war remnants.
In Sweden, meanwhile, authorities on Thursday opted for the unusual measure of using bombs themselves. Aiming to cause a lack of oxygen in the wildfire's center, the country's military used a fighter jet to drop explosives on a forest stretch near the county of Dalarna. Officials acknowledged that the method was only used as a last-resort measure for what they called a "worst-case scenario.
(Excerpt) Read more at stripes.com ...
BIP it !! UXO functioning as designed will put out the fire . Did such many times .....
Estimates are 40-60 millions rounds of artillery were fired at the battle of Verdun.
Mind boggling.
Yes, it is. I’ve been to Verdun. The entire area has been permanently terraformed by artillery barrages.
Aftermath: The Remnants of War: From Landmines to Chemical Warfare--The Devastating Effects of Modern Combat
Thanks. I’ll look it up.
The German air controllers at Frankfurt Airport are renowned as a short-tempered lot. They not only expect one to know one's gate parking location, but how to get there without any assistance from them. So it was with some amusement that we (a Pan Am 747) listened to the following exchange between Frankfurt ground control and a British Airways 747, call sign Speedbird 206.
Speedbird 206: "Frankfurt, Speedbird 206 clear of active runway."
Ground: "Speedbird 206. Taxi to gate Alpha One-Seven." The BA 747 pulled onto the main taxiway and slowed to a stop.
Ground: "Speedbird, do you not know where you are going?"
Speedbird 206: "Stand by, Ground, I'm looking up our gate location now."
Ground (with quite arrogant impatience): "Speedbird 206, have you not been to Frankfurt before?"
Speedbird 206 (coolly): "Yes, twice in 1944, but it was dark, -- And I didn't land."
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