Posted on 01/01/2013 5:59:51 PM PST by Hojczyk
A seven-year-old boy sparked a major security scare after discovering a buried WWII bomb – with a metal detector he got for Christmas.
Sonny Cater was exploring fields near his house when the National Geographic metal detector, worth £30, led him to a mud-caked metal capsule.
He took it home but his father Jem, 37, became suspicious as he washed it under a tap and contacted a relative who is a former RAF armourer. The family were told to immediately call the police
Experts identified the device as a 10lb British practice bomb from WWII and it was removed for safe disposal.
Yesterday his mother Tracey said that, despite the drama, the incident proved that Sonny's Christmas present worked.
She said: "We are dumbfounded that he discovered this on his first go. "We are going to go out again to see if he can find something Roman. It has made our Christmas.
He dug up the treasure but couldn't make out what it was – so he hurriedly bundled up the muddy object and took it home to wash down. Mr Cater contacted his partner's father, Steve Wood, after uncovering the pointed end.
Mr Wood, who had served more than 20 years in the RAF armoury, advised him to call 999 and place it in a bucket of cold water. This was a precaution in case it was a German phosphorous bomb, which would ignite if dry.
Bomb disposal experts from RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire rushed to the family home and identified the item as a 10lb British practice bomb head. T he bomb head still contained internal wiring and was taken away for disposal.
It is believed to have been used in practice World War II bomb runs. Luckily the 10lb bomb head did not contain any explosive material.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Wow. That would still be a big gun to drag all over the place. I do recall that a rather large Mexican cannon was used or was set to be used at the Alamo ... but that may be Disney flight of fancy.
Please post a picture of your find, with something to help with the scale. You may have a historically significant hunk of iron on your hands. How would one go about tracing the manufacture of such a projectile?
I just measured it, and it would be closer to 12-13 inches if it was a whole cannon ball. The very center looked like lava rock full of bubbles from when it was cast, and it has since disappeared, but from what is now the center to the outer edge is over 5 inches.
What something that big is doing here got me stumped.
It was dug up in the early 60’s when they were paving a dirt road.
I couldn't carry all the pieces so I only got the biggest part. When I went back with the wagon to get the rest it was gone. The maintainer had rolled the dirt over to the side and I couldn't find it.
One of these days I'll get off my butt and take it to the local museum and see what they can tell me about it.
We could be brothers! ;-D
We could be brothers! ;-D
I’ll take you over the one I’ve got any day of the week.
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