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Marines: ‘One-in-a-million’ malfunction caused artillery shell explosion over I-5 in SoCal
KTLA ^ | Mar 16, 2026 | : Jackie Marquez

Posted on 03/16/2026 5:08:10 PM PDT by BenLurkin

The findings come from a newly released Marine Corps report that’s over 600 pages long.

That report determined that the mishap was the result of a malfunction in the artillery’s fuze, which electronically controls the timing of detonation.

“The M767Al fuze is extremely reliable, with only one malfunction in its service history, in 2017, that was ultimately determined to be caused by an external factor,” the report said. “It is manufactured to a tolerance of one defect in a million.”

...

The report ruled out wrongdoing by Marines, interference by other unmanned aerial systems and birds.

Instead, the report suggested that several typically harmless conditions may have aligned in a way that changed the likelihood of a malfunction.

According to the Marine Corps, these factors could have been the close proximity of weapons to each other, blast overpressure and the potential presence of an electromagnetic charge.

Video captures ‘chaos’ during shooting following fight at Santa Monica Pier While no one was injured in the incident, the CHP has stated that a small piece of metal debris struck and damaged a CHP vehicle while it was working a freeway closure on the Las Pulgas Road on-ramp to I-5 South.

According to the Marine Corps report, that metal fragment was about 2 inches long and half an inch wide and left a small dent and scratch on the hood of the vehicle.

After the incident, CHP notified the Marine Corps, which then canceled additional live-fire exercises.

(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: artillery; california; camppendleton; oops; usmc
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1 posted on 03/16/2026 5:08:10 PM PDT by BenLurkin
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To: BenLurkin

When I was helping the IDF recycle fire base garbage, I found a 50mm ammo box with 8 of these in it in the dump pile.

Worth $2k each.

Accurate to 1/10th of a second, iirc.

https://reshefuzes.com/reshefuze-rt137-2/

Sent it back to the front lines for use.


2 posted on 03/16/2026 5:23:19 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (hardspunned is back! Love his example of an opponent of Israel, Trump and Western Civilization! )
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To: Uncle Miltie

3 posted on 03/16/2026 5:24:26 PM PDT by Uncle Miltie (hardspunned is back! Love his example of an opponent of Israel, Trump and Western Civilization! )
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To: BenLurkin

Note: It was not a 155mm artillery shell explosion, only the fuse of a 155mm artillery shell. One has about 15 lbs of TNT, the other a “booster” pellet to initiate the explosion of the main charge.

The booster pellet is much less than an ounce, I believe.

Perhaps someone else can give the exact weight of the booste pellet.

It is the difference between a primer and the main charge in a rifle cartridge.


4 posted on 03/16/2026 5:41:05 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: BenLurkin

Report here:

https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/61/Docs/FOIA/155mmFuzeMalfunctionInvestigation/251018_Ref%20(a)_I%20MEF%20CI_Redacted%20(Final).pdf

Some redactions due to FOIA exemptions but still interesting.


5 posted on 03/16/2026 6:01:57 PM PDT by Fury
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To: marktwain
According to the marines, it was a full-on shellburst.

Kinda hard for the shell not to off if the fuze does.
6 posted on 03/16/2026 6:07:27 PM PDT by verum ago (I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
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To: BenLurkin

It’s always that “one time” that gets you.


7 posted on 03/16/2026 6:09:28 PM PDT by SaxxonWoods (Annnd....I voted for this too!)
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To: BenLurkin

The Army hit a ranch near Fort Hood with a barrage of 155 a few years ago, damaging a house and other property. In another incident they hit an occupied building on base.

But shooting over an interstate sounds like a very bad idea.


8 posted on 03/16/2026 6:11:13 PM PDT by PAR35
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To: Fury
No way to blame the Marines - it was a PD fuze and should not have had the ability to detonate mid-flight.

But I imagine the Safety Officer, gun crew, gun platoon commander. CO and Gummy were all sh*tting bricks until that report exonerating them was issued.

9 posted on 03/16/2026 6:22:22 PM PDT by Bruce Campbells Chin
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To: verum ago

According to the marines, it was a full-on shellburst.

Kinda hard for the shell not to off if the fuze does.


I stand corrected. However, it is not uncommon to fill shells with non-explosive filler when testing them. I am surprised they allowed a fully loaded shell to be fired over a freeway.

However, no harm, no foul. Very little harm in this case. We probably learned something worth while.


10 posted on 03/16/2026 6:24:11 PM PDT by marktwain (----------------------)
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To: BenLurkin

6𝛔


11 posted on 03/16/2026 6:47:03 PM PDT by null and void (Limited information leads to unlimited speculation.)
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To: PAR35

I recall one thast ended up (a dud, if I remember right) in the parking lot of a Walmart a few years ago.


12 posted on 03/16/2026 6:48:50 PM PDT by Bikkuri (Whomever thought China and India were ever going to be serious allies hasn’t been paying attention..)
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To: PAR35

13 posted on 03/16/2026 7:23:01 PM PDT by al baby
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To: BenLurkin

Mm-hm.


14 posted on 03/16/2026 7:54:13 PM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all. )
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To: marktwain
I am surprised they allowed a fully loaded shell to be fired over a freeway.

Certainly raised my eyebrows! I mean, I guess it's pretty unlikely it *could* do harm simply given its trajectory- the Marine report says it was 453 m (1486 ft) over the ground when it went off- but still. The shrapnel piece left a nice dent in a parked CHP vehicle. What if it had hit someone's windshield while driving and startled them into an accident? Pretty low odds, but seems like a questionable decision to me.

I get a citation if I shoot a rifle over an empty county road, but an M795 with 24 lbs of TNT over I-5 is okay I guess.
15 posted on 03/16/2026 8:13:09 PM PDT by verum ago (I figure some people must truly be in love, for only love can be so blind.)
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To: BenLurkin

Are they firing shells over the freeway?


16 posted on 03/16/2026 9:27:09 PM PDT by Mr. Blond
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To: BenLurkin
“It is manufactured to a tolerance of one defect in a million.”

Good, but s*** happens!

17 posted on 03/16/2026 9:29:15 PM PDT by libertylover (The HBM (Has Been Media) is almost all AGENDA-DRIVEN and HATE-DRIVEN, not-truth driven.)
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To: BenLurkin

From that part of the story I figured the Marines returned fire....

FTA: Video captures ‘chaos’ during shooting following fight at Santa Monica Pier


18 posted on 03/16/2026 10:49:03 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (Making money now. Still want much more.)
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To: Mr. Blond; verum ago; All

The freeway was closed at the time of the shell fuse malfunction (hence the presence of parked CHP vehicles)(Pendleton property is on both sides of the freeway..they use the beach for exercises). It was closed for a “live fire” demonstration for J.D. Vance & Hegseth as part of the Marine Corps 250th celebration. The incident caused quite a stir among CA democrats of course:

https://calmatters.org/politics/2025/10/live-fire-shrapnel-lawmakers-trump/


19 posted on 03/16/2026 11:31:07 PM PDT by Drago
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