Pensioner used live artillery shell as a doorstop for 20 years

Daily Mail ^ | 7/2/2007 | Daily Mail

[Brilliant]

Every now and then someone intervenes to save someone else from the Darwin Award.

[llevrok]

terrorism by pensioners?? (ha!)

[ClearCase_guy]

"There is a time delay on these type of shells."

Apparently.

[Redcitizen]

“There is a time delay on these type of shells. A brass ring could be turned on top which gave them enough time to fire it to go off in the air or on the ground.”

Must have been on the Decades setting.

[Leg Olam]

A lot of guys brought stuff back from WWI that could be dangerous. My Grand Uncle had an artillery shell but it was definitly empty of explosives.

[Weeedley]

Heard of some dumb troop who had a fired mortar round on top of his metal locker. He decides he needs to test it to see if it was a dud. He hooked his pistol belt on to the round and yanked it off the locker and on to the floor. Kaboom!

[SnakeDoctor]

“How many times have I told you damn kids not to slam the ...”

BOOM!!

H

[stephenjohnbanker]

LOL!!

[Obadiah]

Ahhhh...no wonder these elderly folks get accosted by airport security!

[GoldCountryRedneck]

Wonder why they couldn't have removed the detonator, empty the explosive out and just make it inert?

Many of the deco line stands/guides in the Navy were 'enerted' and polished bras shells.

Have the bottom 2" of a 5/32 polished and collecting paperclips beside the desk here...

[SampleMan]

Mortar shells are fired at a steep angle with a plunging trajectory so they either explode in the air above the enemy positions or upon impact.

It appears that every reporter is forced to include something in every article that showcases their ignorance.

Mortars are fired at steep angles, so that objects located behind obstructions (non-line of sight) can be struck from relatively close range.

[vetvetdoug]

This used to happen around here with regularity. James shells, Archer Shells, and Hotchkiss shells were dug up constantly between here and Shiloh. These shells had paper fuses but in the case of the James, an impact detonator. I saw one detonator on a James that still had the cap in place once....which made me a little uneasy. These shells are worth $500 or better on the collectors' market and there are plenty of individuals with expertise to disarm them.

I know of one individual that kept a shell on his fireplace mantle and when they returned from Church the fireplace was in shambles. The shell was missing and the only explanation was that it exploded.

[Fraxinus]

I think the authorities overstated the danger from this shell:

A spokesman for the bomb squad said a firing mechanism had been activated during the First World War but the shell failed to go off. The mechanism had since fallen off but the 'live' charge could have exploded at any time.

Explosives are alway dangerous, true, but bulk explosives are chosen for their stability and the most dangerous part of a shell is the primer. I also know that some of the explosives used in shells get increasingly unstable with time.

[SampleMan]

Wonder why they couldn't have removed the detonator, empty the explosive out and just make it inert?

First, its Europe and all things "warlike" must be destroyed.

Second, the explosive fill had to be assumed to be highly unstable after 90 years.

[theDentist]

"... I don't think he would have brought it back if he'd known it was live."

But then again...

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Far more interesting than one of those black, cast-iron dachschunds you can wipe your shoes on.

[Gorzaloon]

Wonder why they couldn't have removed the detonator, empty the explosive out and just make it inert?

Because in WWI some shell filler explosives were Picric Acid. If the varnish protecting the interior of the metal casing deteriorated, shock-sensitive picrates would form. Even picric acid by itself can become sensitive if dried. It was replaced by the less sensitive TNT.