Fishermen Accidentally Caught an Antique German Sea Mine From WWII
A British fishing trawler accidentally caught an antique German sea mine.
The mine, dating to World War II, still packed a 750-pound explosive charge.
Royal Navy divers blew up the bomb at sea.
A British fishing trawler caught the surprise of a lifetime in its nets, setting off a chain of events that ended with a massive explosion in the waters off Scotland. The catch: a wartime German mine at least 80 years old.
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After a brief investigation, Royal Navy divers lowered the mine back into the water and blew it up, sending a tower of water into the sky.
The fishing trawler, assigned to Scotland’s fisheries management agency, snared the mine. According to the BBC, the trawler’s crew alerted local authorities. Maritime Executive picks up the story, explaining:
The trawler’s seven crew were evacuated by the RNLI Troon Lifeboat and Rothesay Coastguard Rescue Team, and the vessel was sailed to Ettrick Bay on the Isle of Bute to meet with EOD divers. They declared the mine, which still contained around 750 pounds of explosives, to be in pristine condition and decided a controlled detonation at sea was the best solution.
Here’s a video of the controlled detonation from the Royal Navy:
The @RoyalNavy bomb disposal team from Northern Diving Group were in action today at #Ettrick Bay, Isle of #Bute, disposing of a German WW2 mine. The ordnance was trawled in the Firth of #Clyde & still contained 350kg of explosives. That equals a pretty Big Bang! 💥 pic.twitter.com/l7fOjFjTmP
— RN in Scotland (@RNinScotland) December 2, 2020
According to Maritime Executive, Royal Navy divers receive about one request a day for assistance across the U.K., including requests for help with “historic ordnance.” Unexploded bombs and other ordnance left over from World War I and World War II are an ongoing problem across Europe.
Earlier this year, a Royal Air Force "Tall Boy" bomb leftover from World War II was discovered and detonated in a canal in Poland.
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The Royal Navy dates the mine to the World War II era, and it does bear a resemblance to a German EMF sea mine. The mine is spherical with a large, porthole-type aperture. This, and the Royal Navy’s description of it having a 750-pound explosive charge, matches up with an EMF mine, shown here:
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