A 100-pound unexploded bomb from the World War II era has washed up on a North Carolina shore, prompting authorities to establish a safety perimeter ahead of a planned detonation, according to a report.
US Navy officials said the large, rusty bomb was found Thursday morning in Buxton on Cape Hatteras, where members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit confirmed it is a live device, the News & Observer reported.
A half-mile safety perimeter was set up to keep tourists out, including the historic Cape Hatteras Light Station grounds and surrounding beach, the National Park Service said.
The US Navy EOD unit placed the bomb “deep inside the beach†near the lighthouse beach access parking area.
The Park Service on Friday morning said the detonation was postponed until later in the day due to a nearby residential fire.
Damage to nearby structures is unlikely from the expected blast, but “Buxton residents and visitors may hear the detonation,†officials said.
During World War II, military training exercises took place in the waters off the Outer Banks.
“The discovery of old military devices is not uncommon along the Outer Banks,†David Hallac, superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, said in the release.
HT: Weasel Zippers via Bird Dog.
gwbnyc
north of there during WW2 there was a bombing range on the banks that was private property, IIRC, then given over to the public after the war, perhaps as a game preserve.
Steverino
I was assigned to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, a base that had been taken by the Japanese in WWII and taken back by America. Walking from the parking lot to to the Officer’s Club required you to walk between two chain link fence posts about 2.5 feet apart. The story goes that people had slowly worn the asphalt between them away over the years to reveal a metal surface below. The club manager became curious about that metal and had it dug up. It was a dud bomb from WWII.
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