"Find" in backyard not lawnmower scrap

grndskeeper · 09-14-2009, 08:25 PM

I'm sure the UK guys saw this story in the Mail, but for those that didn't:

Father-of-two poses for photograph after digging up unexploded anti-tank grenade | Mail Online

The homeowner found the UXB in his backyard, and thinking it a piece of a lawnmower, brought it in and photographed himself with it. It was live.

Luckily, he had second thoughts and did a bit of interwebs research on h is find...and then called bomb disposal authorities.

Thoughts?

**navyman** · 09-14-2009, 08:47 PM

I've been looking for one of those for some time now, but an inert one of course. As for 'throwing it into the garden' after having a 'bad feeling', ......I wouldn't invite him to the range, or to a firework party either.
Cheers,
navyman.

grndskeeper · 09-14-2009, 09:00 PM

A ex-Navy friend of mine said that at the ordnance school he went to, there were bombs sitting all over the place as hallway decoration -- until one day when the buildings were evacuated. Turned out one of the shell-shaped doorstops had a live detonator in it, no explosive, just concrete filler which would be nice shrapnel if the detonator went off. You'd think that ensuring hallway decorations were inert would be a priority at bomb school

--

There's also a story in the comments section (beneath the Mail's anti-tank story), about two 500lb bombs being donated to the IWM years back. They were fireplace decorations for over forty years, brought-back from the battlefield by a vet, and were discovered still live with "viable charges".

**packin9** · 09-19-2009, 04:41 PM

Lucky duck for sure.

**Steve T** · 09-19-2009, 04:58 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!

I love this bit.......

**************
He threw it into his back garden and called police, who evacuated 12 nearby homes and summoned bomb disposal experts.
*****************

He by this time KNEW it was a bomb but still 'THREW' it into the back garden !!!!!!

What a complete numpty.

Steve T

**hassiman** · 04-02-2010, 08:41 PM

That's nutin.... One of the RAF bases had a Barnes Wallace Grand Slam 22,000 pounder on display for YEARS until one day it was time for some painting/sprucing up and one of the volunteer workers just happend to be an old vet that had worked with these babies during WW2 and he noticed the static display Geand Slam was still live and fused.

Hilarity ensued

**Matt L** · 04-05-2010, 03:54 PM

I wonder if he just turned around and called them from home (assuming home was in the next county) LOL

**mmerc20** · 04-09-2010, 03:45 PM

Ok. I just don't get it. If he "thought" it was just an old piece of a lawnmower why would he pose for a photo with it? I don't think lawnmower parts are that terribly exciting.

Something just doesn't fit. I think he knew what it was and eventually changed his mind about keeping it.

My 2 cents.

Mike

**klokhoane** · 04-09-2010, 04:35 PM

It gives me memorys from a thread posted by a guy that held an anti-tank mine in his hands and didn't know what it was and that it was armed.

I threw it in the back garden... whahahahaha!!! Luckily he doesn't have a dog that knows how to play fetch :P.. baaadddd dogg!! "POOOFFF"

My parents learned me to look with my eyes and not with my hands..

cheers,

**Darren Lillington** · 04-13-2010, 07:43 AM

Lol it's obvious he thought it was some sort of grenade or mine , why on earth would you rush inside to have a photographe with a peice of an old lawnmower, what rubish haha.

It looks to me like a No. 68 AT Rifle Grenade, a very high explosive HEAT charge capable of penetrating about 2 inches of tank armor.

He was very lucky indeed.