[ad_1]
Hundreds of residents of Exeter in southern Britain were waiting to return home tonight after the horrific, though controlled, explosion of a World War II-era bomb.
The vehicle was a 1,000kg Hermann bomb used by the Nazis, and was discovered at a construction site on Friday, near the University of Exeter.
The danger zone was expanded from 100 meters of initial isolation to 400 meters, at the request of the group of army engineers, including residents of 2,600 homes on Glenthorne Road, as well as 1,400 university students who were all evacuated.
The bomb exploded on Saturday and noise was heard from several miles away.
Dr Todd Gray, a local university historian, said the bomb was most likely dropped by Luftwaffe aircraft in April or May 1942, in a series of attacks known as the Baedeker.
He said: “There were a total of 19 airstrikes on the city in the spring of 1942 which caused incalculable damage and loss of life. The flash attack on Exeter was the heaviest in the region since that of the Vikings in 1003. 300 inhabitants were killed and 1,734 buildings destroyed. About 100 bombs were dropped on Exeter of which 30 did not explode. The Luftwaffe targeted the railway in Exeter.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
