WWII bomb goes off in Poland during defusal op

The Tallboy bomb was laden with more than 2.4 tonnes of explosives

Credit: POLISH 8TH COASTAL DEFENSE FLOTI /REUTERS

But in the end "the deflagration process turned into a detonation," said Grzegorz Lewandowski, spokesman for the Polish navy’s 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla based in Swinoujscie.

"There had been no risk to the individuals directly involved," he said, adding that the bomb "can be considered neutralised".

A Swinoujscie city hall spokesman told AFP he had not heard any reports of anyone injured during the operation by military divers, nor of any damage done to the city’s infrastructure.

Before the operation began this week, Mr Lewandowski had called it "a very delicate job," adding that "the tiniest vibration could detonate the bomb".

Around 750 local residents had been urged beforehand to evacuate from an area of 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) around the bomb, though some had told AFP they would be staying put.

Halina Paszkowska had said the "main danger" for her was the risk of catching Covid-19 in a sports hall where residents were given shelter during the operation.

750 locals were evacuated 

Credit: POLISH 8TH COASTAL DEFENSE FLOTI /REUTERS

"I’ve lived here 50 years and there have been other bombs, but this is the first time there’s an evacuation! Before, we just had to stay indoors," she said.

Maritime traffic on the navigation channel and surrounding waterways had also been suspended in an area of 16 kilometres around the bomb disposal operation.

During World War II, Swinoujscie — at the time Swinemuende, a part of Germany — was home to one of the German navy’s most important Baltic bases and was subjected to massive bombardments, said historian Piotr Laskowski, the author of a book on the Royal Air Force raid on Germany’s Luetzow cruiser in April 1945.

The ship’s cannons were being used to hold back the advance of the Red Army in the dying days of the war.

On April 16, 1945, the RAF sent 18 Lancaster bombers from the 617th Squadron, known as the "Dambusters".

The bombers attacked the Luetzow with 12 Tallboys, including the one that failed to explode at the time.

Tallboys were designed to explode underground next to a target, triggering shock waves that would cause destruction.