Surely.....
Soliders and other military types, on duty, whether on training exercises, or in active zones are banned from waerning such devices? Please don't tell me they also take their personnal mobile phones along with them for the ride too?
Thar she blows: Strava heat map shows folk on shipwreck packed with 1,500 tonnes of bombs
People wearing Strava-enabled fitness trackers appear to have been poking around a Thames shipwreck containing nearly 1,500 tonnes of explosives from the Second World War. In addition, other fitness fanatics appear to have been wandering around military training sites – including danger areas used for live-fire tank and …
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Monday 29th January 2018 13:45 GMT Rich 11
Re: Surely.....
Please don't tell me they also take their personnal mobile phones along with them for the ride too?
Cast your mind back to the Iraq war and you may recall that soldiers' personal mobiles were the primary form of communication between many units because the newly supplied radio gear was so naff. The partial Bowman system first issued to infantry squads was quickly nicknamed 'Better Off With Map And Nokia'.
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Tuesday 30th January 2018 09:04 GMT Adam 1
Re: Surely.....
> 'Better Off With Map And Nokia'.
> At least back then you could go more than 1/2 a day before the battery ran out!
And if it did run out, you could unclip the back and put your spare battery in. You didn't even need some weirdly shaped screwdriver and plastic lever and half a dozen highly carcinogenic chemicals on hand to unglue the old one.
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Monday 29th January 2018 15:51 GMT phuzz
Re: Surely.....
"Surely soldiers [...] are banned from wearing such devices?"
Not in the slightest, actually they've been encouraged to wear them.
I suspect that most military's policies regarding fitness trackers will be getting updated in the next few days.
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Monday 29th January 2018 13:44 GMT Stuart Castle
I suspect it's not so much "Out of sight, out of mind", more that it's 1,500 tonnes of potentially unstable explosive that is sited near one of the most densely populated parts of the UK. There is also fact it it sitting on some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and that if it should detonate, it's likely to restrict access to Tilbury Docks (one of the 3 main container ports for the UK).
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Monday 29th January 2018 14:31 GMT Anonymous Coward
You forgot to mention
the gas terminal
even a relatively small detonation, flinging relatively few viable explosives would be enough to create some fireworks. It would also not be entirely clear how long you had to wait before you consider that any more would not be dislodged after being destabilised by the initial ignition.
Only needs one ship with engine failure to bash it, or a sudden, significant structural failure (not unlikely either), or someone, gosh, attempting to do it deliberately.
There are a few tonnes of WW1 explosives kept nicely out of sight underground too, that were never removed or exploded (look it up) but they are not near said, shipping lanes, gas terminals, docks etc.
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Tuesday 30th January 2018 11:00 GMT Anonymous Coward
In the blast zone
Southend's population is around 175,000. I live a few yards from the estuary on the fringes of the predicted explosion. We would certainly lose our windows to the air blast (I think most houses in town would) and would definitely be swamped by the tidal wave. There is the possibility of further smaller explosions - gas mains, boilers etc and whether there would be the wherewithal to fight these fires. Local emergency services would struggle to cope. The power would likely be out for days. Sheeness would get it even worse.
Then there the possibility of the oil refinery going up, what would happen to any container ships heading up and down the estuary channel to Tilbury Docks and what the long-term economic impact would be in the aftermath.
Nobody wants to play Jenga with the wreck but irresponsible thrill-seekers who want bragging rights do go out to it. They are gambling with more lives than just their own.
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Wednesday 31st January 2018 13:20 GMT Pedigree-Pete
Canadian ship borne explosions.
I know I'd heard of an ship carrying ordinance going bang in Canada. A little searching turned up this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion
I hear rumors the anchor was found miles away but the article doesn't specify other than "scattered fragments of Mont-Blanc for kilometres".
In memory of those affected. PP
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Monday 29th January 2018 13:14 GMT Korev
Water movement?
These bombs were loaded with TNT. They could be transported fused because the design included a propeller mechanism at the front which only screwed the fuse into position as the bombs fell from an aircraft.
Would (has?) water movement from tides and currents also activate the "propellors"?
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Monday 29th January 2018 14:39 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Water movement?
I guess they bombs were in boxes to avoid the propeller being free to turn. But if they were wood-made, they will have decayed. Yet, encrustations may block the propeller. But you can't be sure about what happened and in what state they are without actually looking at them closely... and while TNT is quite stable until forcibly activated, other things may not.
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Monday 29th January 2018 15:09 GMT Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese
Re: Water movement?
I guess they bombs were in boxes to avoid the propeller being free to turn. But if they were wood-made, they will have decayed.
Possibly not as decayed as you might expect. I think that so long as the wood is constantly submerged it actually fares quite well - it's when it keeps getting wet then exposed to air that the rot really sets in
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Monday 29th January 2018 18:32 GMT John Crisp
Re: Water movement?
Not quite. I think it sits on some lumpy bits, and the tide sluicing round has a habit of moving sand and mud. On top of that, time and corrosion are doing their thing so the wreck is slowly falling to bits.
Government reports here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ss-richard-montgomery-information-and-survey-reports
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Monday 29th January 2018 19:34 GMT Mark 85
Re: Water movement?
Well, most of those fuses have a safety pin that has to be pulled (or rusted away) which leads to the fuses themselves having rusted cases and parts so probable that the activating mechanism is rusted into place or has pretty much disintegrated since I doubt they used non-ferrous metals or stainless steel.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
