Second-world-war-bomb-explodes-bangkok

467, not that clear cut. I did work in a scrap yard for a while, we got in what we called ‘heavy’ they were round steel rods up to 2 foot thick and they could be 4 foot long, the only way we could process them was to get the oxy set out.

I guess the fair comparison is to read Freddy Spencer Chapman’s “The Jungle is Neutral”, which dealt with survival in the jungles of Malaya of troops who, perhaps months before, were on the streets of the East End, suddenly abandoned in the jungle in 1942. What was self evident to the jungle dweller in terms of survival eluded the lost trooper. Maybe a 23 year old Thai with a blow torch did not know that Bangkok was bombed in WW2. I have to admit, I did not, until now ! I always thought Thailand maintained a precarious neutrality in the war, but Wikipedia has put me right.

What is amazing is the persistence of nitrate based explosives. I guess as a ‘salt’ compound they are too toxic for bacteria to munch through.
My dear brother as an 18 year old once brought home a rusty mortar round dug up from a building site on a former defence range, which flabbergasted me, as a 16 year old. I guess we could have been the news story. Eventually he allowed me to carry it into a Police station for proper disposal, and I still remember the desk sergeant going white and backing away as I brought it in. Lucky I still have my fingers, so I can type in this forum !

467, not that clear cut. I did work in a scrap yard for a while, we got in what we called ‘heavy’ they were round steel rods up to 2 foot thick and they could be 4 foot long, the only way we could process them was to get the oxy set out.

workers were using a gas-powered thermal cutter to take the bomb apart when it exploded

Distinct lack of health and safety…….

Just feel sorry for the people who died by somebody’s silliness, surely they must of known what a bomb looks like.

Well the caption says P-51…