What's new
British Ordnance Collectors Network

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Dumping at sea

Large scale dumping of surplus chemical shell at sea was authorised just after WWI hostilities ceased. A report of the Sub-Committee on the Disposal of Surplus Filled Chemical Shell addressed recycling of chemicals for peaceful purposes, but leaky, damaged and illegibly-marked shell were cleared for sea-dumping as the attached page from the report shows:
 

Attachments

  • Dump at sea.JPG
    Dump at sea.JPG
    544.8 KB · Views: 20
it happened here in NZ as well,all kinds of ordnance,then scuba diving came along.i have seen quite few 3.7in rounds/cases and 20mm hispano cannons amoung others brought to the surface and to gunshows
 
AE501 told me of many dumping expeditions he did over his career, he had to inspect little john rounds, good ones went to India, bad ones went to Irish sea, i use the location very roughly.
 
I got this link about the German government
who wants to clear the bottom of the Baltic sea from 16 million tons of ammunition.
Calculated costs:
100 milion Euro per 50 tons (that's two million per ton), and they want to dispose of 16.000.000 tons. so it's going to cost a whopping 32.000.000.000.000 euro's , Speak out; tirtytwo trillion euro's., According to the internet WW2 only cost 4 trillion, so that's a bargain.
There are days I do not have that money in my bank account..

I think it would even be cheaper to build a dam between gotenberg and skagen and temporary drain the oostzee to work from land.
 
Last edited:
I would love to explore Hurd Deep off Alderney Channel Islands that had been an explosive dumping ground since 1 st World War
after the liberation of the Channel Islands in May 1945 a lot of ordnance and artillery pieces were taken out and dumped in the Hurd deep .
 
A major problem is that the ammunition was not only unloaded at the intended location, but also on the access roads due to time constraints. This significantly increases the area contaminated with ammunition. This makes it very expensive if, for example, underwater cables have to be laid.
Another problem is that the incendiary ammunition rusts through and white phosphor is washed onto the beach. This is often confused with amber, which has led to many accidents (spontaneous combustion).
That's why there are warning notices on the affected beaches
 
I was told by a diver friend that there is a lake in southern England that had boxes of Bofors rounds in it. this was bout 50years ago so maybe its been cleared.
 
Or maybe not! As part of the Gulf War clear-up in 1993 a colleague who was based in Germany was detailed to sail back to Europe on a ship loaded with 8 Inch HE that had not been needed in training or operations. These shell were sea dumped, no doubt in a specified location. The propelling charges were burned in the Saudi desert, day after day, for maybe two months.
 
Top