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V1 disposal 8 March Holland

Michel

Well-Known Member
8 March is the day that in Voorst Deventer in Holland people are evacuated for a day to dismantle a German V1. The EOD have indentifed the fuzes and are preparing to cut up the payload of 935 kg of explosives into smaller blocks for there removal, the payload is encased with wood. If all goes to plan the metal parts are to be saved if possible. Groundwater levels are lowered before removal. Almost the whole V1 is in place according to info on the Voorst site. There will be a live blog that day. Since this is not a common thing I though I would share this one.
image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpeg image.jpg
 
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Since the pulse jet just used low grade gasoline for its fuel what other chemicals are present that would warrant what appears to be the use of Level A HAZMAT protection? Thanks, Bruce.
 
The explosives used is amatol (not exclusiv) one off the ingredients is meta-dinitro benzeen, hazardous to the skin and carcinogenic.
It is not my field so I stand-by to be corrected.

 
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The explosives used is Amatol (not exclusive) one of the ingredients is meta-dinitro benzeen, hazardous to the skin and carcinogenic. It is not my field so I stand-by to be corrected.
 
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The explosives used is Amatol (not exclusive) one of the ingredients is meta-dinitro benzeen, hazardous to the skin and carcinogenic. It is not my field so I stand-by to be corrected.

I think you mean 1,3-dinitrobenzene or m-dinitrobenzene (m = meta), not 'meta-dinitro benzeen'?

The warheads of some later V-1 flying bombs and V-2 ballistic missiles were changed from the original straight Amatol (TNT/Ammonium nitrate), to Amatol 35 or Amatol 40 due to shortages of TNT.

The constituents of both later explosive formulations below.

Amatol 39 (50% DNB, 35% ammonium nitrate, 15% RDX)
Amatol 40 (50% DNAN, 35% ammonium nitrate, 15% RDX)

DNB = Dinitrobenzene (1,2-, 1,3- and 1,4-)
DNAN = 2,4-Dinitroanisole

All DNB versions are acutely toxic, via inhalation, swallowing, or via the skin. As such it's very advisable to wear protective clothing if there's a chance it's present!

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/10707#section=Safety-and-Hazards
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/7452#section=Safety-and-Hazards
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/7492#section=Safety-and-Hazards

DNAN is a skin irritant, toxic if swallowed, and a potential carcinogen. So again, it's probably worth wearing protective clothing.

https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/8385#section=Safety-and-Hazards

Hope that answers your query Michel?

Neil
 
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Hi Neil, I was reacting to the question that Barnacal put up in his posting. Why Hazmat suites are worn. My knowledge in this subject is very limited but you answered his question in full :D. Thanks
 
Ah, yeah,

It was Barnacal who asked why they were wearing hazmat suits, oops :tinysmile_angry_t:

I also realised later that the Dutch spelling of benzene might be different, again, oops.

Whatever the case, dinitrobenzene isn't very nice stuff, so if it's present, put on the hazmat suits.

Neil
 
I have Amatol 40 using dinitronapthalene as opposed to 2,4-dinitroanisole. Both Amatol 39 and 40, were apparently developed to offer safety against fragment attack.

TimG
 
I have Amatol 40 using dinitronapthalene as opposed to 2,4-dinitroanisole. Both Amatol 39 and 40, were apparently developed to offer safety against fragment attack.

TimG

The info was taken from the publications 'Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items - Fedoroff - Vol 10 of 10- U to Z (1960)', page 'V1' (132) and 'Picatinny Tech Report No 2510 - Dictionary Of Explosives, Ammunition And Weapons - German Section (1958)'(page 215, so page 225 in the scan I have).

Screenshots of the pages from the books below.

V-1 V-2 explosives.png

V-1 V-2 explosives.png

In the second screenshot, the abbreviation used is DNB, not DNN which is used for dinitronapthalene.

There are also additional references here.

https://www.chemie.de/lexikon/Amatol.html
http://www.r-haas.de/v11.html
https://www.tera.org/OARS/DNAN WEEL FINAL 2014.pdf
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.611.5992&rep=rep1&type=pdf

What source did you use?

Neil
 
See attached which is essentially a report by "Explosives and Propellants Panel" of BIOS Group 2. Such discrepancies are not unusual and in some cases merely the result of poor copying, or even plagiarism of British documents.

TimG

Dscf9548.jpgDscf9567.jpg
 
See attached which is essentially a report by "Explosives and Propellants Panel" of BIOS Group 2. Such discrepancies are not unusual and in some cases merely the result of poor copying, or even plagiarism of British documents.

TimG

As the V-1 and V-2 were fired at the British mainland (and of course other European counties), I tend to believe the UK source material and not the US.

An even better source would be German documentation from the WWII era. Though I have the V-1 manual, it doesn't seem to mention the HE fill. Though to be honest my German isn't very good.
 
Thanks, all, for the explanation. That clarifies the use of Level 1 HAZMAT.

Rick, only a squid woulda caught Barnacal:xd:.
 
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:captain:

Shiver me timbers!

But, some of my best friends were Fleet Marines. I'll probably never live that down.
 
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That looks like the mechanical time fuze. I very much would like to see a detailed picture of the main electric fuze.
Thanks @Michel for showing us this rare pictures.
 
I believe that it is the (80)A mechanical impact and not time-fuze, as I wrote by mistake. The apparently sometimes also found (17)Bm timefuze is completely round. Only the (80) has that flattened square on one sidewall.
 
The second detonator was cut out with high pressure water. The third was left in place due to expired battery power (70 plus years old), as I understood.
77B0ED7D-CD8C-40E1-A5D3-4AB555D8F2F2.jpeg
 
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