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BOMB DISPOSAL

MM010 -  Edition 2,000

  Bomb Disposal

Bomb disposal became a formalised field during World War I. The swift mass production of munitions led to many manufacturing defects, and a large proportion of shells fired by both sides were found to be "duds". These were hazardous to attacker and defender alike. In response, the British dedicated a section of Royal Engineers to handle the growing problem.

In 1918, the Germans developed a delayed-action fuze that would later develop into more sophisticated weaponry during the 1930s, as Nazi Germany began its secret course of arms development. These tests led to the development of UXBs (unexploded bombs), pioneered by Herbert Ruehlemann of Rheinmetall, and first employed during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-37. Such delayed-action bombs provoked terror because of the uncertainty of time.

British Royal Engineers would soon face armaments and munitions designed to kill civilians and ultimately, themselves. Initially there were no specialized tools, training, or core knowledge available, and as technicians learned how to safely neutralize one type of shell, the enemy would add parts to make neutralization efforts more hazardous. This trend of cat-and-mouse extends even to the present day, and the techniques used to defuse munitions are held to high standards of secrecy.