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STAY
CLEAR: One of the Navy’s diving teams was called in to explode
this World War II vintage bomb which was found off the coast
of NSW.
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Photo:
Courtesy Pro Dive Nelson’s Bay
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A
beginners’ diving class got more than they bargained for recently
when an unexploded WWII bomb was discovered during their dive
off Little Island, near Port Stephens, NSW.
Jim Dodd, an instructor with Pro Dive Nelson’s Bay, immediately
reported the find to Port Stephens Water Police, providing them
with photographs of the then, unidentified bomb. Shortly afterwards,
AUSCDT One received a call from the police, asking them to further
investigate the find.
The AUSCDT One duty watch team, consisting of LEUT Shane Dagge,
POCD Bill Denholm, LSCD Scott Clayton, ABCD Clinton Dedden and
ABCD Joshua Seaman, made their way to Port Stephens.
With the aid of NSW Waterways and the Port Stephens Water Police,
the team set about locating the bomb. Once found, the bomb was
identified as a 250- pound US device.
During the WWII period, Little Island was part of a bombing range.
It was then discovered that the bomb was still live. LEUT Dagge
confirmed it had retained the majority of its main charge and
the only safe option was detonation by the AUSCDT One team.
After obtaining permission to detonate the device from the commander
of AUSCDT One, LCDR Hughes, LSCD Clayton placed an explosive charge
on it in a position that would cause the least amount of destruction.
The firing party (ABCDs Dedden and Seaman) connected the device
to the underwater charge and with all team members in a safe position
the command was given to “fire on”.
The explosions force caused the water to spurt into the air approximately
2m high.
