13 unexploded WW2 ordnance were discovered in Maoau Bay of Gongliao. The navy disarmed they by detonating them on site.
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What an exciting job!
I wonder if those ordnance still packed a punch, or was the explosion solely generated by the explosives the navy set off?
I was wonderingt .he same exact thing but realized I have no clue how they detonate such explosives.
Interesting question. In that video, it looks like the divers put explosive charges next to each bomb. I guess the explosives they used alone would create quite an explosion.
Since many explosives like TNT seem to be toxic, I guess the idea would normally be to set off the explosive filling inside the bombs. So not just simply destroying them, spilling the filling around the bay.
I’m wondering why they had to be blown up at all, instead of bringing them ashore to get destroyed thoroughly and safely (for example cut and burn).
According to 13 unexploded bombs found near popular diving spot in N. Taiwan | Taiwan News | 2020-07-22 10:50:00 those 13 were “unexploded bombs”, maybe connected to a ship that seems to have been sunk nearby.
If that happened to be correct, then those bombs would maybe have been Japanese ones, for example being transported to airfields in Hualien. In that case they likely would have been transported without fuzes. Thus I wonder why they needed to be blown up…
A little bit of googling later, I guess it might have to do with how different explosive fillings degrade over time, sometimes getting more sensitive to shock - so they could be able to explode without fuze if sufficiently mishandled.
Since those bombs in the photo and video have very characteristic features, I thought it would be easy to ID what they exactly are, what filling they have, and how this degrades. But no, neither books on Japanese bombs nor on US bombs of that era seen to show any shapes close enough to these bombs:
Time to ask @urodacus what the heck it was in the water there? Did I overlook any Japanese or US types? Did the ROC dump any unwanted bombs after WW2?
So many questions about completely useless knowledge 
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probably most of the reason right there…
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Too bad that Japanese ordnance manual is incomplete. There’s a second volume, but unlocated according to this
http://www.merriam-press.com/japaneseexplosiveordnanceop1667.aspx
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Interesting, thanks! But it seems the second volume is only about projectiles, mortars and missiles, not bombs. So… Probably wouldn’t help solve this burning question if “what type of bombs were these”
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You are correct. For the left one, “Type 3 250kg skipping bomb” (page 11)?
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Yep, I agree that’s by far the closest resemblance in there. Still, the fins seem way shorter on the photos than on that drawing. Or is it just the perspective? Gotta watch that video again…
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The one on the left seems to be a Japanese style air to ship bombs.
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The divers who do that job dont get paid enough. that is all I am sure of.
Could you imagine being the bomb squad guys, or land mine removers etc? Few things gjve me goosebumps, but that job is certainly one of them.
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