Masts removed from bomb-laden WWII ship in Thames in bid to avoid explosion
Source: The Guardian ·
American warship sank in 1944 with approximately 1,400 tonnes of munitions onboardA sunken US wartime ship in the Thames estuary holding enough unexploded bombs to devastate a Kent coastal town and send a tidal wave through London has been made slightly safer, ministers have announced.Engineers have removed the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery – a second world war cargo ship that sank in 1944…
From the source
A sunken US wartime ship in the Thames estuary holding enough unexploded bombs to devastate a Kent coastal town and send a tidal wave through London has been made slightly safer, ministers have announced. Engineers have removed the masts of the SS Richard Montgomery – a second world war cargo ship that sank in 1944 with approximately 1,400 tonnes of munitions onboard – without triggering the kind of feared explosion that has kept the wreck under constant guard for decades. The work was carried out because of concerns that the masts, which had remained visible above the water near Sheerness, could collapse in on the deadly cargo and blow up the ship. The potential effects of an explosion after 82 years under water have divided expert opinion. Some believe it could cause a small tsunami, throw debris 3km into the air, and “level Sheerness”, according to a New Scientist report in 2004. A government report in 2000 said it was widely accepted it would “put property and the local…
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