I would expect that you wouldn’t be able to loosen anything on an old, rusty bomb, especially that it is so unstable and can go off anytime.
In: 1985
Bomb tech here. Depends on the bomb.
WW2 bombs in particular in the U.K. have a particular set of tools involving water neutralisation to make the fuzes inert.
More modern bombs that have been buried for say 50 years e.g can be removed with a little force and WD.40 depends on the extent of the rust around the fuze. Depends on how much the fuze can be disturbed for this method.
However, usually fuzes are not hand removed unless you are 100% sure the bomb has not gone through any of its arming mechanisms. Many fuzes have anti withdrawal mechanisms. As mentioned in the thread; rocket wrench, IGOL, hook and line, Cracker Barrel are all methods of fuze removal seen that provide stand off. Or there are low order techniques to deflagrate the explosives. Or simply high order. I wouldn’t take any footage recently seen in Ukraine as good safety procedures!
They will carefully evaluate each one. Typically fuses are made of high grade brass and can ha del corrosion well, but often they are disarmed in other ways or detonated on site. Even though they are very old, some WW2 bombs still explode from time to time and represent a significant risk. There are lots of them out there.
There is a device used here in Germany witch is basically tow rocket engines / explosives which is fastened to the detonater (if its not a acid detonator) and unscrews it using the explosion. It is not used that often and I was sadly not able to find a video displaying it. Sometimes a water jet cutter is used to cut out the detonator if possible,somtimes you can unscrew it by hand. If not then it’s detonated.
James May did a program on how to dispose of World War 2 ordinance by jamming the clockwork mechanisms of the fuse with saltwater before removing it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnQ_pS4T0vI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnQ_pS4T0vI)
He failed, because there was another mechanism underneath the fuse that would detonate the bomb once the fuse was removed.
One option is to “vent” it. A small shaped charge is used to poke a hole in the casing and ignite rather than detonate the explosive compound. In regards to fuzes into bombs, there are remote options, but also it’s simply a matter of force and friction.
As a person who is rebuilding a classic car in his garage, I would say: PB B’laster. You are absolutely right about heat and blunt force being dangerous near a bomb, but 9 out of 10 bolts that I soak in PB B’laster for a few hours come loose with just some decent leverage. I don’t work for them and this message isn’t sponsored, just letting you know that some chemical solutions do exist.
/u/Malinut also is spot on. You’re right not always you can easily unscrew something because maybe it’s too deformed or too rusted or whatever.
In that case they assemble a water jet gig around the bomb and cut the front off. Water jet because obviously you don’t want to create any sparks or heat while cutting it.
Example of this procedure in a video from an Italian news site (we still find bombs here and there) https://video.lastampa.it/torino/bomba-via-nizza-il-taglio-della-spoletta-per-disinnescarla-i-lavori-sono-nella-seconda-fase/106774/106787
I think that the bolt on your 10 year old car was meant to keep parts of your car together so it is made robust and is tightened on to a specific torque. It is meant to take a lot of force and it is generally a bolt and a nut and both are exposed to the elements. There fore it will get rusty.
The fuse on a bomb is threaded in to insert the fuse and keep it in the bomb, but has no actual forces applied to it. It’s like the lid of some jar.. not meant to take road stress. Also it’s threaded into a sealed container (the bomb) and is not just a bolt and nut keeping to piece of your car together.
The wheel lug nuts can get pretty sticky, but they are holding your fricken wheel to the axle (or whatever you call it) so it has to be on pretty tight to start and it’s right out there for rain and road salt to splash on.
If you were european you wold know.
Every now and then some excavations for whatever reason brings back some sort of bomb from WW2.
The process is:
– Evacuate 5 blocks
– detonate the bomb
– search for nearby threats
– everything goes back to normal.
[I’ll just leave this here.](https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/51235/page/1495/data.pdf)
They drilled it out. The fuse had been assembled in a vacuum and there was a loud crack as the drill broke through and air rushed in, a “brown trouser moment”. I believe the bomb disposal officer later died of cancer.
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