UXO Site selected: Bostwick Bomb Target (Putnam Bomb Target), FL |
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General Area: Bostwick, FL Site Type/Program: FUDS Location: The former Bostwick Bomb Target, consisting of 640 acres of land, is located in Section 22, Township 8 South, Range 26 East, approximately 25 miles southwest of the city of St. Augustine and three miles west-northwest of the town of Bostwick in Putnam County, Florida. The site is part of a larger area that is used in the cultivation of pine trees for wood and pulp production. Brief History: In the early part of 1940, the United States acquired a total of 640 acres by lease and condemnation for leasehold(actual dates unknown) from eight different owners for a Naval bomb target. The site was developed and sequentially known as the Bostwick Bomb Target and the Putnam Bomb Target. Naval improvements at the site consisted of clearing about 40 acres in the middle of the site for a target in the shape of a circle (outlined on the surface of the ground), fencing, and warning signs. An updated General Development Map showed concentric circles of 100 , 200 and 300 at the main target area, boundary fencing(chain link), a fire break, two observation towers, a glide angle observation point, control building and dirt access roads. The site remained active until 1977 when its functions were no longer required by the Navy for training purposes. The lease was terminated on 15 December 1977.The site was used by the Naval Air Advanced Training Command stationed at Jacksonville Naval Air Station for operational training and practice dive bombing. A visual inspection was conducted by the Navy in 1977 in which 30 mm projectiles and various rockets and bombs, fragments and whole, and practice and HE were observed. Although no documentation was found, two witnesses, each interviewed independently, stated that this inspection was followed by an extensive clearance of the entire bomb target during 1978-79, costing millions of dollars, of site OE to a depth of two feet using heavy equipment. |
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Range / Site Description: Associated Munitions: Activities Completed: The draft Archives Search Report for Bostwick Bomb Target(Putnam Bomb Target) was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St Louis District, in March 1996. Issues: The site is RAC 4 with a strategy of EE/CA. Based on Navy clearance of OE from the site to a depth of two feet using heavy equipment in 1978-79, the ASR recommended NOFA and RAC 5. Also, during the site inspection, the site survey team observed only small, scrap metal fragments from ordnance on the site. However, Safety review of the ASR recommended EE/CA, noting that the current requirements set forth in DOD 6055.9 STD for agriculture is a clearance to four feet. Based on Safety comments, the ASR writer filled out and submitted a new RAC Form with a RAC of 4. Other Information: EE/CA |
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