Following WWII and into the 1950's, the War Department  Office of the Chief of Engineers TSU Detachments which included "Bomb and Shell Disposal Teams." The Dets would be assigned to clear, mostly surface clearance, UXO and munitions debris from ranges.

UXOInfo.com was contacted by a Mr. Perry Cradin, a 92-year-old veteran of the 9800th TSU-CE Det 8, Engineer Range Clearance Team, who served 20 months (April 1953  Nov 1954) expressing interest in sharing his experiences and some select photos from that time. Please enjoy the read below.

"At the end of basic at Ft Belvoir about 10 if us were called out for interview with Capt. Dallas R. Lynch to join his TSU team, it was voluntary, he chose me Perry Cradin and another trainee Fred Hille. We were sent to Southern Pines, NC where we joined the team of: Sgt Logan Adams, Sgt Gene Huddleson, Sgt Bob Coffey, Sgt Grant Coburn, Sgt Robert Dupuy, Pvt Tom Terry, and Pfc Billy Walker. We cleared ranges at Camp Mackall, Ft Jackson, Camp Shelby, Pine Castle Florida, and others. From there we were sent to Albuquerque NM. For 6 months we cleared Kirtland bombing ranges."

"From NM we went to Midland, TX where we stayed for 6 months clearing bombing ranges. We surface cleared mostly 100lb sand filled practice bombs, dug most out of ground with special long handled picks, loaded scrap into our dump truck for disposal. This was 70 years ago, I'm now 92 years old, most of the team were older than me so, I may be only one left. Hope this gives a little insight into what these teams were doing. Our contribution was to make these grounds safer for others. I'm proud of the service we provided to the country."

Images below

[More]

Lymington, Hampshire England 100-year old retired Royal Navy officer Mr. Boyd Salmon, was awarded "replacement medals" for his service clearing UXO during WWII. Mr. Salmon is one of the last survivors of an elite unit who were responsible for disposing of enemy mines and shells on British and European shores.

Salmon joined the British Royal Navy at the age of 17 and worked his way up to become an officer. Unfortunately, his military career was cut short when he was injured from an explosion as he and his team were attempting to clear an area of mines on a Dutch island that was blocking the Allied forces' route to Nazi Germany. Reportedly, as his team approached a large bomb, it exploded leaving him with severe injuries that resulted in years of treatment and recovery. He was awarded medals for his service and sacrifices.

[More]

An excerpt from the 1945 Bomb Disposal Technical Information Bulletin No 53 issued by the Ordnance Bomb Disposal Center, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD published on 1 June 1945. The excerpt below is from the section of the bulletin titled "New Grenades Found On Luzon."

"The majority of the new type grenades found on Luzon were improvised grenades that could readily have been made up in the field. New types recovered are:"

• 25mm shell case hand grenades
• 30mm hollow-charge rifle grenades
• Incendiary rifle grenades
• Gas pipe hand grenades

[More]

In response to the UXO Related History Remembered article posted in our December UXO E-Newsletter, NATEODA Historian, LTC Robert E. Leiendecker, USA Retired, provided UXOInfo.com with the following descriptions of the unidentified photos. A special thanks to him for sharing with our readers.

Mr. Leindecker explained, "The first photo is the TM-11/M-1 Thermal Discharger set up for operation. It was designed to discharge the condensers in German Rheinmetall electric bomb fuzes. In the background is the brass steam boiler placed on a portable field stove. It holds water that produces the steam and passes it through the rubber hose you see to the discharge head which is attached by magnets over the fuze head. The steam would penetrate the fuze head through the spaces around the electrical contacts, condense and short out the fuze. The bomb is a German 50 kg HE bomb with screamers, or flutes, attached to the fins, which were often called the Flutes of Jericho. The discharger would work on the (17), (17)A, (17) B, (49) series, 50b (or "Y" fuze), 59, (59)A, 79, 79(A), (89)and (89)B fuzes."

[More]

Vidal, California We know that clearance of WWII munitions in the United States began as early as 1946, but there remains the question of what became of some properties slated for these pre-FUDS operations. One such location is the Spillane Property in Vidal, CA, encountered in a search of early UXO sites at the National Archives II in College Park, MD.

In a letter found there by researchers to the South Pacific Division Engineer, dated 6 June 1947, 1st. Lt. CR Joseph Sainato of the Bomb &Shell Disposal Team reported the completion of the clearance of 120 acres in a week-long operation. It stated that the land was inspected for land mines and "other dangerous objects" by two-man teams using three detectors at a total cost of $762.

Screening resulted in the discovery of four, fused M1 practice, anti-tank mines filled with black powder and red phosphorus. The mines were disposed of "by placing a large charge of Composition C-3 on them." The letter concluded that the property was now, "free from explosives for the purpose of grazing and cultivation."

[More]

Research at the National Archives II in College Park, MD provides an interesting insight as to the efforts of the U.S. Army at the end of WWII in the clean-up efforts on former training ranges. In a series of letters generated in April of 1945, the US Army Chief of Engineers established three specialized Bomb and Shell Disposal Squads to be trained in the detection, location and disposal of military munitions on various training installations that were used during the War. Initial training would be conducted at the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, VA with follow-on training at the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD.

Three squads were formed, consisting of one officer and six enlisted. Records indicate that the detachments were organized as the 9800th Technical Support Units Detachments 6th, 7th, and the 14th. Historical records of the 14th recovered from the National Archives provide an accurate historical listing of the actions took place from 1946 to 1948. Documents include individual reports of clearance operations conducted, inventories of munitions recovered, and destroyed maps and photographs of work conducted.

Among the inventory lists of recovered/destroyed munitions include the following for Camp Claiborne, Louisiana in 1946:

• 57, 105, and 155mm projectiles
• 60 and 81mm mortars
• 100 pound practice bombs
• Smoke pots & Grenades
• TNT and Nitrostarch Blocks
• German Mine Fuzes
• Cans and sticks of Black Power
• Dutch Mushroom AT Mines

A detailed written record of the methodology that was utilized during the range operations indicates that the methods and procedures that were used in 1946 involved the use of German POW's as sweepers. Today the USACE FUDS Program relies on the use of civilian UXO contractors.

[More]

Happy New Year -- please enjoy this historic cartoon which came from the preface page to TM 9-1980 "Bombs for Aircraft" War Department November 1944.

Below the image read.

[More]

The U.S. military has been concerned over the potential hazards caused by UXO dating back to when explosives and ordnance were first developed. The awareness of UXO issues greatly increased following the end of WWII as significant numbers of training ranges were closed and the properties were transferred outside of the War Department. Evidence of interest in technologies to detect and recover UXO during this time frame is highlighted in a letter found in the National Archives (thank you Rick Stauber for the donation) from the Ordnance Department to the Chief of Ordnance within the Army. The letter dated 17 January 1946, which can be viewed using the download link below, requests information on technologies that can be used to detect UXO at practice grenade ranges. The historic letter highlights a concern that "unexploded missiles [grenades] remain under a thin layer of loose earth as a result of nearby explosions".

[More]

The responsibilities of range clearance have been argued for years within the military. Although EOD is certainly qualified to conduct range clearance operations and has at numerous ranges over the decades, EOD has generally maintained the stance that large scale range clearances are not one of their primary responsibilities. A series of memos from April and May 1943 found by a UXOInfo.com reader at the National Archives shows just exactly how far back this position has been voiced by EOD.

[More]