A US bomb from World War II explodes at a Japanese airport, causing a large crater in a taxiway

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Updated 7:27 AM CDT, October 2, 2024

TOKYO (AP) — An unexploded U.S. bomb from World War II that had been buried at a Japanese airport exploded Wednesday, causing a large crater in a taxiway and the cancellation of more than 80 flights but no injuries, Japanese officials said.

Land and Transport Ministry officials said there were no aircraft nearby when the bomb exploded at Miyazaki Airport in southwestern Japan.

Officials said an investigation by the Self-Defense Forces and police confirmed that the explosion was caused by a 500-pound U.S. bomb and there was no further danger. They were determining what caused its sudden detonation.

A video recorded by a nearby aviation school showed the blast spewing pieces of asphalt into the air like a fountain. Videos broadcast on Japanese television showed a crater in the taxiway reportedly about 7 meters (yards) in diameter and 1 meter (3 feet) deep.



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/japan-airport-us-unexploded-bomb-blast-bf561e4c71f644267d86d8589b6999d4

[sarisataka]

1. 80 years in the ground,

then for no apparent reason- boom

[Oopsie Daisy]

2. How many more might there be?

I remember seeing how entire neighborhoods in the UK and Germany were evacuated... all these years later... when a bomb was discovered and needed to be removed. Clearly, they can still pack a dangerous punch!

[bpj62]

3. Thousands

Every year a farmer in Germany or France or Belgium ends up churning up a 500 pound bomb. The Germans tend to find them whenever they are doing construction. The air campaign against Japan was not as long as the one in Europe so there will be less of these incidents in Japan. Sadly this is the byproduct of war.

[Martin68]

4. The air campaign against Japan also consisted of more firebombing than mega bombing.

And then there were two atomic bombs.

[bpj62]

5. Tokyo

Yes the fire bombing of Tokyo in March of 1945 killed more people than the combined death toll from the two atomic bombs did. However the air campaign against Japan was largely conventional in terms of using the standard 500 pound bombs.

[Martin68]

12. Yes, large bombs splintered wooden buildings and incendiary bombs created an all-consuming conflagration.

Last edited Wed Oct 2, 2024, 11:24 PM - Edit history (1)

There was a rationale for the merciless bombing of residential areas of a Japanese city. The war effort was sustained by thousands of small machine shops throughout the residential areas of the city that were under contract with large corporations. Where I lived in tokyo in there 70s and 80s there were still numerous small metal-working, printing, and machine shops under contract to the large corporations working 18 hours a day when a large order came in. When business was good, they were paid on time. When it wasn't, they had to wait to be paid at the mercy of the corporations that paid them.

[Prairie Gates]

6. The past is never dead. It is not even past. - WF

[LexVegas]

7. War crime. nt

[TomCADem]

8. The bomb was not dropped now, but during WW2

Bombing airports and ports is pretty much war 101.

[marble falls]

9. The gifts that keep on giving.

[Hekate]

10. Old unexploded bombs from WWI and WWII still turn up in London and in French farmlands

Old unexploded bombs from WWI and WWII still turn up in London and in French farmlands

Someone calling it “a war crime” is foolish, except insofar as wars themselves may be thought of as crimes.

[Mosby]

11. 80 years in the ground and it still worked.

Somehow I'm a little impressed.

[BWdem4life]

14. Well...

it didn't work when it was supposed to. But yeah, I guess it's impressive in a way

[riversedge]

15. Yes, I thought the same!! WHOW!!

[Hermit-The-Prog]

13. Glad a plane wasn't rolling over it.

[LymphocyteLover]

16. Wild... but why on earth didn't they check the ground better before building an airport runway over it?