Plymouth Residents Evacuated as WWII German Bomb Detonated Safely by Royal Navy

A Second World War-era German bomb, weighing 250kg, has been safely detonated at sea following its discovery in a Plymouth garden. Royal Navy disposal experts oversaw the controlled explosion, which concluded a four-day operation.

Thousands Evacuated from Plymouth Homes

The device, identified as an SC-250 general-purpose bomb, was found last Tuesday in Keyham. Its presence led to the evacuation of thousands of residents from their homes, establishing a 300-metre cordon around the discovery site. The operation to remove the bomb was described by local authorities as one of the largest peacetime evacuations in the UK.

Initial attempts to defuse the ordnance in situ were deemed too hazardous. Consequently, the decision was made to transport the bomb through residential streets before lowering it into the sea for a controlled detonation. The Ministry of Defence confirmed the successful disposal, with a visible plume of water marking the explosion approximately one nautical mile offshore.

The incident highlights the enduring legacy of the Second World War, particularly in port cities like Plymouth, which endured extensive bombing. The Royal Navy's expertise in ordnance disposal remains a critical, if rarely publicised, aspect of national security, managing material risks decades after initial conflicts.