Tuesday 30 October 2012

BREAKING NEWS - Unexploded WWII bomb closes Sendai airport

From BBC:

"A major airport in northern Japan was closed after an unexploded bomb believed to be from WWII was found near a runway during construction work.
Flights in and out of Sendai airport were cancelled and a military bomb disposal unit called in.
The 250kg (550lb) bomb has been identified as one made in the US.
The airport was a Japanese military flight school during the war. It was closed for months due to damage from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The city of Sendai, with a population of more than a million, was very close to the epicentre of the devastating quake.
Parts of the airport - a major hub for travel in northern Japan - is still being reconstructed [sic].
Sendai police official Hiroshi Ouchi said evacuations of nearby homes may be considered.
The bomb disposal team is exploring options to either move the bomb or explode it on site.
It is common for bombs that are duds to be uncovered at constructions sites in Japan - many of its cities were bombed during WWII."

Check also here.

The airport of Sendai after the devastating tsunami of March 11, 2011

On August 1st, 1943 the Mito Rikugun Hiko Gakko (Mito Army Aviation School) located in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, moved to Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture and changed it's name to Sendai Rikugun Hiko Gakko (Sendai Army Aviation School). 
Originally Mito taught radio communications and training for machine gunners. In August 1940 the communication department of Mito became independent receiving the name Rikugun Koku Tsusin Gakko (Army Aviation Communications School). In Sendai the courses included anti-aircraft, vehicle and transportation but also aircraft maintenance focusing mainly in the training of Army officers.

The main entrance of the Sendai Rikugun Hiko Gakko

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I don't think the US had 550 lb. (250Kg) bombs, just 500 lbs. Maybe the press was just rounding up in metric units?