1kg Incendiary Bomb Found in Essex Field

A suspected 1kg German Incendiary Bomb (IB) was found by a metal detectorist in a field in Pitsea near Basildon, Essex. After the Police were notified, an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team was mobilised to carry out a controlled explosion on the thermite-filled device.

IBs were dropped in their thousands by the Luftwaffe during WWII, designed to start fires around important commercial and industrial targets. Many were released over open fields by aircraft jettisoning unused payloads or exposed to attacks by Allied fighter aircraft.

The devices were not specifically designed to penetrate the ground and few did more than several inches.

See: http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/15616925.Treasure_hunter_Dave_finds_unexploded_bomb/