Something I leached from another site. Anyone shed any light? Marchington Camp, East Staffordshire, Midlands, England during WW2 or after. When a nearby RAF ammunition storage depot exploded (RAF Fauld) US Army Engineers and Medics went to help. No.9
Found something I 'd never heard of: Originally mining works. By 1937 the pillar and stall workings had exhausted the shallower mineral, the few small mines were consolidated into one with a plaster factory at the entrance and the Air Ministry took over part of the excavation to store munitions. By wartime up to 40,000 tons (not tonnes in those days) were in store consisting mainly of 250- to 4000-pound bombs. What happen at 11.11 am on 27th November, 1944 is not certain but the likely cause is that in part of the mine which lay 35 m. underground, someone used a Stilson adjustable wrench on a sensitive part of a 1000-pound bomb that had been returned, damaged. The explosion detonated over 3,500 tons of munitions which removed the roof of of the mine for a diameter of 250 m and killed 80 people above and below ground. A farmstead and plaster works disappeared and a reservoir of six million gallons failed. Some rock travelled ten kilometres and a wide area was covered in ten centimetres of dust. The noise was heard in London and Weston Super Mare (190 Km.) and seismographs trembled as far away as Casablanca. Only three larger explosions occurred during World War 2 , all nuclear. Not all of the mine was destroyed and some underground personnel survived. A year of careful work followed to extricate many thousands of tons of remaining munitions and to secure the working sections of the mine. Even so, an estimated 3000 tonnes of unexploded bombs, many weighing 4000 lb, still remain and no public access is allowed to the crater. At present mining continues to the southwest where the evaporites, containing a higher proportion of anhydrite, lie at greater depth. No.9
'After The Battle' have done an article about this and what can still be seen - don't have time to check it out just now.
Weird coincidence time again...received my copy of 'Aeroplane' in the post this morning and there's a two-page article on this very incident ! It's usually referred to as the 'Fauld Explosion' ,as the establishment was officially known as No 21 Maintenance Unit, RAF Fauld, Staffordshire ( about a mile-and-a-half from Burton on Trent ). 5,710 bombs went up, just under 4,000 tons of HE, plus 12,000 incendiaries. The resulting crater was ( and still is... ) 900ft long, 600ft wide and 100ft deep. Eighty people were finally listed as being killed or missing - the missing simply vanished, as did a farm situated directly over the explosion site. The cause can only be conjectured at, as anyone or anything which was near the seat of the explosion totally vaporised. The 'clearing up' operation was incredibly difficult and five George Medals plus six British Empire Medals were awarded to men involved in the very hazardous operation. Apparently, a documentary is to be shown on Central TV next Sunday.I've wanted to go and have a look at the crater for ages but it's an area I never seem to get to. This was indeed the biggest explosion ever in Great Britain, and despite being well-known frequently appears as a 'shock-horror' item in the press, a bit like the Liberty ship stuffed with bombs still lying in the Thames Estuary - but that, as they say, is another thread....
Thanks Martin, I'm putting that crater on my list of places to visit. Think I'll leave the Stilsons in the boot - in case anyone is still sensitive? No.9
Yesterday marked the 60th Anniversary of this extraordinary incident. National newspaper 'The Guardian' devoted half-a-page to the story, complete with photos and map. Details can be viewed at ; - http://www.guardian.co.uk/military/story/0,11816,1360949,00.html
