The eventual detonation of a Nazi German bomb, discovered in the back garden of a home in Plymouth, has had everyone saying the same thing. The 500kg device was carefully transported from the residential address to the sea on Friday, as officials decided this was the safest way to let the bomb off.
But a video from the scene depicts the moment the explosion took place in darkness as the evening drew in. The muffled bang and a little bit of smoke left many people on TikTok querying why the explosion had been so “small”.
The discovery had prompted the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes due to concerns over safety, with four days of disruption to locals. When it was transported into the sea, it was pushed out a mile and a half away from the coastline.
Now a video from a nearby boat has captured the moment the explosion took place, with many people likening the anti-climactic explosion to a “fart”.
But there’s a reason why a large scale explosion was not heard nor seen. Lt Col Rob Swan said the bomb would be taken to a depth of at least 14 metres before a diver would place a charge on the bomb to ignite it.
The Ministry of Defence called it one of the largest excavation operations since the end of the Second World War. The video posted on TikTok is from the perspective of those on a nearby boat (@). Voices in the background mention getting “out of range”.
Then a bang can be heard and the camera pans to an explosion across the sea, with water pushed up from the force.
But many were surprised by the size of the explosion, expecting something larger. One TikTok user said: “I thought it would be bigger? A massive evacuation for that?”
Another said: “Is that what all the fuss was about?” But many clarified that the underwhelming movement on the surface would have masked a much bigger explosion beneath.
One noted: “I think everyone thought the explosion would be way bigger but you forget that 40 metres is like 130 feet, quite deep.”
Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans thanked everyone involved in the removal of the bomb. He said it had brought out a “war-like spirit” in the city.
“I think it is fair to say that the last few days will go down in history for Plymouth,” Mr Evans said.
“This war-time bomb has really brought out war-time spirit, people coming together to really support each other and whilst it has been really tough – we got through it.”
