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A recent news item featured this photo of a WW2 bomb being prepared for detonation.

Can anyone identify the purpose of the large widget sitting on the bomb? it's got a lot of cooling fins on it, and there appears to be fan on the right hand side. There's also what looks like an earthing cable in the foreground and what might be a power cable in the background, so my guess is that its either a heater, or a cooler.

I'm aware that some explosives are inert when cooled sufficiently, so maybe it's an attempt to freeze the bomb to make it safe. I'm also aware that some early bombs could be made safe by injecting steam into them which would melt the explosive and allow it to be poured out, so maybe it's some form so steam injector?

But I'm just guessing. Does anyone know what it really is and what it's supposed to do?

enter image description here

ConanTheGerbil
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  • Ooh, I heard they were going to take it off site in order to detonate it somewhere safe. Also laughing at the "could be heard 8 miles away" - I work half a mile away and heard nothing! – AndyT May 28 '19 at 15:59
  • Similar kit can be seen at https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/204534/Bomb-under-Olympic-site and at https://www.birminghamupdates.com/aston-expressway-to-remain-closed-whilst-bomb-disposal-experts-make-a-ww2-german-bomb-safe/ – emrys57 Jun 03 '19 at 13:43

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Since there are no answers in the last 9 months, how about a guess? The Widget is a coring drill and an electromagnet. The electromagnet holds the drill against the bomb casing during the drilling operation. The cooling fan cools the fins around the electromagnet. The copper colored shaft is the drill head which can drill only as deep as allowed by the collar (looks like about 1 inch max.). After drilling, the Widget would be removed (looks heavy, thus the two lifting handles) and the bomb could be back filled with acid to neutralize the internal explosives, arming mechanism, etc. I would think this method might be used in an urban area where it is expedient to neutralize the bomb rather than attempting to move it to a save detonation area.

user24499
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