The operation to defuse the giant 1,400kg device this weekend will be one of the biggest such exercises ever undertaken

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Up to 70,000 people have been told to leave their homes in Frankfurt after an unexploded second world war bomb nicknamed “blockbuster” was uncovered.



The evacuation was due to take place on Sunday and is one of the biggest such operations ever mounted.

It will allow for the safe defusal of the 1,400kg British bomb, which German media said was nicknamed “Wohnblockknacker” (blockbuster) during the war for its ability to wipe out whole streets or buildings.

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The unexploded bomb was discovered on Tuesday during building work a stone’s throw from the Westend campus of the Goethe University, police said in a statement.

Officers were guarding the site and there was “currently no danger”.

Police said the bomb in question was an HC 4000. The initials stood for high capacity and the 4,000 was the weight in pounds, although the total weight of the explosives was around 3,000lb or almost 1,400kg.

“Due to the large size of the bomb, extensive evacuation measures must be taken,” police said.

Wismarer Street where the ordnance was found is close to the city centre and 2.5km (1.5 miles) north of the main Zeil shopping area.

More than 70 years after the end of the war, unexploded bombs are regularly found in Germany, legacies of the intense bombing campaigns by the Allied forces.

One of the biggest such evacuations took place last Christmas when another unexploded British bomb forced 54,000 people out of their homes in the southern city of Augsburg.

Another 50,000 residents had to leave their homes in the northern city of Hanover in May for an operation to defuse several bombs.