Army: defused the bomb in Valenza

(To Taurinense Alpine Brigade)
21/01/19

The bomb squads of the 32nd sapper engineering regiment of the "Taurinense" Alpine Brigade, a highly specialized unit of the Italian Army, today defused the 1000-pound American plane bomb, dating back to the Second World War, found in recent days in the Alessandria area below the bridge between Valenza and Lomellina. 

The bomb, of the AN-M65 type and containing about 270 kg of explosives, at the end of delicate "despolating" and safety operations, was transported to a safe area north of the railway bridge, where it was made to shine without damage to the surrounding infrastructure. Particular attention was paid - through the adoption of particular technical measures - to the protection of the natural environment, as the area concerned is insistent in the Po River Park.

The 32 ° blasters have first removed, via the so-called "rocket key", the rear spit of the device, and then proceed with the mechanical cut of the front portion of the bomb containing the inseparable spool and then carrying the defused section into the identified site for blasting.

The operations started at 7.30 in the morning and continued until around 18.00, and thanks to the close coordination between the Prefecture of Alessandria and the Municipality of Valenza, it was possible to intervene by limiting the inconvenience to the civilian population as much as possible and affecting the less possible on rail and air traffic overlooking the area concerned. Already on Saturday 19, the operators of the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team together with the personnel of the support company for the deployment of the 32nd destroyer regiment, had intervened by implementing and finalizing the barricade works and the preparation of the blasting site.

The specialists of the 32nd sapper genius regiment - who boast valuable experience also gained in missions abroad - in 2018 alone carried out 110 interventions, cleaning up, among others, the aircraft bombs of the same type as that of Valenza found in Casale Monferrato and at the Lingotto in Turin, rendering inoffensive over 300 unexploded war remnants in Piedmont, Liguria and Valle d'Aosta. Alongside its purely military activity, the regiment intervenes, at the request of the competent Prefectures, in activities to support the population in the event of a disaster, as in Liguria last November or in Abruzzo following the well-known seismic and climatic events.