The clearance of unexploded ordnance that is still present throughout the national territory is one of the most important activities carried out by the Italian Army, employing men and women specialized in this sector, included in the specialized assets of the Genius.
In 2024 just ended, in the area of responsibility of the command South Operating Forces of Naples, which includes Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Sicily and Sardinia, a total of 604 remediation operations were carried out, leading to the destruction of 5.172 devices. These included 6 complex operations, namely remediation of particularly large and dangerous devices (such as aircraft bombs) which involved the evacuation of residents from the affected area during the defusing operations, as well as, in some cases, the blocking of both road and rail traffic.
The interventions are arranged by the prefects and are carried out by specialized military personnel belonging to the departments of the Genius, in particular, in the center/south of the Italian peninsula, the 6th regiment operates Genius Pioneers of Rome, the 21st regiment Disruptor genius of Caserta, the 11th regiment Disruptor genius of Foggia, the 4th regiment Disruptor genius of Palermo and the 5th regiment Disruptor genius stationed in Macomer in Sardinia.
Among the most complex interventions that the command South Operating Forces has managed in the last year, it is necessary to mention the operations of reclamation and detonation of a 600-pound American aircraft bomb found at the beginning of 2024 in the Trapani municipality of Santa Ninfa; the Army bomb disposal experts in force at the 4th regiment Disruptor genius of Palermo, after having transferred the device to an unused quarry, they detonated it. The place where the bomb was located was evacuated for a radius of 1,5 km to be able to conduct the operations safely.
The soldiers of the 4th regiment Disruptor genius of Palermo, at the request of the prefecture of Enna, also intervened in the territory of the municipality of Regalbuto (EN), to clear a 250-pound aircraft bomb (about 113 kg. of which 54 kg. of explosives), dating back to the last world conflict. The operations conducted in maximum security, involved the evacuation from their homes of civilians within a radius of about 400 meters from the expansion chamber, built by the military who operated remotely with robotic systems.
In Sicily, in 2024, the sappers of the “Aosta” mechanized brigade carried out approximately 80 interventions to clear more than 300 war devices.
The 6th Regiment's Artificers Genius Pioneers of the Army, in the month of May, proceeded to defuse an aerial bomb of about 2.000 kg, dating back to the Second World War, found in the center of the Municipality of Viterbo. The operations, coordinated by the prefecture of Viterbo, involved the clearing of an area of 1.400 meters of radius from the point where the residue was found and the consequent evacuation of about 36.000 citizens, furthermore for the safety of the area a ban on overflights of the airspace concerned was ordered, as well as the closure of rail traffic on the regional railway line Rome – Viterbo.
In Aquino in the Frosinone area, last December, the bomb disposal experts of the 6th regiment Genius Pioneers they conducted the defusing and detonation operations of a 1-pound Mk250 British-made aerial bomb, found by a farmer while he was ploughing his land, a short distance from the Rome-Naples railway via Cassino, inside what was the Air Field with the Royal Air Force school bombed and put out of action by the Allies on the night of 19 July 1943. In this case too, it was necessary to evacuate around 400 people, since the bomb had an explosive range of 1.170 linear metres.
In June in Foggia, instead, the bomb disposal experts of the 11th regiment Disruptor genius they defused an aircraft bomb dating back to the Second World War weighing approximately 250 kg and containing over 100 kg of explosive charge, found in a construction site in the streets of the city center. The operations involved the evacuation of over 8.000 residents within a radius of approximately 430 meters from the point where the device was found. The Army bomb disposal experts dismantled the activation device of the bomb which, once rendered harmless, was transported to a quarry for detonation.
The clearance of war remnants is one of the most important activities that the specialized personnel of the Italian Army conduct on the national territory, also by virtue of their specific training.
Throughout the country, in 2024 there were 2487 clearance operations during which 17.185 devices were treated, including 49 aerial bombs, ensuring public safety and the safety of the population, a mission in which the Army plays a fundamental role.