The bomb squads of the Army concluded in the late afternoon today the neutralization activities of the 1000-pound American aircraft bomb (about 450 kg), found during the cleaning of the riverbed of the Argentina torrent and dating back to the Second World War.
The bomb, an American aircraft bomb of the Second World War model AN-M 65, had a total weight of about 450 kg - of which 230 kg of explosives - and was fitted with two mechanical percussion fuses. The discovery was carried out by the civil company responsible for cleaning the riverbed of the Argentina stream, which immediately reported the discovery to the competent authorities.
The communication reached, through the prefecture of Imperia, the Army Engineers Regiment competent for the territory, that is the 32nd Engineers Regiment of Fossano, specialized unit of the Alpine brigade Taurinense which, in the course of 2021, intervened with the destruction of 520 bombs for a total of 158 interventions. The reclamation activities were preceded by a series of coordination meetings at the prefecture of Imperia, with the participation of the representatives of the 32nd sappers, the Police Forces, the Regional Civil Protection, the Fire Brigade and the Red Cross as well as of the municipalities of Arma di Taggia, Riva Ligure and Sanremo, in which coordination was carried out between all the commands and bodies involved.
The delicate remediation activities ended, after the removal of the fuzes carried out on site, with the neutralization of the main body of the bomb in a specially prepared quarry.
In order to minimize the effects on the territory and the inconvenience to the population, the fuzes were subsequently removed, carried out from a safe distance by means of a mechanical tool called "rocket wrench" and by means of a special machine, called "swordfish. ”, Which allows to cut the shell of the bomb thanks to a jet of water and granite sand at very high pressure, to“ burn ”the explosive contained inside, thus avoiding its detonation.
A so-called "expansion chamber" was also materialized at the site of the despolettamento. The chamber, made with reinforcement material by technical personnel of the 32nd sappers, was designed to contain the chipping, pressure and sound effects produced in the event of an accidental explosion of the bomb during the delicate phase of removing the fuzes and allowed to reduce considerably the risks for the structures in the vicinity of the bomb being cleaned up.
Particular satisfaction was expressed by the prefect of Imperia, dr. Armando Nanei, who wanted to underline both the great professionalism of the military of the 32nd genius sappers regiment, who safely neutralized a potential threat to public safety, and the synergy between all the bodies and commands involved.
