World War II bomb explosion: Bangkok scrap shop owner to face charges

[MJP]

No joke my demo crew did this. Stripped a 105mm shell of brass bits and left it outside the site office with a pile of old machine pins for two months before the demo manager finally called the bomb squad and handed the thing to them.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bushman1666]

Was thailand not a host for usa bases during vietnam? surely they brought bombs into thailand to be deployed elsewhere.

Vietnam was a decade and a half after WW2. The RAF and USAF both bombed Bangkok in WW2. Bound to be unexplored munitions in the ground. The bombs dropped in the Vietnam war were on Vietnam and neutral Laos and Cambodia. Far from Bangkok.

[bushman1666]

Is it a bomb? Is it a hammer? Is it a bomb? Is it a hammer? Jeez, I just don't. Oh, well, never mind, bring over the blow torch and let's see which one it is.

"Stupid is as stupid does" F Gump 1994

[bushman1666]

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

I'm curious to know if Thailand really did declare war on the Allies (not only the USA and the UK). Remember the railway?

From the little I know of the subject, they capitulated rather than fight, which might have delayed things by a few days only.

Any references anyone?

Try Googling: thailand declared war on the united states and england

[bangon04]

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

while they were not at all colonised occupied or subjugated by the Japanese, because as we all know Thailand was never colonised...

It was purely a "business arrangement"

Edited April 3, 2014 by bangon04

[bushman1666]

It seems that whenever the bomb landed, somebody just buried it.

No consideration for anybody in the future.

Unlikely to have been buried on purpose. A surprisingly high proportion of bombs dropped from aircraft hit the ground without detonating. So if a 500lb object hits soft ground at full speed, it will bury itself. Left there for posterity to discover. There are most likely thousands of UXBs in major cities all around the world, especially Europe after WW2. Having lived in London I know from experience they are unearthed on a regular basis. Difference is, London scrap dealers don't try to cut them open with an oxyacetylene cutters! TiT

[simondan]

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

while they were not at all colonised occupied or subjugated by the Japanese, because as we all know Thailand was never colonised...

It was purely a "business arrangement"

It was probably a smart diplomatic move actually. Unlike many other countries in the region, Thailand emerged from the war mostly intact and due to their covert resistance to the Japanese their sins were forgiven by the Allies post-war. And they got a new rail link to Burma!

Basically, they played both sides at the same time while waiting to see who would come out on top.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bushman1666]

It just occurred to me that PTP can now ask for a loan to find and eradicate all unexploded ordinances. How many billions of baht can be requested for this new scheme??

That's got to be worth another Trillion on the national debt. Big tea money!

[BudfahRuksa]

Cutting a bomb with a torch! wow the IQ levels in here seems to be very high

I don`t know why I feel the need to stick up for the shop owner but apologies If he was`nt an expert on bombs..he did have his suspicions but in the end decided it must be a crane bucket.. just metal. No one in their right mind would hit a bomb with oxy acytelene flame..poor judgement.

[DLP]

Cutting a bomb with a torch! wow the IQ levels in here seems to be very high

I don`t know why I feel the need to stick up for the shop owner but apologies If he was`nt an expert on bombs..he did have his suspicions but in the end decided it must be a crane bucket.. just metal. No one in their right mind would hit a bomb with oxy acytelene flame..poor judgement.

Obviously you dont live in Thailand

[The Deerhunter]

 

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

 

...and that they made an attempt to grab a sizeable chunk of cambodian territory... ask any thai and they know nothing about this...

I didn't know about Cambodia but I was told years ago that as the tha i & Jap govts were pretty chummy at the ttime they struck a deal that involved the thais getting Isaan which up to that time had been an annoying bit of Laos on tbe wrong side of the Mekong. The deal reputedly was for unopposed access for Japan from its new territoriws in Malaya & Singapore through LOS to attack Britain in Burma. (Bridge over River Kwai anyone???) The deal was done via Axis partnership with Germany & the Vichy puppet govt in France as of course it was party of French South East Asia. Don't forget, the Thai ambassador to England delivered the declaration of war but the ambassador to USA refused to deliver the War declaration to Washington & then asked for asylum. The sequel to this was arguments after WW2 between UK & USA as to how LOS should be treated as one had been officially at war & the other had not.

[BudfahRuksa]

Cutting a bomb with a torch! wow the IQ levels in here seems to be very high

I don`t know why I feel the need to stick up for the shop owner but apologies If he was`nt an expert on bombs..he did have his suspicions but in the end decided it must be a crane bucket.. just metal. No one in their right mind would hit a bomb with oxy acytelene flame..poor judgement.

Obviously you dont live in Thailand

No I do not... but there seems to be a lot of whinging about life over there..sometimes I read stuff and think if its so bad why are you guys over there.. I don`t get it

Edited April 3, 2014 by BudfahRuksa

[BeforeTigers]

Anyone that believes this man purposely allowed his workers to use an acetolene torch to chop into a damn bomb is retarded.

His business was destroyed, probably his house too, if he lives in or near the shop, and his neighbors hate him. For a mistake. A stupid mistake, but an unfortunate, unintentional mistake nonetheless.

Anyone that believes otherwise watches too many bad guy movies and has suspended logic.

Why don't thy call up the lying bomb peddlers that trucked this damn thing in from god knows where and lied about it's origins? That S could have been dug up 50 years ago and taking up space in a garage somewhere all the while.

[Malone]

It just occurred to me that PTP can now ask for a loan to find and eradicate all unexploded ordinances. How many billions of baht can be requested for this new scheme??

They'll press it to be part of a revitalized effort to get their 2.2 TRILLION baht infrastructure scam.

[chotthee]

It's all the fault of the farangs, who originally dropped the bomb on Thailand (or perhaps somewhere else in S.E.Asia), in the first place !

It must be the British.

Farang should compensate the Thais.

[BudfahRuksa]

 

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

 

...and that they made an attempt to grab a sizeable chunk of cambodian territory... ask any thai and they know nothing about this...

I didn't know about Cambodia but I was told years ago that as the tha i & Jap govts were pretty chummy at the ttime they struck a deal that involved the thais getting Isaan which up to that time had been an annoying bit of Laos on tbe wrong side of the Mekong. The deal reputedly was for unopposed access for Japan from its new territoriws in Malaya & Singapore through LOS to attack Britain in Burma. (Bridge over River Kwai anyone???) The deal was done via Axis partnership with Germany & the Vichy puppet govt in France as of course it was party of French South East Asia. Don't forget, the Thai ambassador to England delivered the declaration of war but the ambassador to USA refused to deliver the War declaration to Washington & then asked for asylum. The sequel to this was arguments after WW2 between UK & USA as to how LOS should be treated as one had been officially at war & the other had not.

Interesting ..

[JetsetBkk]

You couldn't make this stuff up. Darwin at work.

[HerbalEd]

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

No "they" didn't ... but the Thai government did over seventy years ago.

[Overcome]

It's all the fault of the farangs, who originally dropped the bomb on Thailand (or perhaps somewhere else in S.E.Asia), in the first place !

The first operational deployment of the B-29 in WWII was a squadron based in New Delhi and in the early days of deployment the aircraft did not show signs it would later become an icon of the war in the Pacific and American air power - playing a leading role in the conquest of the Japanese Home Islands as an incredibly efficient weapon for the delivery of death and destruction on an industrial - if not apocalyptic - scale.

One of the first sorties from the Indian based long range bombers was a raid on facilities in the capital city of an enemy country ... Bangkok, Thailand. In all probability, the bomb was a gift from the US taxpayer delivered during one such raid.

Well educated young Thais I speak to are incredulous when I explain Thailand was an ally of Japan and part of the Axis forces in the Second World War. I read the Japanese forces needed to land in Thailand in order to advance through the Malay peninsula to Singapore and they invaded Thailand one morning with landing craft hitting the beach at about 8am - whereupon they were met with fierce resistance from the Thai military (I'm reminded of the Turkish defence of their homeland when invaded by the Allies at Gallipoli in WW1).

Sources indicate the battle raged mercilessly (the Warsaw uprising?) and bitterly (I'm reminded of Stalingrad) and destruction came to idyllic Southern Thailand (think Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima) but when a truce was finally agreed to by the battle-weary combatants at lunchtime, miraculously there were no deaths or injuries on either side of this epic defence of the Land of the Free. Truly an auspicious omen and reason enough to not only allow free and unhindered passage to the missionaries of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere but in fact to formally commit to joining their endeavours - a commitment that would last right up to the time that it was clear 'the horse is dead, get a new horse' and Thailand joined the Allies in time for the victory celebrations.

The general omission of this historical fact is in stark contrast to the open acknowledgement and contrition of the German people in relation to the atrocities of the Nazi regime and is more consistent with the Japanese refusal to acknowledge the stark and irrefutable proof of the barbarity and mindless cruelty of their military across Asia in the 1930's and 40's.

It leaves me wondering why there isn't more inquisitiveness about the apparent loose ends ... where did the people in that meticulously tended graveyard in Kanchanburi come from, and why is it that a third of the 22,000 Australians captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in South East Asia died in captivity?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that there is no real memorial commemorating the estimated 90,000 local civilian 'volunteers' that also perished at the hands of the Japanese occupation force welcome guests while building the Burma railroad - if such a memorial existed it would surely result in wider recognition and for some a quest for knowledge about what is clearly a shadow - if not a dark stain - lurking somewhere in the past.

It might also lead to the proud claim of 'never been colonised' being toned down somewhat on recognition that statement is correct but only by a technicality.

So, now that rant is over we can really get to the bottom of this sad explosion but alas it may never be known how it came to pass that that demolition thingy on the end of a crane could actually explode. But it did. Move along folks. There's nothing to see here folks. These aren't the droids you were looking for.

[Basil B]

Was thailand not a host for usa bases during vietnam? surely they brought bombs into thailand to be deployed elsewhere.

Vietnam was a decade and a half after WW2. The RAF and USAF both bombed Bangkok in WW2. Bound to be unexplored munitions in the ground. The bombs dropped in the Vietnam war were on Vietnam and neutral Laos and Cambodia. Far from Bangkok.

The RAF certainly bombed shipping down at Sattahip and surrounding area , I have actually seen an unexplored bomb near a ship sunk at the end of WWII by the RAF and there is also an awful lot of other stuff jettisoned at sea by the Americans when they used U-Tapio.

Just found this, interesting seems us Brits did occupy Thailand for a few month at the end of the war. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Bangkok_in_World_War_II

[falangjim]

World War II bomb explosion: Bangkok scrap shop owner to face charges

It should read: WW2 bomb explodes being dismantled by idiots: Bangkok scrap shop owner flees to save face

[Skint]

These things happen, rip to those who died.

[IMA_FARANG]

Cutting a bomb with a torch! wow the IQ levels in here seems to be very high

There was a previous Darwin award contender some years ago.

As I recall the story the night shift wanted to use some explosives to clear some rocks in a quarry.

But the day shift leader had locked the explosives shed with a padlock and left it locked until the next shift (it was a holiday weekend) I believe.

The night shift worker was never found.

He was last seen with a cutting torch in his hand swearing at the day shift leader and heading for the explosives shed that had the padlock on the door.

That was just before the explosion.

As I recall, this was a runner up for a Darwin award from the U.S.

[Dogmatix]

 

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

 

...and that they made an attempt to grab a sizeable chunk of cambodian territory... ask any thai and they know nothing about this...

I didn't know about Cambodia but I was told years ago that as the tha i & Jap govts were pretty chummy at the ttime they struck a deal that involved the thais getting Isaan which up to that time had been an annoying bit of Laos on tbe wrong side of the Mekong. The deal reputedly was for unopposed access for Japan from its new territoriws in Malaya & Singapore through LOS to attack Britain in Burma. (Bridge over River Kwai anyone???) The deal was done via Axis partnership with Germany & the Vichy puppet govt in France as of course it was party of French South East Asia. Don't forget, the Thai ambassador to England delivered the declaration of war but the ambassador to USA refused to deliver the War declaration to Washington & then asked for asylum. The sequel to this was arguments after WW2 between UK & USA as to how LOS should be treated as one had been officially at war & the other had not.

Off topic but the Japs allowed Thailand to reclaim the old Thai provinces in Cambodia up as far as Siem Reap as a reward for cooperation in the war. The Thais defeated the tiny Vichy French garrison on land and that is what Victory Monument is about. However, Thailand was defeated in a naval engagement with the French off Koh Kong and lost most of its navy. The Thais were also allowed to reclaim the northernmost Unfederated Malay States which were already occupied by the Japs. The Thai occupation in Malaya was deeply resented, as it still is in Thailand's Southernmost 3 provinces, and the Malays there couldn't wait for their British colonial masters to return and kick the Thais out. They tried to do things like introduce Thai as the only official government language and disrespect Muslim and Malay customs. Big surprise they were unpopular.

[MaiChai]

Ah learning from mistakes. Will they ever learn here? What do they do elsewhere? First: zoning. Residential and industrial areas need to be separate. Health and safety: implement and enforce safe working practices. Common sense even ?

[BudfahRuksa]

It's all the fault of the farangs, who originally dropped the bomb on Thailand (or perhaps somewhere else in S.E.Asia), in the first place !

The first operational deployment of the B-29 in WWII was a squadron based in New Delhi and in the early days of deployment the aircraft did not show signs it would later become an icon of the war in the Pacific and American air power - playing a leading role in the conquest of the Japanese Home Islands as an incredibly efficient weapon for the delivery of death and destruction on an industrial - if not apocalyptic - scale.

One of the first sorties from the Indian based long range bombers was a raid on facilities in the capital city of an enemy country ... Bangkok, Thailand. In all probability, the bomb was a gift from the US taxpayer delivered during one such raid.

Well educated young Thais I speak to are incredulous when I explain Thailand was an ally of Japan and part of the Axis forces in the Second World War. I read the Japanese forces needed to land in Thailand in order to advance through the Malay peninsula to Singapore and they invaded Thailand one morning with landing craft hitting the beach at about 8am - whereupon they were met with fierce resistance from the Thai military (I'm reminded of the Turkish defence of their homeland when invaded by the Allies at Gallipoli in WW1).

Sources indicate the battle raged mercilessly (the Warsaw uprising?) and bitterly (I'm reminded of Stalingrad) and destruction came to idyllic Southern Thailand (think Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima) but when a truce was finally agreed to by the battle-weary combatants at lunchtime, miraculously there were no deaths or injuries on either side of this epic defence of the Land of the Free. Truly an auspicious omen and reason enough to not only allow free and unhindered passage to the missionaries of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere but in fact to formally commit to joining their endeavours - a commitment that would last right up to the time that it was clear 'the horse is dead, get a new horse' and Thailand joined the Allies in time for the victory celebrations.

The general omission of this historical fact is in stark contrast to the open acknowledgement and contrition of the German people in relation to the atrocities of the Nazi regime and is more consistent with the Japanese refusal to acknowledge the stark and irrefutable proof of the barbarity and mindless cruelty of their military across Asia in the 1930's and 40's.

It leaves me wondering why there isn't more inquisitiveness about the apparent loose ends ... where did the people in that meticulously tended graveyard in Kanchanburi come from, and why is it that a third of the 22,000 Australians captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in South East Asia died in captivity?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that there is no real memorial commemorating the estimated 90,000 local civilian 'volunteers' that also perished at the hands of the Japanese occupation force welcome guests while building the Burma railroad - if such a memorial existed it would surely result in wider recognition and for some a quest for knowledge about what is clearly a shadow - if not a dark stain - lurking somewhere in the past.

It might also lead to the proud claim of 'never been colonised' being toned down somewhat on recognition that statement is correct but only by a technicality.

So, now that rant is over we can really get to the bottom of this sad explosion but alas it may never be known how it came to pass that that demolition thingy on the end of a crane could actually explode. But it did. Move along folks. There's nothing to see here folks. These aren't the droids you were looking for.

There are no winners with War ... "War is the worst act of terrorism and among the greatest cause of human suffering and death and ecological degradation. Wars are declared by the rich and fought by the poor." Brian J Trautman

Edited April 3, 2014 by BudfahRuksa

[BudfahRuksa]

Cutting a bomb with a torch! wow the IQ levels in here seems to be very high

There was a previous Darwin award contender some years ago.

As I recall the story the night shift wanted to use some explosives to clear some rocks in a quarry.

But the day shift leader had locked the explosives shed with a padlock and left it locked until the next shift (it was a holiday weekend) I believe.

The night shift worker was never found.

He was last seen with a cutting torch in his hand swearing at the day shift leader and heading for the explosives shed that had the padlock on the door.

That was just before the explosion.

As I recall, this was a runner up for a Darwin award from the U.S.

Again someone blowing his own horn it would seem. The story you have just shared depicts a wilful act by someone wanting explosives knowing full well what they were being sought for. Hardly the same scenario. I remind you that there was a question posed by the scrap merchant that it looked like a bomb but after being reassured it was not they went about breaking it down into smaller manageable pieces..big mistake.. Is it a question of IQ or is it misinformation? acting in haste even?.. you sir could quite easily be mistaken as a white supremacist.. just saying

[Pete Beale]

It's all the fault of the farangs, who originally dropped the bomb on Thailand (or perhaps somewhere else in S.E.Asia), in the first place !

The first operational deployment of the B-29 in WWII was a squadron based in New Delhi and in the early days of deployment the aircraft did not show signs it would later become an icon of the war in the Pacific and American air power - playing a leading role in the conquest of the Japanese Home Islands as an incredibly efficient weapon for the delivery of death and destruction on an industrial - if not apocalyptic - scale.

One of the first sorties from the Indian based long range bombers was a raid on facilities in the capital city of an enemy country ... Bangkok, Thailand. In all probability, the bomb was a gift from the US taxpayer delivered during one such raid.

Well educated young Thais I speak to are incredulous when I explain Thailand was an ally of Japan and part of the Axis forces in the Second World War. I read the Japanese forces needed to land in Thailand in order to advance through the Malay peninsula to Singapore and they invaded Thailand one morning with landing craft hitting the beach at about 8am - whereupon they were met with fierce resistance from the Thai military (I'm reminded of the Turkish defence of their homeland when invaded by the Allies at Gallipoli in WW1).

Sources indicate the battle raged mercilessly (the Warsaw uprising?) and bitterly (I'm reminded of Stalingrad) and destruction came to idyllic Southern Thailand (think Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima) but when a truce was finally agreed to by the battle-weary combatants at lunchtime, miraculously there were no deaths or injuries on either side of this epic defence of the Land of the Free. Truly an auspicious omen and reason enough to not only allow free and unhindered passage to the missionaries of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere but in fact to formally commit to joining their endeavours - a commitment that would last right up to the time that it was clear 'the horse is dead, get a new horse' and Thailand joined the Allies in time for the victory celebrations.

The general omission of this historical fact is in stark contrast to the open acknowledgement and contrition of the German people in relation to the atrocities of the Nazi regime and is more consistent with the Japanese refusal to acknowledge the stark and irrefutable proof of the barbarity and mindless cruelty of their military across Asia in the 1930's and 40's.

It leaves me wondering why there isn't more inquisitiveness about the apparent loose ends ... where did the people in that meticulously tended graveyard in Kanchanburi come from, and why is it that a third of the 22,000 Australians captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in South East Asia died in captivity?

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that there is no real memorial commemorating the estimated 90,000 local civilian 'volunteers' that also perished at the hands of the Japanese occupation force welcome guests while building the Burma railroad - if such a memorial existed it would surely result in wider recognition and for some a quest for knowledge about what is clearly a shadow - if not a dark stain - lurking somewhere in the past.

It might also lead to the proud claim of 'never been colonised' being toned down somewhat on recognition that statement is correct but only by a technicality.

So, now that rant is over we can really get to the bottom of this sad explosion but alas it may never be known how it came to pass that that demolition thingy on the end of a crane could actually explode. But it did. Move along folks. There's nothing to see here folks. These aren't the droids you were looking for.

It should be remembered that the 90,000 local civilian 'volunteers' you mention that perished were local as in they came from Asia, but not from Thailand.

[JSPS]

 

I'm surprised the Thai media hasn't yet blamed the falangs who dropped the bomb.

But then again, that would mean reminding the Thai people that they declared war on the UK and USA.

 

...and that they made an attempt to grab a sizeable chunk of cambodian territory... ask any thai and they know nothing about this...

Isn't that what the Victory Monument commemorates?

[pitchag]

It's all the fault of the farangs, who originally dropped the bomb on Thailand (or perhaps somewhere else in S.E.Asia), in the first place !

No the fault of the Thais that sided with the Japs in WW2