What qualities does it take to walk up to an unexploded bomb or mine, completely alone while everyone else has taken cover? The rise of terrorism in the 21st Century and the evolution of car bombs and other improvised explosive devices mean that bomb disposal officers are in high demand. This book looks at bomb disposal officer; a day in the life; training; types of device; the history of bomb disposal from WW1 to the present day in Iraq, Israel, and Afghanistan.

A young naval officer joins the Navy's belated efforts to retain special skills in bomb and mine disposal only to find his newly deployed ordnance disposal team confronted with extraordinarily hazardous situations while operating in the Marshall Islands. World War II had come to an end, sailors who had entered naval service for the duration of the war were being discharged. These citizen warriors were taking with them knowledge and critical skills hard earned during the war. One such skill was the safe handling and disposal of unexploded mines and bombs. The U.S. Navy was at risk of losing these skills and sent an ALNAV message to ships and stations requesting volunteers to enter a new Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training Program. The volunteers had hardly completed their training when situations and events demanded a disposal team be dispatched on an extended deployment. The author entered the U.S. NAVY'S V-12 Program in 1943 as an officer candidate. He received his commission as an Ensign in June 1945 and served twenty years on active duty in the U.S. Navy attaining the rank of Commander. While he served upon a battleship, aircraft carrier and two destroyers his duties ashore were strongly oriented to research, development, production and logistics of naval ordnance. He was intimately involved in the production of electric powered homing torpedoes and the modernization of a Naval Ordnance Plant. He is a recipient of the Secretary of the Navy Commendation Letter awarded, while serving on the staff of Commander Service Force Pacific, for independent study in the field of underwater sound transmission. As O-in-C of the Special Project Office, Sacramento, CA, he administered Navy contracts for the Polaris ICBM Propulsion System. The author is a BSEE graduate of the US Naval Post-Graduate School and was awarded an MS Industrial Engineering by Purdue University.

U.S. Navy reports discussing their contribution to the disposal of unexploded bombs and mines in Japan after World War II.

Highlights the latest scientific and technological advances, from inventions and discoveries to a history of technology.

For this book, Chris Ransted has researched some of the lesser known events and personalities relating to the early years of Explosive Ordnance Disposal in the UK. Daring acts of cold blooded bravery, and ingenuity in the face of life threatening technical challenges, are recounted throughout the book.Included are numerous previously unpublished accounts and photographs that describe the disarming of German bombs, parachute mines, and even allied bombs found at aircraft crash sites. In addition, the book contains the most comprehensive account ever published of the Home Guards role with the Auxiliary Bomb Disposal Units, and details of conscientious objectors involvement with unexploded bombs.This is not only a valuable research tool for serious researchers already well read on the subject, but also a fascinating read for those with no previous knowledge of wartime bomb disposal at all, and of course a must read for anyone interested in the subject.

Charles 'Jack' Henry George Howard, GC, 20th Earl of Suffolk & Berkshire, born into the noble formidable House of Howard, possessed extraordinary courage. Jack became an earl at the age of eleven after his father died in WWI in Mesopotamia. At age thirty-four, Jack's courageous spirit led him to execute a daring mission for the British government in 1940 in Paris. Under the noses of the advancing Germans he snatched top French scientists, millions of pounds worth of diamonds, armaments, heavy water (the only kind in the world), and secret documents. His trip back to England from Bordeaux was fraught with danger in mine and submarine infested waters. His mission remained Top Secret throughout the war years and beyond, even to his closest family. His adventure in Paris earned him the nickname of 'Mad Jack'. His next chosen mission was again of prime importance and extremely dangerous, a secret more closely guarded than radar. He began working in bomb disposal in close proximity with his secretary Beryl, and Fred his chauffeur, and the three became widely known as The Holy Trinity. Whenever an unexploded bomb was reported, it was quickly brought to the Earl's attention, especially if it was tricky. Thirty four bombs were successfully defuzed by The Holy Trinity and their loyal team of Royal Engineers. The thirty-fifth bomb blew them up.The Holy Trinity were the only World War II civilian casualties working in Bomb Disposal. King George VI in 1941 awarded the 20th Earl the George Cross for his work for his country, the highest gallantry award for civilians, as well as for members of the armed forces, in actions for which purely military honours would not normally be granted.

Noel Cashford served for six years in the Royal Navy's Mine and Bomb Disposal Squad. During this time he made safe over 200 devices, 57 in a mere three days. Noel didn't intend to be a daring hero as poor eyesight had prevented him from joining the surface fleet. When the opportunity arose to do something more exciting than administration, he naturally went for it, little realising that he would end up defusing bombs and mines! This book is a collection of his memories of those days. It is a touching and humorous account of his dangerous job where, in the early days of the war, you could be lucky to last more than just a few months.

"[The author] tells the inside story of British explosive ordnance disposal (as it is now known) from its earliest days when no-one in authority knew who should accept responsibility, training for the task was often measured in hours, and experience was only gained -- or lives or limbs lost -- by actually doing the job itself. Beginning with an analysis of what makes a good bomb disposal operator, the author examines the challenge thrown against the officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces and the civilian scientists and technicians by German, Italian and Japanese bomb designers during the Second World War, and by other enemies from Korea to Northern Ireland and the Falklands in more recent years"--Jacket.