A World War II-era Navy bomb was found on a California beach by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on New Year’s Eve after massive waves bombarded the coast of California last week.
The World War II bomb, described in a Facebook post by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad as an “inert military ordnance” due to its status as a bomb without explosive contents, was discovered on the Pajaro Dunes.
“On New Year’s Eve, our bomb team was called out to the Pajaro Dunes,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office wrote. “The recent storms washed up what was determined to be an inert military ordnance! As a precaution our bomb team responded, deemed it safe, and had it removed from the beach. Thank you to Travis Air Force Base personnel for responding and collecting it!”
According to CNN, the beach where the World War II bomb was discovered was located in one of the regions that was evacuated last week when waves up to 25 or 30 feet tall were spotted on the coast of California due to storms in the Pacific Ocean.
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“Every few years, we will see military ordnances wash up,” Ashley Keehn, the SCCSO’s public information officer, said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We occasionally see sea flares uncovered. This washing up on shore goes to show the intensity of the high surf we saw this past week.”
A spokesperson for the Travis Air Force Base told Fox 11 Los Angeles that the World War II explosive was “deemed free of explosives and safe to transport to Travis AFB” after experts conducted an “on-site visual inspection and x-ray scan.”
“The item was determined to be a U.S. WWII-era Navy practice bomb, model Mk 15, Mod 2,” the spokesperson said. “It is currently being retained with Travis [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] and will remain in place to prevent future concerns.”
According to The Daily Caller, in February of 2023, another WWII-era bomb was discovered in England. Despite local authorities engaging in a four-day attempt to diffuse the World War II bomb, the bomb ultimately exploded, as reported by the BBC.
