James H’s Reviews > Danger Uxb: The Heroic Story of the WWII Bomb Disposal Teams > Status Update

As long as men feel the need to devise more ingenious and more deadly methods of killing each other, there will be work for those willing to try to stop them.

Wars are attritional, and are not won without the capacity to endure reverses.

That the companionship in danger contributed in a large measure to the success of the bomb disposal in the early months of the Blitz, when new fuses and bombs were being used and the factor of the unknown was always present. In these months when casualties were highest, so was the morale of the men.

UXB’s were defused at a rate of 0.73 per day per section. Which left a daily 4.36 bombs per section outstanding.

Most not urgent. But there were 440 sections operating.

London shelters not designed for lengthy occupation (No lavatory ect.). People did not like use them, and decided to hide in the subway tunnels instead.

Limit on concrete. Some of the walls would collapse and the reinforced roof would crush the occupants of a bomb exploded nearby.

RAF Bomber Command - one in three aircraft getting within 5 miles of the target.

In daylight, half of the German bombs were delivered between 300ft of the target.