LONDON ¨C Divers have recovered two World War Two-era ¡°bouncing bombs¡± from the bottom of a Scottish loch after a seven-year hunt aided by the British navy.
The spherical Highball devices, developed by British war-time ¡°Dambuster¡± engineer Barnes Wallis, are similar to the bombs used to destroy German dams during the war.
They did not contain explosives and were used as a prototype for tests, the British Sub-Aqua Club, which led search, said in a statement.
Divers from the club, assisted by a navy ship and crane, hauled the bombs from Loch Striven, west of Glasgow, on Wednesday and Thursday. They now intend to offer them to aviation museums.
¡°It was unbelievable to see the first one come out of the water,¡± project leader Mark Paisey said.
¡°It was covered in mud and marine crustaceans but when we cleaned it off it was perfectly preserved, down to the nuts and bolts. No-one has seen one of these for the best part of 75 years, so it was quite emotional to see it close up.¡±
The Highball bombs were intended for use against Germany¡¯s Tirpitz battleship, but were never deployed due to the positioning of the vessel in a Norwegian fjord.
They were then moved to the Pacific for use against Japanese ships, but the war ended before they could be used.
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