In this issue...

Ramora UK removes WWII mines found on Isle of Wight

A brief history of the Mills Grenade

Ramora UK helps out Lomond Mountain Rescue Team

Welcome to the second edition of EOD, the quarterly Ramora UK newsletter.

In this issue, you will find news of some of the most

significant operations that we have undertaken

recently, as well as stories about an important

safety initiative we have recently launched and our

commitment to giving something back to society.

Plus, there is all the fun of our Time Out section!

We feel sure that you will find plenty here to interest you and we hope that it will

provide you with a bit more of an insight into the realities of Bomb Disposal and the

world of Ramora UK.

Don’t forget, if you have any comments or ideas for stories that you think we should

include in future issues, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please let us know

at marketing@ramorauk.com

David Welch MIExpE, MIABTI, FCIM

Managing Director

Ramora UK

Explosive Ordnance DigestT H E Q U A R T E R L Y N E W S L E T T E R F R O M T H E L E A D I N G U K B O M B D I S P O S A L C O M P A N Y

P R A C T I C A L S E R V I C E S l T R A I N I N G l E M E R G E N C Y R E S P O N S E C E N T R E l E Q U I P M E N T S O L U T I O N S l C O N S U LTA N C Y

I S S U E T W O

Ramora UK removes WWII mines found on Isle of Wight

Ramora UK wins Best Business Award for Innovation

EOD news...

Staff News... Appointment of Faye PalmerWe are delighted to welcome Faye Palmer who joins us as Sales Coordinator. Focusing on a number of our key market areas, including Defence, Aviation, Aggregates and Renewable Energy, Faye will have a particular responsibility for promoting the Ramora UK name globally. In recent months, we have experienced a significant increase in demand for our services from the Renewable Energy and Oil and Gas sectors and as part of her new role, Faye will be promoting Ramora UK at all the relevant international events and exhibitions.

On 25th May, it was announced that Ramora

UK had won a Best Business Award for Best

Innovation which we will now hold for one year.

The Best Innovation category is designed

to recognise those organisations that have

identified new products or services and

successfully brought them to market or

adapted an existing product for a new market.

Our entry was based on the launch last year

of our EOD Diving Service.

Comprising former Royal Navy Clearance

Divers, the team provides a truly global service,

including operations in past and present conflict

zones and is able to deploy as a stand-alone,

fully self-contained unit from a range of vessels,

thereby offering considerable time and cost

savings to clients. The launch of this service

made us the first and only organisation in

the UK providing this level of reactive UXO

capability outside of the armed forces.

““

it bowed significantly in the middle. As a result, further ground works

were undertaken before it was also successfully and safely detonated

during overnight operations on 29th/30th June.

Ramora UK and BAE Systems worked closely with Hampshire Constabulary

and the Isle of Wight Council in both the planning and execution of both

operations to ensure that all necessary safety measures were in place.

These included a 200 metre radius cordon, which was manned by the

Police throughout and some local road closures around the Somerton

roundabout junction with Newport Road, Saunders Road and Three

Gates Road. All those affected by the road closures were given at least

four weeks’ notice and diversion signs were deployed. The local media

were also kept informed.

All of the work was undertaken by highly trained Ramora UK staff, including

former military personnel, using a proven bomb disposal methodology.

The success of these operations demonstrates how

expert commercial operators, working closely with the

relevant authorities, can safely undertake work that has

previously been carried out only by the military. We are

confident that this has set a strong precedent for new

ways of tackling all forms of bomb disposal in the future.

David Welch, Ramora UK

2

Since the last newsletter issue, we have successfully removed two mines

that had been buried for some 60 years under ground that currently forms

part of the BAE Systems site at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

The site was previously occupied by RAF Somerton during WWII and it is

believed that the mines – known as pipemines – were laid in order that the

airfield could be rendered unusable in the event of an enemy invasion.

Most of them were removed by MOD bomb disposal teams when the

airfield was decommissioned but the two mines that remained appear to

have been missed at the time. It was only when BAE Systems undertook

geophysical surveys in order to prepare the land for commercial sale that

the existence of the remaining two came to light.

The first mine, which was located close to the Island’s main gas pipe,

was detonated safely during the early hours of Sunday 20th May.

During excavations to deal with the second mine, it was discovered

that it was approximately two metres larger than expected and that

The Hedgehog (also known as an Anti-Submarine Projector) was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II.

The weapon was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers

to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number

of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings. Rather than working

on a time or depth fuse like depth charges, the bombs exploded on

contact and achieved a higher sinking rate against submarines than

depth charges did.

The Hedgehog received its name because when unloaded the rows of

empty spigots resembled the spines of a hedgehog.

DescriptionThe weapon fires a salvo (simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms)

of 24 bombs in an arc, aimed to land in a circular or elliptical area about

100 feet (30 m) in diameter at a fixed point about 250 yards (230 m)

directly ahead of the attacking ship. The mounting initially was fixed but

was later replaced by a gyro-stabilised one to allow for the rolling and

pitching of the attacking ship. The overall length of the weapon was 39

inches, with a body length of 19 inches, tail tube of 16 inches plus fins

four inches long, fitted on the front of the weapon is an arming vane.

The firing system is to impact inertia, always acting, mechanically armed

nose fuze. The charge was either 13.6 kg of TNT or 15.4 kg of Torpex.

The launcher had four “cradles”, each with six launcher spigots. The

firing sequence was staggered so that all of the bombs would land at

about the same time. This had the added advantage of minimising the

stress on the weapon mountings, so that deck reinforcement was not

needed and the weapon could easily be retrofitted to any convenient

place on a ship. Reloading took about three minutes.

Hedgehog WWII Anti Submarine Weapon

TOP tips

Hedgehog anti-submarine weapon, British WWII

Spigot Mortar Projectile UK 7.2 in

3

Our company training portfolio of courses has been further increased with a range of search and security courses, details of which are as follows:

Search and Security – which is a 15 day course designed to educate

students in the practices required to conduct efficient search operations.

High Risk Search – designed to train techniques and philosophy

required to enable search operations in areas with elevated security risks.

High Risk Search Advisor – a 20 day programme designed to deliver

the skills necessary to plan complex search operations in vulnerable areas.

For further information on any of our training courses please do not

hesitate to contact us on 08454 608911 or contact our sales team at: sales@ramorauk.com

4

TRAINING updateRamora Training

5

Ramora UK has developed a range of stores for the storage of Time Expired Pyrotechnics (TEPs)

that are capable of storing mixed loads of TEPs at a reduced explosive Hazard Type 4 (HT4) by

eliminating any projection hazard. This means that setting up your site for the legal storing of TEPs

is both cost efficient and hassle free.

Excellence is Our Commitment Time Expired Pyrotechnic (TEP) Stores

Miscellaneous Pyrotechnic Store (MPS) Our MPS comes in two different sizes and has been designed to store

TEPs at a reduced explosive hazard type, dramatically decreasing any

required separation distances and increasing safety.

KEY FEATURES

� Up To 74kg NEQ Storage

� 3 Secure Locking Positions

� Stores TEPs at HT4

� Minimal Site Restrictions

Secondary Transport Mitigation Cage (STMC) Our STMC comes in two different sizes and has been designed to transport

TEPs at a reduced Hazard Division of 1.4G, for enhanced safety during

road transportation.

KEY FEATURES

� Up To 5kg NEQ Storage

� 2 Secure Locking Positions

� Light weight

� Transports TEPs at 1.4G

Segregation Unit (SU) Our SU is a tested bespoke frame that can secure both sizes of STMCs for

the storage of ‘damaged’ TEPs. The SU has been primarily designed to

separate ‘damaged’ TEPs away from the MPS.

KEY FEATURES

� Up To 12kg NEQ Storage

� 1 Additional Locking Position

� Stores TEPs at HT4

� Stores ‘damaged’ TEPs

Ask the Experts.

08454 608911 sales@ramorauk.com

www.ramorauk.com

Ramora UK Trafalgar House

223 Southampton Road Portsmouth Hampshire

PO6 4PY United Kingdom

For further information, please contact our sales team by either telephone or email

Explosive Hazard Type

4

Explosive Hazard Type

4

TECH

CORNER

H I STO RY O F T H E M I L L S G R E N A D E

The Mills was a classic design; a grooved cast iron

‘pineapple’ with a central striker held by a close hand

lever and secured with a pin. Although the segmented

body helps to create fragments when the grenade

explodes, according to Mills’ notes, the casing was grooved

to make it easier to grip and not as an aid to fragmentation. The

Mills was a defensive grenade: after throwing, the user had to take cover

immediately. A competent thrower could manage 15 metres (49 feet)

with reasonable accuracy, but the grenade could throw lethal fragments

farther than this. The British Home Guard were instructed that throwing

range of the No. 36 was about 30 yards with a danger area of about 100

yards. At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse, but

during combat in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved too long

– giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the

grenade back – and was reduced to four seconds.

The heavy, segmented bodies of ‘pineapple’ type grenades result in an

unpredictable pattern of fragmentation. After WWII, Britain and the US

adopted grenades that contained segmented coiled wire in smooth

metal casings. The No. 36M Mk.I remained the standard grenade of

the British Armed Forces and was manufactured in the UK until 1972,

when it was completely replaced by the L2 series. The 36M remained in

service in some parts of the world such as India and Pakistan, where it

was manufactured until the early 1980s.

Ramora UK regularly dispose of Mills No 36 hand grenades which have

the potential to be hazardous. When the Mills grenade is discovered

without the pin and fly off lever, it should be treated with extreme caution

as this means it may function if knocked or dropped, causing the striker

to hit the initiation cap, an example of this is in the picture below, which

is essentially a blind munition.

6

The Mills hand grenade underwent numerous

modifications. The No. 23 was a variant of the

No. 5, with a rod base plug which allowed it to be

fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further

with the No. 36, a variant with a detachable base

plate to allow use with a rifle discharger cup. The

final variation of the Mills grenade, the No. 36M,

was specially designed and waterproofed with

shellac for use initially in the hot climate of

Mesopotamia in 1917, but remained in production

for many years. By 1918 the No. 5 and No. 23 were

declared obsolete and the No. 36 (but not the 36M)

followed in 1932.

Pictures show No. 36 Mills Hand Grenades

Sectional View of a Mills Hand Grenade

Fly Off Lever

Detonator

Central Striker

Percussion Cap

Delay Fuze

In July, Ramora UK was tasked to carry out the removal and safe

disposal of a British moored mine from WWII located immediately

adjacent to the FLAGS pipeline in the North Sea.

The mine, containing up to 500lbs of explosive, was located immediately

adjacent to the pipeline about 100km out from St Fergus at a depth of

100 metres. The British made mine was first discovered in 1993 during an

annual ROV inspection and was identified as Unexploded Ordnance (UXO).

Since the decision was made to undertake the removal operation,

Ramora UK worked closely with subsea engineers and teams within Shell

to design the technology which reduced the potential risks and delivered

a safe solution for disposal.

Despite the challenges posed by depth, pipeline proximity and age of

the UXO, Ramora UK successfully completed this project as planned and

without incident.

WORKING with...Ramora UK chosen to dispose of WWII mine located close to North Sea pipeline

““Being selected to carry out an operation of this scale is particularly gratifying for us as it highlights the extent to which our full EOD capabilities are being recognised.

David Welch, Ramora UK

7

8

In May of this year, we launched the National

Explosive Safety Scheme (NESS).

Having already helped to develop and implement

official explosive related procedures which are

accepted as best practice throughout the industry,

Ramora UK now offers its expertise 24 hours a day

through NESS. The scheme equips companies

with the knowledge and capability to be prepared

for any incident involving explosives, through

advice, training and the delivery of practical EOD/

bomb disposal services by our specialist teams.

There are three levels of NESS Membership

- Bronze, Silver and Gold - each designed to

Ramora UK launches major new safety initiative – NESS

accommodate the specific EOD requirements

of individual clients. But all levels offer a discount

on a range of services, including training, access to

our 24/7 Emergency Response Helpline and Time

Expired Pyrotechnic (TEP) storage and a number

of other free-of-charge offers.

An additional option for those who join the Scheme

is the NESS TEP Storage Rental Solution which

provides everything you need to store TEPs safely

and legally. This includes licensing, training and

access to an easy-to-use online Miscellaneous

Pyrotechnic Accounting System (MPAS).

SAFETY first

“

“

We believe that NESS represents a

significant initiative for our industry.

The threats posed by UXO affect

businesses across a wide range

of industries, but accessing the

services they need to prevent

and/or deal with the problems is not

always as easy as it should be. NESS

is really going to help them do that.

David Welch, Ramora UK

Military ammunition, bombs, projectiles, mortars, rockets, grenades and

landmines are all classed as ordnance. Ordnance, by its nature is designed

to kill, injure or cause damage, therefore when encountering ordnance,

either accidently or deliberately can create a dangerous dilemma. All items

of ordnance are identifiable by their shape, design and function, according

to type. However, if items are degraded, damaged or incomplete, they may

not be recognisable, therefore adding to the danger that they present.

Most items of ordnance will contain

some form of explosive substance and,

depending upon its circumstances,

may contain a fuze (the mechanism

which will initiate the item). Therefore

the shape, size, condition and location

of ordnance, when found, create

problems and danger to yourself and

others. Remember ordnance has been

designed to kill, injure or cause damage.

Advice for encountering suspected

ordnance is standard, although items

may be in excess of 70 years old they still have the potential to cause

injury and kill. Only competent trained and experienced personnel hold the

required skill sets to assess and deal with Explosive Ordnance (EO). Anyone

encountering suspected ordnance should not touch or move the items.

A reference point should be taken as to the position of the item or a marker

placed close to the item. The area should be kept clear and the Police

informed, DO NOT MOVE THE SUSPECT ITEM. Move yourself and others.

The following advice may be advantageous to follow during evacuation:

• Use buildings as hard cover; try to direct people to the evacuation

point using other buildings as a buffer from the suspect item.

• Evacuation areas should be sited out of the line of sight of the

suspect item.

• Consider secondary hazards – blasts will send glass and debris in

all directions.

In the past ordnance has been ignored due to it not being recognised.

On a building site in Wiltshire some years ago, a small black plastic cylindrical

object was not recognised as a hand grenade, therefore it was just kicked

to the side of the site car park and

luckily it was not armed (fig 1).

It was not until another object of

similar size was found that one

worker recognised it as being a

‘Mills’ type hand grenade (fig 2).

Upon arrival of the EOD team to

deal with the ‘Mills’ hand grenade,

the other grenade was identified.

Both items were found to be live

and were destroyed by controlled

explosive means.

SAFETY tips

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

9

“ “When distress flares reach the end of their lives, the explosive material

they contain can become unstable and potentially dangerous – they

become officially classified as Time Expired Pyrotechnics, or TEPs, and

need to be disposed of by experts authorised to carry out the work.

When the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team found that no fewer

than 130 of its flares – including handheld flares, parachute rockets,

mini flares and buoyant life smoke flares – were out-of-date, we were

quick to offer our services free of charge.

The Ramora UK personnel were met by Jan Millar at the Mountain

Rescue Team’s new, purpose-built base in the village of Drymen,

gateway to the east side of Loch Lomond and some 10 miles from

Balloch. The flares were all inspected to ensure they were safe for

transportation and then removed from the base with the minimum

of disruption.

Ramora UK helps out Lomond Mountain Rescue TeamWe are so grateful to Ramora UK for removing

these old flares for us. It saved us time and money,

both of which are precious commodities for a

voluntary organisation like ours.

Jan Millar, Deputy Team Leader, Lomond Mountain Rescue Team

GIVING something back...

““The volunteers of the Lomond Mountain Rescue Team do a fantastic job and, like us,

sometimes have to face potentially dangerous situations. So we were only too pleased

to have the opportunity to help them out.

David Welch, Ramora UK

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Just for fun, we will include a Mystery Object in every issue. All you have to do is guess the object pictured and what it is used for.

All you have to do is send in your witty caption for our choice of picture and the best entry will be shown in the next issue.

To enter, please send your caption to marketing@ramorauk.com. Just enter Caption Competition in the subject field.

Keep In Touch – Do not forget that we are keen to hear your views and ideas. Contact us at marketing@ramorauk.com

Mystery Object?

Caption competition!

TIME outD T H S S H M T B C R O V L

I D N E A R D E X S S W C S

V S E M J A Q P A L K A S A

I P Q T R A I N I N G N D W

S I U E O I H G F S I F O A

I P P X F N S A O A V K C R

O E J V F G A C Z P S N C E

N M C L S D E T N A L Y I N

M I W A H U M T O H R K S E

L N R D O E V X E R R D R S

B E E I R N B D Y T E F A S

S X N N E S S B L I D Z Q P

S L I O K S Z A M E N I M U

A A N D C P A I N J K G N I

X H S I E D R E D R O W O L

EXHIBITION ROUND-UPMarine Operations – Offshore Wind Operations, 25-26 September 2012 – London

Gas Tech 2012, 8-12 October 2012 – London

Renewable UK 2012, 30 October - 1 November 2012 – Glasgow

Counter Terror Expo 2013, 24-25 April 2013

Seaworks International 2012, 11-13 June 2013

Offshore Europe 2013, 3-6 September 2013 – Aberdeen

SEMTEX DETONATORTRAINING NESS

EOD OFFSHORETEP LOWORDER

MINE PIPEMINEROV HAZARD

DIVISION AWARENESSSAFETY IED

Last edition’s Mystery Object was a blowing mechanism from a British Mark 8 Torpedo.

Congratulations to all those who participated and those who guessed correctly.

Last month’s Caption Competition Winner...

“

“Jo McClean who submitted the caption below:

You need to rub harder than that to make fire.