Kunsan Airmen destroy Korean War bazooka round

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Juanika Glover
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  During base exercises, Airmen are faced with scud attacks, casualties and property destruction, but none of it is actually real. However, during an exercise Dec. 16, a 50-year-old Korean War bazooka round that was found and turned in was real.

A group of Korean explosive ordnance disposal troops told the American Airmen of their discovery, said Staff Sgt. John McCoy, an 8th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD craftsman.

He said they found the round at an off-base area known as the “bomb dump.”

The EOD Airmen said they determined it was from the Korean War era based on the type of round it was, the fact that it was live and the amount of decay and corrosion on it.

“The Koreans brought the (round) to us instead of destroying it themselves because they did not have the technical orders to destroy it,” Sergeant McCoy said. EOD Airmen have unique technical orders or publications that tell Airmen how to render safe and destroy explosive ordnance.

“We first had to X-ray the round to determine if it was a live round or inert,” he said.

Since they found it in the middle of an exercise, they had to ensure everyone understood that the explosive was real, he said.

When it came to destroying the round, Sergeant McCoy said they wanted to move it as little as possible.

They used a device that removes, jams or sheers the internal fuse components so the round cannot function properly, he said. Then, there was just the warhead and rocket motor, which could safely be moved to the range. There, the Airmen dug a large hole and placed sand bags around it.

“The purpose of the sandbags is to absorb some of the metal the (explosive) shoots out (when it is) detonated,” Sergeant McCoy said.

This was an anti-tank bazooka that creates a jet of molten metal once it explodes, said Master Sgt. Larry Kimball, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron EOD flight chief.

“The jet in this rocket is formed as the explosives in the warhead squeeze a metal cone. (It) is capable of penetrating heavy armor and presents a hazard to anything in its path,” he said. “We destroy the warhead by crushing the cone as the explosives are detonated. This ensures the jet will not form and reduces the (hazard) area.”

The sand bags helped reduce the amount of damage from fragmentation caused by the explosion, Sergeant Kimball said.

“We needed to be at a safe distance from the round while being close enough to do our jobs, so the sand bags really helped,” he said. “However, we made sure to remain far enough away to protect everyone involved.”

The Airmen used a remote-firing system to send an electrical signal to the blasting cap connected to the remote receiver. Once the receiver got the signal, it detonated the plastic explosives and destroyed the round.

“Destroying the (round) was kind of a fun and interesting training operation,” Sergeant McCoy said. “I was not nervous about it at all. I was just excited about doing this for real. Anytime you get to do your job, it’s a great learning experience.”