Man finds unexploded bombs while hiking a volcano in Hawaii
The bombs were released in an attempt to slow down a dangerous lava flow
Kawika Singson is an adventurer based in Kona, Hawaii and stumbled upon an unusual discovery while hiking the lava fields of the Mauna Loa volcano on February 16.
Singson noticed an object sticking out of the lava and after further inspection, he realized that he found two rusty, unexploded bombs that had been lying there for decades.
Simpson hosts “Everything Hawaii — Adventures with Kawika Singson” and recognized the bombs from his experience working with explosives while serving in the military and from a previous story that was produced for the “Everything Hawaii” television series, as reported by West Hawaii Today.
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Mauna Loa erupted late November 1935 and concerns grew over the threat of the lava flow reaching the town of Hilo since it was rapidly advancing at a rate of 1.6 km per day. The USGS states that the two recently discovered bombs were part of a cluster that was released by U.S. Army Air Corps planes in an attempt to divert and slow down the lava flow.
The bombs that Singson discovered are pointer bombs, which were released by the planes for aiming purposes because they emit smoke when they land. Other explosives that were released in the same cluster included twenty MK I demolition bombs that each contained 161 kg (355 lb) of TNT and were armed with a 0.1-second time-delay fuse.
The U.S. Army Air Corps plane that released bombs onto the lava flow that was approaching Hilo after the Mauna Loa 1935 eruption. Two of the 20 pointer bombs are shown on the left and right and one of the demolition bombs is in the centre. Credit: USGS/ Kenichi Maehara, 1935.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says that there have been times that lava flows in Hawaii have been successfully slowed or diverted using explosives, which is a complex decision that is made by elected officials and scientists. The USGS notes that using explosives to redirect or slow a lava flow “is the subject of great debate“ in Hawaii because of the concerns about the success of this technique and whether or not humans should interfere with the natural processes of volcanic eruptions.
Officials from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources have been able to locate the bombs and are working with the military to develop a plan to safely dispose of the explosives.