The risk of encountering unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the UK as a result of World War II is not limited to London. Through a series of posts, Artios looks at the potential of UXO contamination at different locations across the UK. This first post focuses on the World War II UXO risk in Glasgow.

*Rescue workers search the remains of a tenement building in Kent Street, Glasgow, after it was hit during a WW2 air raid.*

Glasgow as a strategic target

Throughout the course of World War II Scotland suffered more than 500 German air raids that resulted in over 2,500 people being killed and some 8000 injured. The Greater Glasgow area suffered at least 11 attacks during World War II, 5 of which were major raids that between them saw an estimated 1,329 tons of bombs being dropped.

Shipyards on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow were targeted by German air raids. Within the Greater Glasgow area, the town of Clydebank in the west was severely damaged by aerial bombardment. As well as being a shipbuilding town, at the time Clydebank was also a leading manufacturer of munitions and weaponry, making it a strategic target for the Luftwaffe. Its proximity to Clydeside's main Admiralty Oil Storage facility immediately to the west also raised its target profile. Major targets in Clydebank included the John Brown & Co shipyard, the Beardmore engine works and an armaments factory in the Singer Sewing Machine works.

*Luftwaffe Reconnaissance photo of shipyards in Govan, Glasgow. Taken 2nd October 1939.*

The ‘Clydebank Blitz’

Glasgow was first bombed in July 1940 although the worst raid, known as the ‘Clydebank Blitz’, occurred over two nights on March 13 and 14, 1941. Wartime reporting restrictions meant the details of the attack were unreported and there are varying accounts of the attack today. It is thought that over the course of the two nights, a total of 439 Luftwaffe bombers dropped in excess of 1,650 incendiary containers, each one spilling out dozens of small ‘1kg Incendiary Bombs’. In addition to these Incendiary Bombs around 272 tonnes of High Explosive ordnance was also dropped. RAF fighters shot down two aircraft during the raid and although thousands of High Explosive rounds from anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) were fired at the raiders none were brought down by AAA fire. More than 500 people died during the Clydebank Blitz, and many more were injured.

The town of Clydebank had a dense mix of industry and housing in a relatively small area, which meant the impact of the attack was devastating. Out of approximately 12,000 houses in the town, only 7 or 8 remained undamaged, 4,000 were destroyed, and 4,500 severely damaged. Over 35,000 people were made homeless.

*Memorial to the lives lost in the Clydebank Blitz, Old Dalnottar Cemetery, Glasgow*

The Admiralty Oil Storage facility was severely damaged. At the site, 96 bomb craters were counted, 11 tanks were destroyed and 7 were severely damaged. Huge amounts of fuel was lost in the resulting inferno, which is said to have blazed for over four weeks.

Parts of Glasgow city were also hit during the Clydebank Blitz. In Govan, West Glasgow, more than 60 people lost their lives when a ‘Luftmine’ or parachute landmine (a very large air delivered item of ordnance) thought to be destined for the shipbuilding yard hit the tenement opposite and completely destroyed numbers 1249 to 1259 Govan Road. A parachute landmine also landed between a tram and a tenement on Nelson Street in Tradeston, adjacent to Glasgow city centre, killing 110 people, 11 of whom were in the tram at the time. Scotstoun, Partick, Hyndland and Kelvindale also took direct hits over the two nights.

It has been said that on the first night of the Clydebank Blitz you could hear the explosions in Stirlingshire some 30 miles away and you could see the fire glow in the night sky as far away as rural Aberdeenshire.

The ‘Clydebank Blitz’ was part of Hitler’s Directive 23, ‘Directions for operations against the British war economy’. This directive was made in March 1941 and saw a significant increase in raids on other strategic centres in the UK (Portsmouth, Plymouth, Liverpool, Southampton, Bristol, Hull, South Wales, the North East and Belfast).

Post War reconstruction

*WWII Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) battery in action.*

After the war, Glasgow underwent an extensive programme of regeneration, redevelopment and house building from the mid-1950s until the late 1970s.

This post war development can reduce the likelihood of encountering UXO during construction work, however the UXO risk needs to be assessed carefully as the types of bombs dropped and the geology of the area can affect how devices may have penetrated the ground. It is also not just air dropped bombs that could be encountered, with AAA batteries having fired 1000s of High Explosive rounds, at least 10% of which would have failed to function as intended. This was demonstrated recently by the discovery of an AAA round on a construction site in Dalmarnock in 2018.

Conclusion

A construction professional breaking ground outside of central London may often underestimate the potential for unexploded wartime bombs and other UXO to be present. Although they are still a relatively rare occurrence, an encounter is likely to cause significant business interruption to projects. Artios conducts impartial UXO desktop surveys in compliance with CIRIA C681 to deliver Preliminary and Detailed UXO Risk Assessments. This impartiality is achieved because Artios does not provide any on-site mitigations that UXO risk assessments may recommend. Our impartial approach gives clients confidence that UXO risk is managed safely, effectively and efficiently.

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