An explosive operation was carried out from October 12 to 14 by the group of Atlantique clearance divers on the island of Batz in Finistère, we learned from the Ministry of the Armed Forces. In total, no less than 38 German high explosive shells moved with the currents that were discovered along the coasts. The ammunition, which weighed around 1.5 tonnes, was moved and then destroyed to secure the site.
A hundred ammunition inside the wreckage
This intervention also brought to light the wreckage of a German WWII destroyer lying in the seabed. The warship was participating in the Battle of Ushant in 1944 when it was damaged. It eventually ran aground in the north of the island before being bombarded by Allied aviation and destroyed, letting its shells escape over the years at sea.
The mine clearance divers were not at the end of their surprise since they still discovered a hundred ammunition stored inside the wreck. “They will be processed later with other means”, specifies the Ministry of the Armed Forces.