- SURNAME
Lobb
- FORENAME
Michael John
- UNIT
33 Engineer Regiment EOD
- RANK
Captain
- NUMBER
527146
- AWARD
Queen's Gallantry Medal
- PLACE
Dorset 1995
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
1987 joined Royal Engineers
London Gazette 54219, 20th November 1995, Page 15746
CITATION:
Queen's Gallantry Medal : Captain Lobb was the Duty Bomb Disposal Officer 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) on 21st March 1995 when he was tasked to an unexploded bomb on the island of Portland, Dorset. Reconnaissance revealed that it was German Second World War Spreng Dickenwand five hundred kilogramme bomb with an unidentifiable fuse. On Captain Lobb's advice Dorset Police decided to evacuate all personnel within one thousand metres radius of the bomb during the period that he would attempt to
render it safe, the date for the operation being set for 1st April to allow the police time to formulate and carry out the evacuation.
Most German fuses are easily recognised by manufacturer's markings, and standard procedures are followed to immunise them. In this case however the fuse was masked by an extension cap and no attempt to remove it could be made, for fear of detonation, until the operation started. Captain Lobb was therefore faced with the problem of starting the operation without knowing what type of fuse he would find, or indeed whether he would be able to reach the fuse at all. He advised the Police that he would need forty-eight hours to carry out his task.
On the morning of Saturday 1st April 1995 Dorset Police evacuated four thousand people from their homes around Portland. The operation had attracted the attention of the national media who had started round the clock reporting the day before. On his first approach to the bomb his worst fears were realised. First, climatic weathering had deteriorated explosives in the fuse pocket to a form highly sensitive to heat and friction. Worse, he was unable to remove the extension cap which over the years had corroded into the fuse head. Therefore not only did he not know what type of fuse was present but its neutralisation would have to be carried out through the cap itself. He therefore decided to immunise the fuse by drilling through the fuse cap into the fuse and injecting a saline solution to jam its mechanism. This process required considerable skill to achieve a precise depth of drilling within exacting tolerances; any disruption to the booster charges in the fuse pocket would cause the bomb to explode with him next to it. Equally, if the fuse had been clockwork, a fact he was never able to verify, it could have restarted at any time without warning. Displaying personal courage of the highest order and with total disregard for his own safety. Captain Lobb neutralised the fuse successfully.
Captain Lobb them had to trepan out a section of the bomb casing and steam out the explosives, a process which should have only required two approaches to the bomb. In the event, due to the extreme thickness of the casing and the hardness of the steel, Captain Lobb had to make twenty-two approaches to the bomb over a period of fifteen hours during trepanning alone to clear swarf and realign the trepanner. In doing so he put himself at the point of greatest danger, refusing to allow any of his soldiers to deputise for him. He could then have placed a steam nozzle into the bomb and retired to safety while the explosives melted and
were flushed away, but Captain Lobb decided, ignoring the risk to himself, that he would carry out the whole process manually so that he could monitor temperatures and minimise the risk to those soldiers around him. He did this continuously for five hours, heedless to the danger of detonation and of molten explosive cascading around him.
After a continuous thirty-one hour operation Captain Lobb declared the area clear. Throughout the whole operation Captain Lobb sacrificed his own safety to ensure that the danger to his men and to those local people who had stubbornly chosen to remain within the evacuated area were kept to an absolute minimum. Due to the peculiarly poor condition of the bomb Captain Lobb could at no stage have been sure that the action he was taking would not lead to its detonation and his own death, yet he continued to work with relentless determination and a cheerful optimism which was an inspiration to his men and an example to all. He showed courage of the very highest order.
render it safe, the date for the operation being set for 1st April to allow the police time to formulate and carry out the evacuation.
Most German fuses are easily recognised by manufacturer's markings, and standard procedures are followed to immunise them. In this case however the fuse was masked by an extension cap and no attempt to remove it could be made, for fear of detonation, until the operation started. Captain Lobb was therefore faced with the problem of starting the operation without knowing what type of fuse he would find, or indeed whether he would be able to reach the fuse at all. He advised the Police that he would need forty-eight hours to carry out his task.
On the morning of Saturday 1st April 1995 Dorset Police evacuated four thousand people from their homes around Portland. The operation had attracted the attention of the national media who had started round the clock reporting the day before. On his first approach to the bomb his worst fears were realised. First, climatic weathering had deteriorated explosives in the fuse pocket to a form highly sensitive to heat and friction. Worse, he was unable to remove the extension cap which over the years had corroded into the fuse head. Therefore not only did he not know what type of fuse was present but its neutralisation would have to be carried out through the cap itself. He therefore decided to immunise the fuse by drilling through the fuse cap into the fuse and injecting a saline solution to jam its mechanism. This process required considerable skill to achieve a precise depth of drilling within exacting tolerances; any disruption to the booster charges in the fuse pocket would cause the bomb to explode with him next to it. Equally, if the fuse had been clockwork, a fact he was never able to verify, it could have restarted at any time without warning. Displaying personal courage of the highest order and with total disregard for his own safety. Captain Lobb neutralised the fuse successfully.
Captain Lobb them had to trepan out a section of the bomb casing and steam out the explosives, a process which should have only required two approaches to the bomb. In the event, due to the extreme thickness of the casing and the hardness of the steel, Captain Lobb had to make twenty-two approaches to the bomb over a period of fifteen hours during trepanning alone to clear swarf and realign the trepanner. In doing so he put himself at the point of greatest danger, refusing to allow any of his soldiers to deputise for him. He could then have placed a steam nozzle into the bomb and retired to safety while the explosives melted and
were flushed away, but Captain Lobb decided, ignoring the risk to himself, that he would carry out the whole process manually so that he could monitor temperatures and minimise the risk to those soldiers around him. He did this continuously for five hours, heedless to the danger of detonation and of molten explosive cascading around him.
After a continuous thirty-one hour operation Captain Lobb declared the area clear. Throughout the whole operation Captain Lobb sacrificed his own safety to ensure that the danger to his men and to those local people who had stubbornly chosen to remain within the evacuated area were kept to an absolute minimum. Due to the peculiarly poor condition of the bomb Captain Lobb could at no stage have been sure that the action he was taking would not lead to its detonation and his own death, yet he continued to work with relentless determination and a cheerful optimism which was an inspiration to his men and an example to all. He showed courage of the very highest order.
