Royal Navy bomb disposal experts are preparing for what could be their busiest year on record, as a surge in construction projects across the UK uncovers a growing number of unexploded World War Two devices. Specialist teams, such as Bravo Diving Unit 1 based at Devonport in Plymouth, are experiencing a significant increase in call-outs, highlighting the enduring legacy of wartime bombing.
In the first six months of 2026 alone, Bravo Diving Unit 1 attended 54 incidents, including three separate call-outs to German bombs – two in Plymouth and one in Exmouth. Lieutenant Commander Ben Brown, the squadron's commanding officer, noted that the historical significance of areas like Plymouth, which endured heavy bombing during the Second World War, means that more construction inevitably leads to more discoveries. He commented, "If you look for them, you're going to find them."
The unit, alongside Bravo Diving Unit 2 in Portsmouth, is responsible for a vast operational area, encompassing all of the UK's coastline south of a line drawn between Liverpool and Hull, extending 12 nautical miles out to sea and including the River Thames. This extensive coverage ensures that a Royal Navy operator is dispatched to a task approximately every 24 to 30 hours, underscoring the relentless demand for their expertise.
Dealing with 'legacy unexploded ordnance' (UXO) forms a substantial part of their daily routine. Lieutenant Matt Bowden, an officer in charge, explained that teams are regularly deployed to public areas such as fields and beaches, particularly across the South West, to safely destroy these historical explosives. Every member of these elite units is not only a bomb disposal expert but also a fully trained explosive ordnance diver, equipped to handle devices both on land and underwater.
The critical nature of their work was starkly illustrated in 2024 when a 500kg bomb discovered in a Plymouth garden triggered one of the largest evacuation operations since the war. More recently, in January 2026, two German bombs were found on the same afternoon – one dredged from Exmouth Marina and another on a building site in Plymouth's Millbay area. Both were safely disposed of at sea after affecting approximately 2,500 properties in Exmouth.