Evening star., 1942-05-17
Nv GUSTAVE PABST. Jr.

Special Dispatch TO The Star ana Norln
American Newspaper Alliance.
CLINTONVILLE, Wis, May 10
It takes a lot of CUTS to jump out
of a plane and a lot of nerve to
60 cruising around in a submarine.
But how would you like the job
of digging UP bombs that haven't
exploded-yet? Haven't exploded
yet" either because they're duds
or because the enemy wants 'em
to wait while before they do.
There are, of course, those who
think 1t can't happen here and
those who think it can. Among the
latter is Walter A. Olen, president
of the F. If Wheel Drive Auto Co.,
a plain man in plain suit. un-
accustomed to talking through his
fedora.
Obviously, more than picks and
shovels, hands and CUTS are needed
to dig up unexploded bombs-before
they do-as quickly as possible.
Special digging equipment, the
English have proven, is the answer.
That's where Mr.. Olen and his
busy plant here come into the pic
ture.. The firm has already sent
some so earth borers to the British
Isles. where they have been in more
or less constant service and have
taken terrific punishment.
Great Time Saver.
AS some of the bombs that were
dropped on England went down over
so feet. speed in digging them up
was essential. While the Clinton
vile borers are capable of going
down only 20 feet, they sliced hours
off the dangerous work. What took,
say 16 hours by hand, was cut to
80 minutes or an hour by machine.
Although the factory here IS al
ready filled to overflowing with
truck orders, the boss says he can
do another job for the Government
if necessary because the plant is
the only one making this type OF
earth borer, which was used, in hap
pier days, for the uneXciting job,
of digging holes for telephone poles.
British officers who dug up bombs
abroad, and who are now in this
country, told comapny officials that
some 10000 uneXploded bombs we're
successfully removed in England.
There were nights. they added, when
300 to 400 bombs were dropped on
England by the Germans. Some Is
per cent of these were duds or de-
layed action bombs.
Those in cities or in other vital
areas had to be dug up as quickly
as possible. Some time ago there was
a Canadian lad here, Sergt. Jack
Wilson of the Royal Canadian Engi-
neers. who had done lot of that
fast digging. He had come to Clin-
tonville to get acquainted with the
machines being shipped to England.
This intrepid member of suicide
SQUAD said that as soon as an air
raid was over and the all clear"
signal was sounded, the squad
sprang into action.
Grim and Ghastly Race.
The helmeted men quickly located
the holes where the time bombs or
the duds had landed, closed of the
area and started digging. From then
until the bomb was found and hur-
riedly transported to a clear field
and exploded, it was grim and
ghastly race against time.
The Clintonville equipment used
in England was mounted on 5-ton
truck. was powered with a 125-
horsepower motor and did about 40
miles per hour. The truck transmits
sion was made so that the power was
fed to the auger that did the dig
ging.
The tower used for the boring op-
erations, some 80 feet long, could
be raised from a travelling to ver-
tical position in about two minutes.
Augers for different types of ground
were available and ranged from 18
inches to about ~ feet in dia-
meter.
These earth boring machines drill
down until the auger fills up with
dirt. Then it is lifted and spun me-
chanically to discharge the dirt
The British suicide squads were
also equipped with pumps, ropes,
derricks, shovels and picks. In the
case of bombs that went down more
than 20 feet, two or more holes were
usually bored next to each other
at the place where the bomb entered
the ground.
After the auger had reached its
depth of 20 feet, the men with the
shovels started Where a bomb en-
ters, the dirt Is softer and the