A 160 kg shell neutralized in Englesqueville-la-Percée

A 160 kg shell required a neutralization operation at the foot of the Englesqueville-la-Percée cliff. At 2 p.m., a dozen firefighters, the miners of the Ifs center and the gendarmes were on site. Access to the beach and the coastal path were forbidden, while waiting for the civil security helicopter, then engaged in Granville and expected around 3 p.m.

Nicole d'Hérouville, mayor of the municipality, had been notified the day before by fax from the prefecture. She had taken an order prohibiting access to the beach, without evacuating the inhabitants. She recalled that in 2005 a similar operation had forced her to warn local residents from door to door so that they would stay at home. Representatives of the DDE and the General Council were also present.

Before the intervention, the helicopter had to fly over the cliff to verify that no one was near the area. In the late afternoon, the shell, whose caliber was given at 270 mm, had been brought back to the Ifs demining center.

The mayor stressed that erosion, landslides and large tides could still cause more bombs or shells to appear in the following years.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The weight of 160 kg and the caliber of 270 mm are two distinct indications of the article: they are not confused with a weight of 270 kg.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/PhDoc10/2008-Obus270EnglesquevilleNeutralise.jpg