Army shell lands near main railway line in Wiltshire (WDP 10th March 2014)

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the Western Daily Press:

A Ministry of Defence investigation is under way after an artillery round went way off course on Army firing ranges, flew over two Wiltshire villages and exploded after thudding into a farmer's field.

The round landed at Patney, near Devizes, 300 metres from the Paddington-Penzance railway line, leaving a crater six feet in diameter and two feet deep. Farmer Andrew Snook told last night how he heard a tremendous bang far louder than the usual sound of distant firing practice on Salisbury Plain.

"There was a lot of heavy firing going on and this one blast did really make me wince," he said. "I thought, that's close and people in the village said they thought it landed right next to the farm."

The incident happened last Wednesday, but Mr Snook and his son did not find the spot until Friday and then alerted the MoD.

"Earth had been thrown 40 feet. It could have been serious if it had landed in the village, and it is only 300 metres from the railway line," he said. "It's a field that I will soon be putting down to maize so it hasn't damaged a crop, but I want an apology."

A spokesman for the MoD confirmed that an investigation was under way.

[Cynthia]

Does anyone know if there has been a general increase in army exercises on Salisbury Plain lately?  I was staying near Wareham last week, and the noise from the firing ranges at Bovington Camp was almost incessant during my four day stay.  The caravan site proprietors said they hadn't heard as much noise from the camp for a very long time.  They were a bit worried that the army was flexing its muscles in preparation for possible action in Ukraine.   Crikey, I hope not.....   

[Lee]

It's certainly a fast-changing situation. For example, I didn't expect NATO to deploy AWACS planes in Poland and Romania, but they have.

[broadgage]

The army MIGHT be preparing for possible action in Ukraine, but just as likely is that a large supply of munitions have nearly reached the end of safe, stable, reliable, shelf life.

Such munitions might as well be expended for training or practice purposes as be disposed of.
Training or practice with significant volumes of live munitions is an expensive business, unless stocks with limited future shelf life exist.

[stuving]

Does anyone know if there has been a general increase in army exercises on Salisbury Plain lately?  I was staying near Wareham last week, and the noise from the firing ranges at Bovington Camp was almost incessant during my four day stay.  The caravan site proprietors said they hadn't heard as much noise from the camp for a very long time.  They were a bit worried that the army was flexing its muscles in preparation for possible action in Ukraine.   Crikey, I hope not.....   

The firing range near Wareham is Lulworth Ranges - Bovington (the Armour Centre) is where they practice driving, and Salisbury Plain is ten times as far away. There is some published programme information for the firing ranges, but the one for Lulworth only tells you when footpaths and roads are closed (and sea and air space - see Lulworth firing times).

For Salisbury plain they do tell you about major exercises and which formations are involved - see Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) newsletter.

In any case, if there was a really urgent need to prepare for an operation, there wouldn't be time for firing training. Mechanical preparation and transport arrangements are going to be much more of a priority. Unless you can do it right next-door to the relevant place, as a warning - as Putin did, of course.

If anything, an increase in firing is more likely to be due to shipping a load of guns and ammunition back from the bases in Germany that are being closed down. That allows the TA in particular to get more hands-on time, and they are the ones that might otherwise need pre-deployment refresher training.

[Electric train]

There is a drawdown of the places where the British Army have been able to carry out range practice, the first is Germany our presence there is being pulled back to the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) and Afgan is the second place.  These drawdowns will see an increase in training on the UK mainland even with the reduction in Army (wo)manpower.

[bobm]

An update from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Wiltshire farmer gets apology from Army for stray shell


It is believed the gun was fired northwards from near Tilshead and was intended to land inside the danger zone, but went five miles further north to Patney

The Army has apologised after an artillery shell landed in a farmer's field in Wiltshire.

A spokesman said it had launched a "thorough investigation" after the round landed on Andrew Snook's land.

The shell left a 6ft (1.8m) wide crater when it hit the ground 980 ft (300m) from a railway line at Patney, near Devizes.

Nobody was hurt and live firing will remain suspended until the investigation is completed.

According to the spokesman, the officer "responsible for the safe use of the range" has now apologised to the land owner.

He added that local residents would be kept informed and "if deemed appropriate, additional safety measures" would be put in place.

"The safety of both our own personnel and of the general public is our priority in all training serials."

Salisbury Plain is the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) military's largest training area, with live firing taking place on average 340 days a year.


The shell left a crater in farmland in Wiltshire

[JayMac]

Crikey. That's quite some overshoot.

What would be the reason I wonder. Too much charge or incorrect trajectory?

[Electric train]

Crikey. That's quite some overshoot.

What would be the reason I wonder. Too much charge or incorrect trajectory?

Someone got confused between mils and degrees perhaps