1,400 Tonnes of WWII Bombs Are Sitting a Mile From an English Town — What Happens Now?

In August 1944, the American Liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery ran aground in the Thames Estuary, a mile and a half from Sheerness, with thousands of tonnes of munitions on board. The salvage was abandoned — and around 1,400 tonnes of explosives are still down there today. For more than 80 years her masts stood above the water as a warning. In September 2026, divers finally cut them down. Here's the full story: how she sank, why the bombs were never removed, what could really happen if they went off, and what's next. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:02 A Ship Built in a Hurry 03:31 The Last Voyage 04:36 Aground 05:39 The Salvage That Stopped 07:02 Fourteen Hundred Tonnes 08:37 What If? 10:48 Why Not Just Remove It? 11:50 Cutting the Masts 13:55 Still Down There