Arctic Command checks 1943 depth charge before planned detonation

Arctic Command personnel went to Viðvík to prepare to detonate a depth charge from a British military aircraft that crashed there in 1943, KVF reports. It was scheduled to be detonated at about 1pm on Saturday, but poor telephone reception meant KVF could not confirm whether the explosion had taken place.

Before proceeding, the team had to check that the bomb was not buried under soil, gravel and rocks after a landslide in the area earlier this week, said Bárður Sandá, head of Arctic Command in the Faroe Islands. Another object also needs to be examined because it may contain explosives.

The British Catalina aircraft crashed in Viðvík on Good Friday, 23 April 1943. According to Niels Juel Arge’s book Stríðsárini, a man from Viðareiði saw the aircraft hit a cliff while he was tending sheep and raised the alarm. All eight people on board died.