Unexploded anti-aircraft shell fired during World War II found in Chattogram

The 17-inch long-range shell was produced by former Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors in 1943, according to police

Police have recovered an anti-aircraft shell used during World War II from an abandoned part of a residential area in Chattogram.

A group of youths discovered the projectile buried in a piece of low-lying land on Monday while clearing the ground near road No. 2 of Mousumi Residential Area to set up a badminton court, according to Mustafizur Rahman, chief of Pahartali Police Station.

Informed of the matter, police recovered the shell and handed it over to the bomb disposal unit, he added.

“It's an anti-aircraft shell that can either be fired from land or a ship. Such projectiles were used during World War II,” said Inspector Aftab Hossain, chief of the bomb disposal unit.

“The long-range shell is 17-inch long. It was produced by arms manufacturer Bofors in 1943.”

There is a firing pin impression on the back of the shell, he noted. Although it was fired during the war, the shell failed to explode for some reason, Hossain said, adding that law enforcers defused it on Tuesday.