Pforzheim
Soviet anti-tank missile: Police investigating
How did a Soviet anti-tank missile get to the banks of the Nagold in Pforzheim? What initially looked like a World War II dud could now turn into a criminal case.
After the discovery of a Soviet anti-tank missile in Pforzheim, investigations are launched on suspicion of violation of the War Weapons Control Act. As a police spokesperson said on request, it was initially about unknown persons. The projectile was discovered by a pedestrian on September 11 and blown up and defused by the explosives disposal service on the same day. Surrounding houses were evacuated, 40 people had to leave their homes temporarily.
It is not yet known how the bullet ended up on the bank of the river in Pforzheim. “The object may have washed up one day,” a police spokesman speculated. There is no concrete presumption; it is assumed that something is wrong.
At first, the city assumed it was a World War II dud. On February 23, 1945, an Allied air force attack dropped 1,575 tons of bombs, including explosives and incendiary bombs and air mines. Large parts of Pforzheim were reduced to rubble in 20 minutes, killing at least 17,600 people. But the bombers came from the British Royal Air Force. Soviet troops were not involved in the bombing of Pforzheim.
Examinations of the projectile now found indicate that it was produced later. “It is certainly a post-war model,” a specialist from the explosive ordnance disposal service told the “Badische Laatste Nieuws” (BNN). According to his estimate, the dangerous object had long been on the river. “Whether someone took him from a military training ground somewhere and then shot him – we can’t say how he got there,” the BNN quoted the expert as saying. Finds of Soviet or Russian ammunition are therefore very rare in Baden-Württemberg.
City’s second PM from 11.9. First PM in town on the find?