The British Bang in Heligoland: The biggest non-nuclear single detonation in history

Heligoland is a small German archipelago located in the North Sea that consists of two islands: the populated main island of Hauptinsel and the smaller island of Dune. Hauptinsel is commonly divided into three geographic sections, the last of which came into being in 1947, when the Royal Navy detonated 6,800 metric tons of explosives on the island, actually changing its shape. The "British Bang" was the biggest non-nuclear single detonation in history.

History

The German Bight and the area around the island are known to have been inhabited since pre-historic times. Flint tools have been recovered from the bottom of the sea surrounding Heligoland. On the Oberland prehistoric burial mounds were visible until the late 19th century and excavations showed skeletons and artifacts. Moreover, prehistoric copper plates have been found under water near the island; those plates were almost certainly made on the Oberland. In AD 697, Radbod, the last Frisian king, retreated to the then-single island after his defeat by the Franks as written in the Life of Willebrord by Alcuin.

By 1231, the island was listed as the property of the Danish king Valdemar II. Traditional economic activities included fishing, hunting birds and seals, wrecking. It was very important for many overseas powers for piloting overseas ships into the harbours of Hanseatic League cities such as Bremen and Hamburg. Moreover, in some periods Heligoland was an excellent base point for huge herring catches. As a result, until 1714 ownership switched several times between Denmark and the Duchy of Schleswig, with one period of control by Hamburg. In August 1714, it was captured by Denmark, and it remained Danish until 1807.

In 1807, Heligoland was seized by the British during the Napoleonic Wars. It became a center of smuggling and espionage against Napoleon. Thousands of Germans fled to Britain and to the King's German Legion via Heligoland. In 1826, Heligoland became an official "sea bath" and soon it became a popular tourist resort for upper-class people. The island also attracted artists and writers, especially from Germany and even Austria who enjoyed the freedom of the British ruled island, e.g. Heinrich Heine and August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben. It was a refuge for revolutionaries of the 1830 and 1848 German revolutions.

Britain gave up the islands to Germany in 1890 by virtue of the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty. During this time, it also gave up its interests in Madagascar to the French in return for those countries surrendering their claims to the African island of Zanzibar (now a part of Tanzania), largely so the British could intervene there to suppress the slave trade. A "grandfathering"/optant approach prevented the Heligolanders (as they were named in the British measures) from forfeiting advantages because of this imposed change of status.

Under the German Empire the islands became a major naval base. As such, during the First World War the civilian population was evacuated to the mainland. The first naval engagement of the war, the Battle of Heligoland Bight was fought nearby in the first month of the war. The islanders returned in 1918 but during the Nazi era the naval base was reactivated. Lager Heligoland, the Nazi labour camp on Alderney, was named after the island. Werner Heisenberg first formulated the equation underlying his picture of Quantum mechanics while on Heligoland in the 1920s.

During World War II the islanders remained on the main island. There was a large allied air raid on the island on 15 October 1944 destroying many of the buildings of the Unterland. Then on 18 April 1945 over a thousand Allied bombers attacked the islands leaving nothing standing. The civilian population was protected in rock shelters. The 128 people killed due to the Allied bombers were mostly anti-aircraft crews. The islands were evacuated by the British after the Germans surrendered the following night.

Why did the British bomb the island?

From 1945 to 1952 the uninhabited islands were used as a bombing range. On 18 April 1947, the Royal Navy detonated 6,800 tonnes of explosives ("Big Bang" or "British Bang") creating the biggest non-nuclear single detonation in history. The blow shook the main island several miles down to its base thereby changing its shape. Mittelland was created as a result of the explosion. Heligoland was bombed by Royal Navy engineers in an attempt to destoy the fortifications built during the NAZI era. It is said that the British would not have been too displeased if the entire island had been destroyed. In 1952 the islands were restored to the German authorities who had to clear a huge amount of undetonated ammunition, landscape the main island, and rebuild the houses before it could be resettled.

Present Status

Heligoland is now a holiday resort and enjoys a tax-exempt status as it is part of the EU . However, it is excluded from the EU VAT area and customs union. Much of the economy is founded on sales of cigarettes, alcoholic beverages and perfumes to tourists who visit the islands. There is also a search and rescue (SAR) base of the German Navy on Heligoland.

References

Alcuin, Life of Willebrord.

Alex Ritsema, Heligoland, Past and Present, 2007.

George Drower, Heligoland - The True Story of German Bight and the Island that Britain Betrayed, 2002.

William George Black, Heligoland and the Islands of the North Sea,1988.