WW II-era bomb found in N.C. woods

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RANLO, N.C., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Police in North Carolina say they believe there may be more bombs hidden in a rural Gaston County field and will conduct searches.

A bomb pulled from the woods Friday night was a practice bomb, Ranlo Police Chief Tim Anderson said, but he wants to make sure there aren't any other bombs containing explosives.

Government records show an executive order from President Harry Truman in 1945 authorized a Ranlo factory to build bombs for the war, WSOC-TV, Charlotte, N.C., reported Monday.

"I think we had an order at one time for 5,000 of those things," Charles Dixon, a former employee of the Cocker Machine and Foundry Co., told the station.

Dixon, 76, who worked at Cocker for 18 years, was puzzled as to how the bomb ended up in the woods

"It looks to me like it'd be impossible for a 500-pound bomb to get too far away from where it was made," Dixon said.

The 500-pound practice bombs were filled with concrete to help Navy pilots get used to the weight of them, he said, and also to see how deep the bombs would penetrate the ground when dropped from high altitudes.