The health personnel at the Rangueil hospital in Toulouse, France, had to carry out an unusual case related to a patient and an object of the World War I.
In the early hours of Saturday to Sunday, a 24-year-old young man showed up at the hospital ward complaining of severe pain in his rectum. When questioned, claimed to have introduced an object into the areabut he didn’t say which one.
The doctors were surprised and a little disoriented when they discovered what it was: it was a howitzera potentially explosive projectile from World War I, confirmed Le Figaró.
The weapon measured about 20 centimeters long and more than three in diameter.
A source told La Dépêche du Midi that “the medical team discovered it and called a bomb disposal unit”, who arrived at the hospital around 1:40 in the morning.
The “bombers” worked on the case with a security perimeter so that, if it exploded, the risks would be reduced.
When the weapon was identified, the members of the group stated that it was a 1918 howitzer without risk of explosion.
Once the operation was completed, the judicial support group “opened proceedings for possession of category A ammunition,” according to the publication Dispatch. The same media (which was the one that broke the news exclusively) stated that the young man “will be heard in the coming days to explain the origin of the shell.”
The Toulouse prosecutor’s office will not proceed with the procedure because it involves demilitarized ammunition.
What is a howitzer?
A howitzer is a piece of artillery (a large-caliber firearm) designed to launch explosive projectiles over long distances, usually describing a curved (ballistic) trajectory.
Unlike a “classic” cannon, which tends to shoot with more tense and direct trajectories, The howitzer is designed to hit targets behind obstacles (such as hills, buildings or trenches) and to attack large areas with high-powered ammunition.
The word “howitzer” is also used, depending on the context, to refer to the projectile that that piece of artillery fires. As in the case of the young Frenchman.
In practice, howitzers can be towed or self-propelled (mounted on a vehicle), and use different types of ammunition, not just explosive: for example, smoke or lighting, among others. Due to its range and power, its use is usually associated with military operations and fire support on the battlefield.
