London City airport has released a new video detailing the World War Two finds uncovered during ongoing surveys of the King George V Dock, in preparation for an extension of the terminal building and new aircraft stands.

The airport was temporarily closed in February, following the discovery of an unexploded German bomb, and LCY says it has also uncovered a number of World War Two shell casings, including two dated from 1940 and 1943 which “would have been fired at the German Luftwaffe from the ground”.

The new video goes behind the scenes of the survey which has been ongoing in King George V Dock since November 2017, and which is currently the largest inshore diving project in the country.

Divers and surveyors have been checking over 400 sites on the dock bed, which are “deemed to show ‘ferrous anomalies’ during initial magnetometer surveys”.

The airport said that the vast majority of these sites have been “benign”, with 38 still to be investigated, and work is scheduled for completion in November.

Aside from unexploded bombs and shell casings, more unsual items to have been uncovered by the survey include a Ford Mk I Escort, kilometres of steel wire rope, and a motorbike.

Speaking on the video, diver Tom Fountain said that the environment in the King George V Dock is “pretty grim”.

“It’s not like diving in the Caribbean,” said Fountain. “It’s pretty dark and muddy. I’ve been here since November and some of the dives we did were two, two and half, hours. It was cold. Minus 4. Cold. Damp.”

Following completion of the survey, a concrete deck measuring 75,000 sqm will be created, supported by steel and concrete columns which will be installed in the dock bed.

The piling and decking phase of the project is scheduled to take around two years to complete, with the development programme due to be completed in 2022.

The current terminal building will be extended to three times its current size, with a new departure lounge, check-in facilities, baggage reclaim and security.

londoncityairport.com