It has been causing a nuisance all week, turning a large part of Great Yarmouth into a no-go zone and forcing more than 200 people out of their homes.
But 82 years ago, the unexploded Second World War bomb dredged up from the river in Great Yarmouth was close to having a far more devastating impact on the town.
A local historian has been carrying out research this week to find more about the 250kg device.
Andrew Fakes, president of the Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society, believes he has pinpointed the Luftwaffe raid on which the bomb was dropped.
According to his findings, it most likely ended up in its watery resting place at the bottom of the Yare on the evening of April 9, 1941, one of several attacks on the town by German bombers during the war.
He recalls being told by a member of the Home Guard how six bombs fell into the water that night, only five of which exploded.
Mr Fakes said: "I recall an anecdote told to me by the late Robert Postle, who was a teenage member of the Home Guard and a 'Fire Watcher' before joining the Royal Air Force.
"As far as I can recall, Bob said he saw six bombs fall into the river from a German bomber but he only saw five explosions."
Mr Postle reported his sighting to superior officers who investigated the area, but no unexploded bomb was found.
As it was only Mr Postle who had noticed five explosions from the six bombs, the Home Guard decided it wouldn't be worth closing the harbour for more extensive searches.
Mr Fakes believes the anecdote fits with reports from the chief constable Charles Box from his book, 'Great Yarmouth: Front Line Town 1939-1945'.
The book records the events of April 9, 1941, in a chapter called 'Another attack with high explosive bombs which dropped in the River Yare'.
While several bombs that night ended up in the Yare, the town did not escape.
There was considerable damage in Gorleston, where six people were killed and five injured.
While Yarmouth was home to military targets, Mr Fakes believes the town also suffered because it was on the route for German bombers returning home.
If the crews had not been able to drop all their bombs on their intended targets, Mr Fakes said they would often let them go over the last piece of enemy territory they flew over.
"It is said German bomber crews that had not discharged their bomb load would drop them over the last place in England they saw - which, when returning from raiding the Midlands, was usually Great Yarmouth.
"Many German bombs missed their targets falling into the sea, on the marshes or onto allotments."
Mr Fakes suggested the Luftwaffe might have been interested in several military targets along the river, including the shore base HMS Miranda and minesweepers and motor torpedo boats, including HMS Midge, based near Fish Wharf.
"Some say Great Yarmouth was the most heavily bombed town in Britain in the Second World War," Mr Fakes said.
"In Mr Box's book, he revealed 217 people were killed and almost 600 people injured. Some 1,427 houses and 172 other premises were so badly damaged that they had to be demolished."
Mr Fakes is continuing to search records to find out more about the April 9 raid, as he tries to piece together the events of the night and their long legacy.
The bomb was discovered during dredging work close to the town's Third River crossing on Tuesday.
Some 230 residents have evacuated their homes, and roads in Southtown and South Quay have been closed while bomb disposal teams continue their attempts to defuse the device.
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