Dud rates between German and Allied bombs seem to have been roughly comparable. British bomb surveys indicate a roughly 10% rate of failure for German bombs over the country. Modern estimates, meanwhile, suggest that somewhere between 10-20% of Allied bombs dropped on Germany were duds. This similarity suggests that a disparity in the dud rates between Allied and German bombs can't explain why there are more stories about Allied duds in Germany than the opposite. To explain this, we have to look elsewhere.

The simplest answer is that many more bombs were dropped on Germany than on Britain. The Allied strategic bomber offensive in Europe dropped something in the region of 2.5 million tons of bombs. Of these, about 1.5 million were targeted on Germany. In return, the Germans dropped around 70,000 tons on the UK. Taking a dud rate of 10%, then we would expect to see 250,000 tons of dud bombs in Germany, and 7,000 in the UK. This means that (assuming a constant size of bomb) for every hundred dud bombs in Germany, we would expect to see just three in the UK.

Another factor is that the Allies dropped heavier bombs on Germany. The heaviest bombs dropped by the Germans in large numbers, excluding the V1s and V2s, were the 2000lb (1000 kg) parachute mines. A small number of 1800kg (~4000lb) weapons were also dropped. Most of the bombs dropped on the UK were 500kg or smaller. In comparison, the RAF routinely dropped 4000lb 'blockbuster' bombs, and deployed larger 8000lb and 12,000lb weapons. A larger UXB is more likely to make it into international news. It will require the evacuation of a larger area for safety, and, if a controlled demolition is needed, it will be more spectacular. A small bomb is much less likely to make a splash in the international news - this 50kg bomb, found in the Thames in 2017 only made it into the local BBC news. A 2000lb bomb located in Exeter in 2021 made it into international outlets.

We must also consider the fuses of the bombs. Allied bombs mostly used mechanical fuses, while German bombs largely used electrical fuses. The electrical fuses used on German bombs become largely inert once the battery powering them runs down. The same is not the case for mechanical fuses. The clockwork inside can only be rendered inert by corrosion jamming the mechanism. It is largely impossible to know whether or not a mechanical fuse is jammed from the outside. This means that the British bomb disposal teams can be more confident when dealing with unexploded bombs (UXB); they can take less-newsworthy methods like removing the bomb to a safe location for a controlled detonation. German teams, meanwhile, have to take more risks. Blowing up the bomb in situ is much more likely the safest option. This, in turn, means newsworthy evacuations and explosions. There is also much greater risk when making preparations for dealing with the bomb, so German UXB disposal teams (and those civilians who locate UXB) are more likely to take casualties.

Finally, the British were more able to take steps to detect and remove UXB during the war and the immediate aftermath. From September 1940, the British set up a highly detailed system of bomb censuses. These aimed to count every bomb dropped on the UK. Bombs that didn't detonate would be counted by these censuses, and could be dealt with by bomb disposal teams. Germany, meanwhile, had less resilience in their systems for dealing with UXB. The heavy Allied raids often did serious damage to local administration, making it harder to detect UXB when they were dropped. The disruption caused by bombing made it harder for bomb disposal teams to reach the UXBs that were detected.