Bangalore Torpedo
A Bangalore torpedo is an explosive charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by combat engineers to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "Bangalore mine", "banger" or simply "Bangalore" as well as a pole charge.
bangalore torpedo
The Bangalore torpedo was devised by Captain R. L. McClintock[1] of the Royal Engineers while attached to the Madras Sappers and Miners unit of the Indian Army at Bangalore, India, in 1912. He invented it as a means of blowing up booby traps and barricades left over from the Second Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War.[2] The Bangalore torpedo could be exploded over a mine without a sapper having to approach closer than about 3 m (10 ft).
Bangalore torpedoes were manufactured until 2017 by Mondial Defence Systems of Poole, UK,[3] for the UK and US armed forces. An improved version called the Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo (APBT) was developed by Chemring Energetics UK, part of the Chemring Group, in response to a British Ministry of Defence requirement issued in 2008; the APBT was chosen by the MOD following competitive performance trials and is also in use with the militaries of Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.[4] They have been used during the Afghanistan War for actions such as clearing mines or razor wire.[5]
By the time of World War I the Bangalore torpedo was primarily used for clearing barbed wire before an attack. It could be used while under fire, from a protected position in a trench. The torpedo was standardized to consist of a number of externally identical 1.5 m (5 ft) lengths of threaded pipe, one of which contained the explosive charge. The pipes would be screwed together using connecting sleeves to make a longer pipe of the required length, somewhat like a chimney brush or drain clearing rod.
The Bangalore torpedo was later adopted by the U.S. Army during World War II, as the "M1A1 Bangalore torpedo". Bangalore torpedoes were packed in wooden crates that contained 10 torpedo sections, 10 connecting sleeves, and 1 nose sleeve; the total weight of a crate was 176 pounds (80 kg). Each torpedo section was 5 feet (1.5 m) long, 2.125 inches (54.0 mm) in diameter, and weighed 13 pounds (5.9 kg). Each end of the torpedo was filled with 4 inches (100 mm) of TNT booster, while the middle section contained an 80-20 amatol mixture; the explosive charge weighed about 9 pounds (4.1 kg). Each end of the torpedo had a recess to accommodate a standard Corps of Engineers blasting cap. Torpedo sections could be attached together via spring clip-equipped connecting sleeves, and a blunt nose sleeve was provided so that the assembled torpedoes could be pushed through obstacles or across terrain without getting stuck.
It was widely used by the U.S. Army, notably during the D-Day landings. The Bangalore torpedo was obsolete in British use at the time of D-Day, having been replaced by rocket-launched Congers and Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE) vehicles equipped with a 40-pound (18 kg) explosive charge for bunker clearing.[citation needed]
Bangalore torpedoes continue to be used today in the little-changed M1A2 and M1A3[11] versions (United States Armed Forces) and the modified Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo version (British Armed Forces and Australian Defence Force, under the L26A1 designation which is also used by Chemring),[12][13][14] primarily to breach wire obstacles. Combat engineers have also been known to construct similar field versions of the Bangalore by assembling segments of metal picket posts and filling the concave portion with plastic explosive (PE).[citation needed] The PE is then primed with detonating cord and a detonator, and pickets are taped or wired together to make a long torpedo, producing fragments (aka "shrapnel") that cut the wire when detonated. This method produces results similar to the standard-issue Bangalore, and can be assembled to the desired length by adding picket segments.
Newer Bangalore variants include the Alford Technologies Bangalore Blade and the Chemring Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo (APBT), with both of these having been developed in the United Kingdom. The Bangalore Blade is made from lightweight aluminium and is configured as a linear explosively formed projectile (EFP) array capable of cutting wire obstacles which earlier Bangalore variants were incapable of breaching effectively; the improvements introduced with the Bangalore Blade give the charge a cutting action as well as a blasting effect. In a test detonation conducted on the television show Future Weapons, the Bangalore Blade blasted a gap roughly five meters wide in concertina wire, and created a trench deep enough to detonate most nearby anti-personnel mines. Alford Technologies' web page for the Bangalore Blade cites additional trial detonations involving two identical triple-razor wire entanglements erected between steel pickets; a Bangalore torpedo conforming to the original design cleared a three-metre path, while the Bangalore Blade cleared a ten-metre path.[15] The Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo also uses an aluminium body and is filled with two kilograms of DPX1 high density pressed explosive; a unique and patented design feature is incorporated which, in combination with the DPX1 explosive, provides enhanced blast and fragmentation effects which in turn provide an enhanced cutting capability against both simple and complex wire entanglements. The APBT is capable of cutting through up to six millimetres of steel plating. Up to eight APBTs can be combined with one another, with the resulting assembly capable of defeating obstacles that are up to eight metres in length; the quick-turn thread used for this purpose has been designed for ease of assembly when contaminated with sand, soil, or mud whilst being strong enough to ensure reliable deployment of connected charges without inadvertent decoupling.[16] The APBT also has an improved Insensitive Munition signature compared to preceding in-service designs.[17]
A soldier carries an improvised bangalore torpedo to a barbwire obstacle during a live-fire exercise at the Battle Area Complex on Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Sept. 14, 2017. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Armando R. Limon
Another difference is that manual mine clearing is affected by the pins, detonate the bangalore or explosive is not affected by the pins (2d6 or 3d6 hits is not affected by pins), except for the order test.
The original Bangalore torpedo was designed in 1912 by Captain McClintock, an engineer who worked for Bengal, Bombay and Madras Sappers and Miners. Developed in Bangalore, India, the original design was not intended for warfare, but to clear pre-existing barbed-wire obstacles leftover from the Boer War and Russo-Japanese War.
The World War II era M1A1 Bangalore Torpedo was a pipe-shaped Class V anti-personnel mine-clearing charge capable of blasting a ten- to 20-foot wide path through a minefield or section of barbed wire. Short connecting sleeves were used to attach the threaded ends of two or more tubes in order to create a longer explosive device. A rounded nose sleeve was placed on the leading end of a tube in order to push the tube through obstacles. The torpedo was set off by placing a blasting cap in the recessed end cap well and igniting it with a time-delayed (electric or non-electric) fuse.
The Bangalore torpedo is still employed today by the United States Army. A modern M1A2 Bangalore torpedo kit contains 10 five-foot torpedo sections, 10 five-inch connecting sleeves, and 1 nose sleeve.
The apparent replacement for the Bangalore torpedo system is the Antipersonnel Obstacle Breaching System (APOBS), which lays out an explosive line charge using a small rocket. The APOBS system is lighter and quicker to deploy, and clears a larger area than the Bangalore torpedo system.
The player assumes control of Ronald "Red" Daniels in the level D-Day, after landing on the beach, the player picks up a Bangalore torpedo from an armless dead ally and is ordered to breach the seawall. The player have to line up the Marker to the Target Circle to launch the torpedo.
Bangalore torpedo is an explosive generally used by combat engineers for clearing obstacles. This explosive device was designed by Capt. McCintock of the British Indian Army. Bangalore torpedoes were used in World War I & II and in many other wars for clearing obstacles like barbed wire fences and for exploding booby traps.
The explosion of an experimental 'Bangalore Torpedo' near Corbie. The torpedo consisted of a long pipe filled with explosives, which was placed under the enemy barbed wire entanglements, and detonated. The explosion made a gap in the wire, through which attacking infantry could pass.
Breaching a wire obstacle may require stealth; for example, when done by a patrol. It may not require stealth during an attack. Breaches requiring stealth are normally done with wire cutters. Other breaches are normally done with bangalore torpedoes and wire cutters.
All torpedo sections have a threaded cap well at each end so that they may be assembled in any order. Use the connecting sleeves to connect the torpedo sections together. To prevent early detonation of the entire bangalore torpedo if you hit a mine while pushing it through the obstacle, attach an improvised (wooden) torpedo section to its end. That section can be made out of any wooden pole or stick that is the size of a real torpedo section. Attach the nose sleeve to the end of the wooden section. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined')ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'globalsecurity_org-banner-1','ezslot_4',135,'0','0']);__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-globalsecurity_org-banner-1-0');
A U.S. soldier runs through red smoke carrying a Bangalore torpedo during a live-fire range at Baturaja Training Area, Indonesia, Aug. 12, 2021, during the Garuda Shield exercise. (Rachel Christensen/U.S. Army) 041b061a72