A Bangalore torpedo is an
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by
combat engineer
A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tas ...
s 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.
Per
United States Army Field Manual
United States Army Field Manuals are published by the United States Army's Army Publishing Directorate. As of 27 July 2007, some 542 field manuals were in use. They contain detailed information and how-tos for procedures important to soldiers ser ...
5-250 section 1-14, page 1-12 "b. Use. The primary use of the torpedo is clearing paths through wire obstacles and heavy undergrowth. It will clear a 3- to 4-metre wide path through wire obstacles."
Overview
![Madras Sappers com Torpedo de bangalore em 1916 - 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Madras_Sappers_com_Torpedo_de_bangalore_em_1916_-_2.jpg)
The Bangalore torpedo was devised by Captain R. L. McClintock of the
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...
while attached to the
Madras Sappers and Miners unit of the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...
at
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
, India, in 1912. He invented it as a means of blowing up
booby trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
s and barricades left over from the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...
and the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
. The Bangalore torpedo could be exploded over a
mine without a
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparin ...
having to approach closer than about .
Bangalore torpedoes were manufactured until 2017 by Mondial Defence Systems of
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
, UK, 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. They have been used during the
Afghanistan War for actions such as clearing mines or
razor wire
Barbed tape or razor wire is a mesh of metal strips with sharp edges whose purpose is to prevent passage by humans. The term "razor wire", through long usage, has generally been used to describe barbed tape products. Razor wire is much sharper th ...
.
In World War I
By the time of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
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
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from ero ...
. The torpedo was standardized to consist of a number of externally identical 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.
A smooth nose cone would be screwed on the end to prevent snagging on the ground. It would then be pushed forward from a protected position and detonated, to clear a wide hole through barbed wire. During the
1917 Battle of Cambrai,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
Royal Engineers used them as diversions to distract the enemy from where the real battle was to be fought.
In World War II
![Bangalore torpedo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Bangalore_torpedo.jpg)
The Bangalore torpedo was reportedly used in the British offensive on
Bardia
Bardia, also El Burdi or Barydiyah ( ar, البردية, lit=, translit=al-Bardiyya or ) is a Mediterranean seaport in the Butnan District of eastern Libya, located near the border with Egypt. It is also occasionally called ''Bórdi Slemán''.
...
during the
Western Desert Campaign,
on 3 January 1941.
The Bangalore torpedo was later adopted by the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, 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 mm) in diameter, and weighed 13 pounds (5.9 kg). Each end of the torpedo was filled with 4 inches (102 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 Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
. 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
Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers (AVRE), also known as Assault Vehicle Royal Engineers is the title given to a series of armoured military engineering vehicles operated by the Royal Engineers (RE) for the purpose of protecting engineers durin ...
(AVRE) vehicles equipped with a explosive charge for bunker clearing.
Post-World War II development
![B Company 2 Battalion the Parachute Regiment MOD 45167475](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/B_Company_2_Battalion_the_Parachute_Regiment_MOD_45167475.jpg)
The U.S. Army and the
People's Army of Vietnam used the Bangalore torpedo during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
During the
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...
in 1973, Bangalore torpedoes were used by the
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
is to clear paths through
Syrian minefields.
Bangalore torpedoes continue to be used today in the little-changed M1A2 and M1A3 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), 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
Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives
or blastics.
Plastic explosives are especially suited for explo ...
(PE). 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
Shrapnel may refer to:
Military
* Shrapnel shell, explosive artillery munitions, generally for anti-personnel use
* Shrapnel (fragment), a hard loose material
Popular culture
* ''Shrapnel'' (Radical Comics)
* ''Shrapnel'', a game by Adam C ...
") 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
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
show ''
Future Weapons'', the Bangalore Blade blasted a gap roughly five meters wide in
concertina wire
Concertina wire or Dannert wire is a type of barbed wire or razor wire that is formed in large coils which can be expanded like a concertina. In conjunction with plain barbed wire (and/or razor wire/tape) and steel pickets, it is most ofte ...
, 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. 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. The APBT also has an improved
Insensitive Munition
Insensitive munitions are munitions that are designed to withstand stimuli representative of severe but credible accidents. The current range of stimuli are shock (from bullets, fragments and shaped charge jets), heat (from fires or adjacent ther ...
signature compared to preceding in-service designs.
Other recent path-clearing devices
The U.S.
anti-personnel obstacle breaching system
The anti-personnel obstacle breaching system (APOBS) is an explosive line charge system that allows safe breaching through complex antipersonnel obstacles, particularly fields of land mines. The APOBS is a joint DOD program for the U.S. Army and ...
(APOBS) is being brought into service as a replacement to the Bangalore for path-clearing due to their ease of use, effectiveness, and flexibility – they can clear a path several times longer than the Bangalore torpedo.
See also
*
Canadian pipe mine
*
Mine-clearing line charge
A mine-clearing line charge (abbreviated MCLC or MICLIC and pronounced or "''mick-lick''") is used to create a breach in minefields under combat conditions. While there are many types, the basic design is for many explosive charges connected on ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Bangalore TorpedoesFebruary 1944
Popular Science World War II article
Future Weapons: Bangalore Blade(video)
Explosive weapons
Anti-fortification weapons
Mine warfare countermeasures
World War I infantry weapons
World War II infantry weapons of the United States
World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom
History of the Madras Sappers
History of Bangalore
English inventions