Grappling Hook on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold onto objects. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge for submerged objects.
The device was invented by the Romans in approximately 260 BC. The grappling hook was originally used in naval warfare to catch ship
Grappling hooks are used by combat engineers to breach tactical obstacles. When used as such, the grappling hook is launched in front of an obstacle and dragged backwards to detonate trip-wire-fused land mines, and can be hooked on wire obstacles and pulled to set off booby traps on the wire. Two tools are available for this purpose; the rifle-launched grapnel (LGH), a single-use grappling hook placed on the end of an M4/ M16 rifle, or the crossbow launched version. A grapnel can clear up to 99% of the trip-wires in a single pass.Field Manual 3-34.2 ''Combined Arms Breaching Operations.'' 31 August 2000. Para. C-57 and Table C-2 During WW2 British and German ships would tow grappling hooks in the hope of snagging or damaging enemy submarines; this was a tactic also employed by the Japanese. Grappling hooks were used at the
As well as the Grapnel Anchor grapnels are used in the removal and repair of subsea cables, large ships called Cable Layers drag huge grapnels across the seabed until they snag a cable.
Rangers Storm the Cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on D-Day 73 Years Ago
(June 6, 2017) Climbing equipment Mountaineering equipment
A grappling hook or grapnel is a device that typically has multiple hooks (known as ''claws'' or ''flukes'') attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold onto objects. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge for submerged objects.
The device was invented by the Romans in approximately 260 BC. The grappling hook was originally used in naval warfare to catch ship rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
so that it could be boarded.
Design
A common design has a central shaft with a hole ("eye") at the shaft base to attach the rope, and three or four equally spaced hooks at the end, arranged so that at least one is likely to catch on some protuberance of the target. Some modern designs feature folding hooks to resist unwanted attachment. Most grappling hooks are thrown by hand, but some used in rescue work are propelled bycompressed air
Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...
(e.g., the Plumett AL-52), , line thrower
A line thrower is a device that casts a line to a remote position. It is used in rescues as well as marine operations. A line thrower may employ a variety of launching methods including guns, rockets, and pneumatics.
History
Roman general Marcus ...
, mortar, or a rocket.
Applications
Military
Grappling hooks are used by combat engineers to breach tactical obstacles. When used as such, the grappling hook is launched in front of an obstacle and dragged backwards to detonate trip-wire-fused land mines, and can be hooked on wire obstacles and pulled to set off booby traps on the wire. Two tools are available for this purpose; the rifle-launched grapnel (LGH), a single-use grappling hook placed on the end of an M4/ M16 rifle, or the crossbow launched version. A grapnel can clear up to 99% of the trip-wires in a single pass.Field Manual 3-34.2 ''Combined Arms Breaching Operations.'' 31 August 2000. Para. C-57 and Table C-2 During WW2 British and German ships would tow grappling hooks in the hope of snagging or damaging enemy submarines; this was a tactic also employed by the Japanese. Grappling hooks were used at the D-Day
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 D ...
landings to aid soldiers climbing the cliffs at the Normandy beaches.
Maritime
As well as the Grapnel Anchor grapnels are used in the removal and repair of subsea cables, large ships called Cable Layers drag huge grapnels across the seabed until they snag a cable.
In popular culture
Grappling hooks, grapple guns and their many variants have been a staple in many video games. In the anime and manga franchiseAttack on Titan
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...
, some omni-directional maneuvering gear are equipped with modified, gas operated grapple guns that placed in their hips or wrist to manoeuvre them.
See also
* Manby mortar *Lyle gun
A Lyle gun was a line thrower powered by a short-barrelled cannon. It was invented by Captain David A. Lyle, US Army, a graduate of West Point and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and were used from the late 19th century to 1952, when ...
* Kaginawa
* Kusarigama
A is a traditional Japanese weapon that consists of a ''kama'' (the Japanese equivalent of a sickle or billhook) on a kusari-fundo – a type of metal chain (''kusari'') with a heavy iron weight (''fundo'') at the end. The ''kusarigama'' is said ...
References
External links
{{CommonscatRangers Storm the Cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on D-Day 73 Years Ago
(June 6, 2017) Climbing equipment Mountaineering equipment