A wire catcher (also known as ''Wire Cutter'' or ''Wire Anti-Decapitation Device'') is a device used to protect military personnel in open vehicles against taut-wire traps.

Design

A wire catcher consists of a strip of

angle iron Structural steel is a category of steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, ...

bolted upright to the forward

bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 197 ...

of a jeep. "It extends above the heads of those riding in the jeep, and is notched a few inches from the top so that any wire extending across the road will be caught and snipped."

History

The first land vehicle wire cutter to be demonstrated was attached to a Killen-Strait tractor for the British in 1915. Two scissor-like Royal Navy torpedo net cutters were fitted to the front of the tractor at the end of two protruding shaped metal rods. The tractor was driven into a field of tensioned barbed wire that had been strung up at precisely the cutter's height. It was not effective with wire at different heights and was not put into service.

Heavy tank Heavy tank is a term used to define a class of tanks produced from World War I through the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks ...

s were used simply to crush barbed wire obstacles instead. 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 opposin ...

, the Germans employed taut-wire traps strung across roadways designed to harm enemy soldiers riding in open vehicles such as jeeps and motorcycles. Wire catchers were installed on jeeps as field modifications. Wire catchers were used up through the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

Gallery

File:Ford GPW (1942) owned by Paul Bater pic1.JPG, 1942 Ford GPW with wire catcher File:Ford GPW (1944) owned by Andrew Meardon pic1.JPG, 1944 Ford GPW with wire catcher File:Véhicules militaires 6 juin 2009 lison 02.jpg, Willys Jeep with wire catcher File:1945 Willys jeep with trailer 1.JPG, 1945 Willys MB Jeep with wire catcher File:PikiWiki Israel 8985 jeep willis from the independence war.jpg, Willys MB Jeep from the Samson's Foxes unit in the independence war (1948) with wire catcher

References

External links

{{Commons category, Wire Cutter
'Wire Anti-Decapitation Device''
from 42fordgpw.com

Body Body may refer to: In science * Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space * Body (biology), the physical material of an organism * Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anima ...

Military vehicle components

Catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Design

History

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links