M1A1 Bangalore Torpedo

M1A1 Bangalore Torpedo

The M1A1 Bangalore Torpedo was originally designed as a wire obstacle breaching device during WWII. It can also be used as an antipersonnel mine clearing charge. It is issued as a demolition kit to frontline infantry and engineer troops. The kit consists of ten 5-foot sections. Each section weighs thirteen pounds, nine of which is packed with TNT. The explosive charge can clear a lane approximately one meter wide. The bangalore may be place by an individual soldier, or a team of two or more. First, the site where the bangalore is going to be used is checked for tripwires and booby traps. The soldier then connects the number of sections needed and pushes it through the minefield. An electric or nonelectric blasting cap is used to initiate detonation.

The M1A1 Bangalore was used with great success by Rangers in WWII in breaching barbed wire obstacles and minefields placed by German soldiers. It is currently being used for antipersonnel mine operations in Bosnia.

By Tim Davis

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