Bizarre Booby Traps (Beetroot)

Spread-eagled on the cobbled floor was a dead German officer, resplendent in full uniform with sword and nazi dagger, his medals pinned on his chest, including the iron cross. Knowing the Germans and their dirty tricks, we were only too aware that moving him would set off a booby trap of some description. Spud and I talked about "making him safe" by putting a rope round his feet and giving him a pull from a safe distance, to set off the very loud bang we knew would follow, in the end we decided against it, some else could do it, it would be far to messy.
Sapper

 

I also heard that the SOE used to use mines disguised as lumps of horse manure as the Germans had a ting about swerving to run the manure over. Leading to the inevitable results.

Also explosive charges that were disguised as large lumps of coal. These were left in the coal bunkers in rail yards and were responsible for destroying the boilers and as such locomotives of several trains.

I don't think that there is very much that hasn't been booby-traped over the years.

 

When the Russians were on the outskirts of Berlin, the troops would indulge in drinking the local alcoholic beverages in some cases laced with neat ethanol leading to the inevitable blindness.

 

Lance Sergeant, I think you mean Methanol (Methyl alcohol). Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol) is what we all (or most of us) drink. Methanol causes real blindness, while Ethanol just makes you drunk and not able to see real well--- but it wears off. Doc

 

Lance Sergeant, I think you mean Methanol (Methyl alcohol). Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol) is what we all (or most of us) drink. Methanol causes real blindness, while Ethanol just makes you drunk and not able to see real well--- but it wears off. Doc

Yup thanks for that, my gaff. It's just a lot treat alcohol as one coverall item and dont realise it is a chemical family/group not an item per se on it's own. I got alcohol and ethanol round my neck, good spot. I meant to put down methanol.

 

That childhood, Must be the reason I need glasses!

 

Lance Sergeant, I think you mean Methanol (Methyl alcohol). Ethanol (Ethyl Alcohol) is what we all (or most of us) drink. Methanol causes real blindness, while Ethanol just makes you drunk and not able to see real well--- but it wears off. Doc

Maybe there were incidents where German defenders left methanol,(also sometimes referred to as wood alcohol) behind to trap the encoming Red Army but in the majority of cases,there were those in the Red Army who were continually "fuelled up" and who would drink any alcohol but did not last long if they took methanol.

Methanol cannot be drunk without a fatal outcome,at least inflicting blindness as has already been said.There was a case a few years ago when a Lab Assistant encouraged student nurses to drink the stuff presented as a punch.One died and he was charged with manslaughter.

Drinking illegal alcohol is still widespread amongst the ill informed and alcoholics in Russia.I did see where the annual carnage has reached 100.000.This is from both ethanol and methanol derived drinks.Methanol is the real killer for it is used to produce the illegal and unsafe Vodka which enters the cheap end of the market.

 

In August '43 I was serving as a Driver/Op in a Light Ack Regiment in Sicily.
Whilst off duty and looking around for likely souvenirs, I came across what appeared to be a German wireless aerial that had as its base three large magnets. I proudly carried it back to our 15 cwt wireless truck and said to Larry, my fellow driver/op, "look how bloody clever these Jerries are" and demonstrated by clamping the aerial to the driver's door.
At this point our signals sergeant came on the scene and pointed out to me that my 'aerial' was in fact a magnetic mine designed to clamp to the side of British tanks.
No... it didn't go off and Yes.....I still feel a bloody idiot
Ron

 

In August '43 I was serving as a Driver/Op in a Light Ack Regiment in Sicily.
Whilst off duty and looking around for likely souvenirs, I came across what appeared to be a German wireless arial that had as its base three large magnets. I proudly carried it back to our 15 cwt wireless truck and said to Larry, my fellow driver/op, "look how blody clever these Jerries are" and demonstrated by clamping the arial to the driver's door.
At this point our signals sergeant came on the scene and pointed out to me that my 'arial' was in fact a magnetic mine designed to clamp to the side of British tanks.
No... it didn't go off and Yes.....I still feel a bloody idiot
Ron

Do you mean this one?



If it was, you didn't need to feel like an idiot. If you knew about antennas, antenna bases and other radio equipment, and not shaped charges, it was an easy mistake to make. Mabe however, the lack of coax or feeder connection would have given the game away.

 

BRILLIANT !!!!!
You've just made my day/year/decade !
That was indeed the item I THOUGHT was an aerial and I never in my wildest dreams thought I would see the b*****y thing again !
Many, many thanks
Ron

ps Added on 9th Aug 2010

Just went back to this article which was the 1st posting I'd made on this forum and noted that Plant-Pilot's image of the grenade had disappeared from view.

Decided to paste in this one (found on GOOGLE) as a makeshift

 

Well glad you were so impressed with the picture. Not mine of course but you'll find it and more information on:-

http://www.geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust9.htm

And even better pictures including diagram showing the internal 'workings' of the grenade here:-

http://www.inert-ord.net/ger03a/gerat/index.html

All very interesting stuff and well worth a read.

 

Cheers Ron and PP just the kind of thing I was hoping would get posted!

The thing I find interesting about the HHL-3 anti-tank 'grenade' is that it's a big beast 27 cm tall and weighing 3 kg. Lets not forget this is no distance or leave behind weapon. You have to actually get to the tank with it and place it where it's going to do some real damage, initiate the fuze and get away from it before detination. That all takes serious guts and I take my hat off to anyone who had the nerve to actuall use one in battle and that could have been a lot of people as there are reported to have been 555,000 made! :mellow:

 

With ref to posting: http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/3859-bizarre-booby-traps-beetroot/

This speedy identification of my own magnetic mine was the start of my fascination with this wonderful forum.

I still get a kick out of reading this thread

i also found a group of the German Anti-tank grenades



Ron

 

another link below

http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/50768-booby-trap-mechanisms-and-mines-enemy-and-british/

regards
Clive

 

To come back to booby traps again, I heard a story long ago about a British officer running a course on booby traps. He challenged his course to catch him with one (using a harmless bang, of course). As the course went on, the students became more ingenious, but failed to catch him out. They finally got him by rigging the urinal in the Officers Mess so that when someone used it, it completed an electrical circuit and... bang. Just goes to show you don't need a lot of medals to rig a booby trap!

Chris