Encyclopedia - Bangalore Torpedo
Dating back to British use in India - hence the name -
and designed by Captain McClintock (of the British Army Bengal, Bombay and
Madras Sappers and Miners) in 1912, so-called Bangalore Torpedoes were used
as a means of exploding booby traps and barricades left over from the Boer
and Russo-Japanese Wars.
Specifically during the First World War they were put to more or less effective combat use as a way of destroying thick enemy barbed wire entanglements (being placed underneath and then detonated).
Eminently portable the weapon was comprised of three parts. The smooth nose was designed to penetrate its target; a number of empty sections gave the torpedo its required length; and finally, additional empty pipes were filled with explosive. The whole was approximately 1.8 metres in length.
Bangalore Torpedoes remained in widespread use into the Second World War and beyond (notably as a means of clearing the beaches during the D-Day landings). Of sufficient versatility and portability they continue in use even today.
A "Brass Hat" was a high ranking officer.
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