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For other meanings, see fougasse (disambiguation).

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A fougasse is an improvised mine constructed by making a hollow in the ground or rock and filling this with explosives (originally, black powder) and projectiles. Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes Fougasse was well known to military engineers by the mid-eighteenth century but was also referred to by Vauban in the seventeenth century and was used by Zimmerman at Augsburg in the sixteenth century. A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive defensive and logistical structures for Warfare Other duties include the The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Sébastien Le Prestre Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban ( May 15, 1633 – March 30, 1707) commonly referred to As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Augsburg is an independent City in the south-west of Bavaria. This technique was used in several European wars, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The term is still used in the present day to describe such devices.

Firing

The normal method of firing was to use a burning torch or slow match to ignite a saucisson (French for "big sausage", a cloth or leather tube water-proofed with pitch and filled with black powder) leading to the main charge. Originally a torch was a portable source of Fire used as a source of light usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other Slow match or match cord is the very slow burning cord or twine fuse used by early Gunpowder Musketeers, artillerymen and soldiers to ignite In early Military engineering a saucisson ( French for a large dry-filled Sausage) was a primitive type of fuse, consisting of a long tube or French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people A sausage is a prepared Food, usually made from Ground meat, animal fat salt and Spices (sometimes with other ingredients such as herbs typically packed Pitch is the name for any of a number of highly viscous Liquids which appear Solid. This had numerous disadvantages; the firer was obvious to the attacking enemy, and had to race to get clear after lighting the fuse. The black powder was also very susceptible to moisture, and might not work at all. In 1573 Samuel Zimmermann devised an improved method which incorporated a snaphance (or later, flintlock mechanism) into the charge and connected its trigger to the surface with a wire. Snaphance or Snaphaunce is a particular type of mechanism for firing a gun (or a gun using that mechanism Flintlock is the general term for any Firearm based on the flintlock mechanism This was more resistant to moisture, better concealed, and enabled the firer to be further away. It also enabled the fougasse to be tripwire activated, turning it into a anti-personnel fragmentation mine. A tripwire is a passive Triggering mechanism usually/originally employed for military purposes although its principle has been used since prehistory for methods of trapping A land mine is an Explosive device designed to be placed on or in the ground to explode when triggered by an operator or the Proximity of a vehicle person

In a letter to his sister, Colonel Hugh Robert Hibbert, described such a weapon employed during the Crimean War:

These wretched Russians have discovered a new system of annoyance which would be well worthy of invention by Franky [their brother] and which consists of a series of small mines or barrels of gunpowder let into the ground between our works and theirs, and a little tin tube running along the ground a few inches above it, two or three feet long, which tube is filled with some composition which explodes immediately on being touched, so that any unfortunate meandering along the grass without knowing why, suddenly finds himself going up in the air like a squib with his legs and arms flying in different directions. The Crimean War, also known in Russia as the Eastern War (Восточная война Vostochnaya Vojna) (March 1854–February 1856 was fought We have had many men blown up by these things and the grass being so long one cannot see the tube at all. The technical name is "Fougasse". Franky will know what they are I daresay. The ground between our old trenches, and the Russian ones that we took the other day is full of them. At night you hear a sudden explosion and you know that some wretched fellow has been crossing from one trench to another, on private speculation to see what he could get, has trod on the tube and been blown up. I often think how the Russians must laugh when they hear these things going up at night in all directions, they must know well what it is. [1]

Types

Stone

There are several variants according to the material projected by the explosion. The most common type in early usage was the stone fougasse, which was simply filled with large rocks, bricks, etc. When fired, it would scatter a hail of fast moving stones across the area to its front. Large stone fougasses might hold several tonnes of rubble and as much as a hundredweight of powder. Hundred weight or hundredweight is a Unit of measurement for Mass in U

Shell

In contrast the shell fougasse was loaded with early black powder mortar shells (essentially a large version of an early black powder hand grenade) or incendiary "carcasses". A mortar is a muzzle-loading Indirect fire weapon that fires shells at low velocities short ranges and high-arcing ballistic trajectories A shell is a payload-carrying Projectile, which as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling though modern usage includes large solid projectiles Incendiary devices or incendiary bombs are Bombs designed to start Fires or destroy sensitive equipment using materials such as Napalm, Thermite A carcass was an early form of Incendiary Bomb or shell, intended to set targets on fire When fired, the powder charge would both throw out the shells and also ignite their fuses, so the projectiles would be scattered across the target area and then begin exploding, filling the area with fragmentation or flame from all directions in an effect similar to a cluster bomb. Cluster munitions or cluster bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject a number of smaller submunitions a cluster of bomblets

Flame

A flame fougasse was a similar weapon in which the projectile was a flammable liquid, typically a mixture of petrol (gasoline) and oil. Generally a flammable liquid means a liquid which may catch Fire easily The flame fougasse was developed by the British Petroleum Warfare Department in response to the threat of German invasion during World War II. British anti-invasion preparations of World War II entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilization in response to the threat of invasion World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including [2]

In Britain, during WWII, the flame fougasse was usually constructed from a 40-gallon drum dug into the roadside and camouflaged. It would be placed at a location such as a corner, steep incline or roadblock where vehicles would be obliged to slow down. Ammonal provided the propellant charge which, when triggered, caused the weapon to shoot a flame 10 feet (3 m) wide and 30 yards (30 m) long. Initially a mixture of 40% petrol and 60% gas oil was used, this was later replaced by an adhesive gel of tar, lime and petrol known as 5B. [3]

The flame fougasse has remained in army field manuals as a battlefield expedient ever since. Such expedients are constructed from available fuel containers combined with standard explosive charges or hand grenades triggered electrically or by lengths of detonating cord. Detonating cord (also called detonation cord, detacord, det cord, detcord, primer cord or sun cord) is a thin flexible Some designs use lengths of detonating cord or blasting caps to rupture the fuel container as well as detonating the main charge. [4] Weapons of this sort were widely used in the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as other conflicts. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The National Archives, records of the UK government. An improvised explosive device ( IED) is a Bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional Military action Letters of Hibbert, Hugh Robert, 1828-1895, Colonel, ref. DHB/57 - date: 14 June 1855. Events 1276 - While taking exile in Fuzhou in southern China, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Year 1855 ( MDCCCLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Retrieved on 2006-08-08. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
  2. ^ Adrian Armishaw. Flame Fougasse (surviving remains). Pillbox Study Group. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign
  3. ^ Hayward, 2001, p18.
  4. ^ FM 20-33, 1967, chapter 6.

References

External links

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