AndersonMcFarlan at 20:20, 4 March 2026

2026-03-04T20:20:55Z

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{{Short description|Explosive charge to clear obstacles}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name = Bangalore torpedo
| image = Bangalore-torpedo-batey-haosef.jpg
| image_size = 300
| origin = [[British Raj|British India]]
| type = Explosive charge
| is_UK = yes
| is_ranged =
| is_bladed =
| is_explosive = yes
| is_artillery =
| is_vehicle =
| is_missile = 
| service = 1914–present
| wars = {{Unbulleted list
|[[World War I]]
|[[World War II]]
|[[Korean War]]
|[[Vietnam War]]
|[[Yom Kippur War]]
|[[War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)|War in Afghanistan]] |[[Russian Invasion of Ukraine]]<ref name="Ukr"/>
}}
| designer = Captain R. L. McClintock
| design_date = 1912
| manufacturer =
| unit_cost =
| production_date = February 1943 – November 1944 (M1A1)
| number = Approximately 3,255,000 torpedo sections (M1A1)
| variants = M1 Bangalore Torpedo series, Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo (L26A1 Bangalore Torpedo Demolition Charge), Bangalore Blade, F60 Bangalore Torpedo
| spec_label =
| weight = {{cvt|13|lb|kg}} per torpedo section (M1A1)
| length = up to {{convert|15|m|ft||abbr=on}} in {{convert|1.5|m|ft||abbr=on}} sections (general), {{cvt|5|ft|m}} (M1A1)
| part_length =
| width =
| height =
| diameter = {{cvt|2.125|in|mm}} (M1A1)
| filling = [[Trinitrotoluene|TNT]], 80–20 TNT and [[ammonium nitrate]] (M1A1), [[C-4 (explosive)|C4]] (modern production)
| filling_weight = {{cvt|9|lb|kg}} per torpedo section (M1A1)
| detonation = [[Detonator]]
| yield = 
| ref = <small>''Catalogue of Standard Ordnance Items'', Second Edition 1944, Volume III, p. 598</small>
}}

A '''Bangalore torpedo''' is an [[explosive]] charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by [[combat engineer]]s to clear obstacles that would otherwise require them to approach directly, possibly under fire. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "Bangalore mine", "banger" or simply "Bangalore" as well as a '''pole charge'''.


Per [[United States Army Field Manual]] 5-250 section 1–14, page 1–12 "b. Use. The primary use of the torpedo is clearing paths through wire obstacles and heavy undergrowth. It will clear a 3- to 4-metre wide path through wire obstacles."

== Overview ==
[[File:Madras Sappers com Torpedo de bangalore em 1916 - 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Madras Engineer Group|Madras Sappers and Miners]] with Bangalore torpedoes, 1916]]

The Bangalore torpedo was devised by Captain R. L. McClintock<ref>Note; later Lieutenant-Colonel R. L. McClintock, Dunmore, Carrigans. [[Order of St Michael and St George|C.M.G]]., [[Distinguished Service Order|D.S.O.]], R.E.</ref> of the [[Royal Engineers]] while attached to the [[Madras Engineer Group|Madras Sappers and Miners]] unit of the [[British Indian Army|Indian Army]] at [[Bangalore]], India, in 1912. He invented it as a means of blowing up [[booby trap]]s and barricades left over from the [[Second Boer War]] and the [[Russo-Japanese War]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Duffy|first=Michael|title=Bangalore Torpedo|url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/atoz/bangaloretorpedo.htm|work=firstworldwar.com|access-date=2023-08-31}}</ref> The Bangalore torpedo could be exploded over a [[land mine|mine]], without a [[sapper]] having to approach closer than about {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on|0}}.

Bangalore torpedoes were manufactured until 2017 by Mondial Defence Systems of [[Poole]], UK, for the UK and US armed forces.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=usurped |url=http://mondial-defence.com/Product.aspx?iCategoryID=26 |title=EXPLOSIVES & CHARGES |website=Mondial Defence Systems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202032427/http://mondial-defence.com/Product.aspx?iCategoryID=26 |archive-date=2016-02-02}}</ref> An improved version called the Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo (APBT) was developed by Chemring Energetics UK, part of the [[Chemring Group]], in response to a British Ministry of Defence (MOD) requirement issued in 2008. The APBT was chosen by the MOD following competitive performance trials and is used by the militaries of Australia, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |author = Chemring Energetics UK |title = CEUK Demolition Stores Capability Brochure |year= 2018 |url= https://www.chemring.co.uk/~/media/Files/C/Chemring-V3/publications/CEUK%20Brochures/CEUK_Capabilities_A5_24pp_Iss2%20Feb%202018.pdf#page=11 |access-date= 20 January 2020|author-link = Chemring Group }}</ref> They were used during the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|Afghanistan War]] for actions such as clearing mines or [[razor wire]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |date=2009-11-16 |title=Troops hone artillery skills to cut Afghan deaths |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33971978 |publisher=NBC News |agency=Associated Press |access-date=2023-08-31}}</ref>

== In World War I ==
In [[World War I]] the Bangalore torpedo was primarily used for clearing [[barbed wire]] before an attack. It could be used while under fire, from a protected position in a [[trench warfare|trench]]. The torpedo was standardized to consist of a number of externally identical {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} lengths of threaded pipe, one of which contained the explosive charge. The pipes would be screwed together using connecting sleeves to make a longer pipe of the required length, somewhat like a chimney brush or drain clearing rod.

A smooth nose cone was screwed on the end to prevent snagging on the ground. It was pushed forward from a protected position and detonated, to clear a {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on|0}} wide hole through barbed wire. During the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|1917 Battle of Cambrai]], [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Corps of Royal Engineers|Royal Engineers]] used them as diversions to distract the enemy from where the real battle was to be fought.<ref>Wilfrid Miles, ''Official History of the Great War, Military operations, France and Belgium 1917'', Volume III, The Imperial War Museum Department of Printed Books (1948), pp.96</ref>

== In World War II ==
[[File:Explosives and Demolitions Bangalore Torpedoes 1944.webm|thumb|''Explosives and Demolitions: Bangalore Torpedoes'' (1944) De-classified U.S. Army Bangalore high-explosives combat engineer training film reel.]]

The Bangalore torpedo was used in the British offensive on [[Bardia]] during the [[Western Desert Campaign]], [[Battle of Bardia|on 3 January 1941]].<ref>''History of the Second World War, the Mediterranean and Middle East''. Vol 1. HSMO. 1954.</ref>

The Bangalore torpedo was later adopted by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] during [[World War II]], as the "M1A1 Bangalore torpedo". Bangalore torpedoes were packed in wooden crates that contained ten torpedo sections, ten connecting sleeves, and one nose sleeve. The total weight of a crate was {{convert|176|lb|kg}}. Each torpedo section was {{convert|5|ft|m}} long, {{convert|2.125|in|mm}} in diameter, and weighed {{convert|13|lb|kg}}.

[[File:Bangalore torpedo.jpg|thumb|Four pieces of an M1A1 Bangalore torpedo: two individual pieces, and two attached together.]]
Each end of the torpedo was filled with {{convert|4|in|mm}} of TNT booster, while the middle section contained an 80–20 [[amatol]] mixture. The explosive charge weighed about {{convert|9|lb|kg}}. Each end of the torpedo had a recess to accommodate a standard [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Corps of Engineers]] blasting cap. Torpedo sections could be attached together via spring-clip-equipped connecting sleeves. A blunt nose sleeve was provided so that the assembled torpedoes could be pushed through obstacles or across terrain without getting stuck.

Wehrmacht soldiers also used satchel charges as improvised solutions to destroy armored structures and vehicles.<ref name="m24explo">{{cite web |title=Alternative use of the Stielhandgranate 24: Geballte und gestreckte Ladung |url=https://www.bergflak.com/m24explo.html |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=bergflak.com}}</ref> They employed the {{lang|de|[[Stielhandgranate]]}} for the purpose, which was called the {{lang|de|gestreckte Ladung}} ({{Literal translation|Elongated Charge}}),

[[File:Stick grenade bangalore (white).png|thumb|Improvised Bangalore torpedo using the ''Stielhandgranate'' 24.]]

The ''Stielhandgranate'' have had their handles and fuses removed and replaced with detonators – mounted to a long stick or plank behind one another with a complete grenade at one end to initiate the explosion.<ref name="m24explo2">{{cite web |title=Alternative use of the Stielhandgranate 24: Geballte und gestreckte Ladung |url=https://www.bergflak.com/m24explo.html |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=bergflak.com}}</ref>

{{Clear}}

== Post–World War II development ==
[[File:Defense.gov photo essay 110223-A-3108M-001.jpg|thumb|right|[[82nd Airborne]] combat engineers, [[Fort Bragg]], 2011]]
[[File:B Company 2 Battalion the Parachute Regiment MOD 45167475.jpg|thumb|right|[[23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) (United Kingdom)|23 Engineer Regiment]] soldier preparing L26A1 Bangalore Torpedo Demolition Charge]]
[[File:48th IBCT XCTC 130909-Z-QM033-003.jpg|thumb|US soldier carrying a section]]

During the [[First Indochina War]], the [[Viet Minh]] produced Bangalore torpedoes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Guns of the Viet Minh |url=http://indochine54.free.fr/vm/vmlogistics.html |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=indochine54.free.fr}}</ref> The U.S. Army and the [[People's Army of Vietnam]] used the Bangalore torpedo during the [[Vietnam War]];<ref>[https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/Military-Construction-Combat/062-Viet-Cong-Tunnels/ Historical Vignette 062 - How Army Engineers Cleared Viet Cong Tunnels]</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Alexander| first=Steven| title=An American Soldier in Vietnam| chapter=Chapter Twenty-Four| date=July 2013| publisher=Page| isbn=9781628380507| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y4uPejM8oz8C&q=bangalore+torpedo+vietnam&pg=PT115}}</ref> and this war, [[Viet Cong]] locally made bangalore torpedo.<ref>{{Cite web |author=United States Marine Corps |title=Bangalore Torpedo, March 1966 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/60868061@N04/49715507353/ |date=2020-03-30 |access-date=2026-01-16 |website=Flickr |language=en}}</ref>

During the [[Yom Kippur War]] in 1973, Bangalore torpedoes were used by the [[Israel]]is to clear paths through [[Syria]]n minefields.<ref>Rabinovich, Abraham. ''The Yom Kippur War''. Schoken Books (2005), p. 309</ref>

Bangalore torpedoes continue to be used today in the little-changed M1A2 and M1A3<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dod.defense.gov/OIR/gallery/igphoto/2001934446/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418081054/https://dod.defense.gov/OIR/gallery/igphoto/2001934446/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2023 |title=Priming A Torpedo|date=15 June 2018|website=United States Department of Defense}}</ref> versions of the United States Armed Forces, and the modified Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo version of the British Armed Forces and Australian Defence Force, under the L26A1 designation which is also used by Chemring,<ref>{{cite web |author = Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) |title = DIN Digest October 2012 |year= 2012 |url= https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/49654/DINDIGEST_2012_October.pdf#page=5 |access-date= 12 August 2018|author-link = Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author = Royal Australian Engineers |title = Australian Sapper 2016 |year = 2016 |url = https://www.raevictoria.asn.au/resources/Australian%20Sapper%202016.pdf#page=17 |access-date = 20 January 2020 |author-link = Royal Australian Engineers |archive-date = 24 February 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200224190234/https://raevictoria.asn.au/resources/Australian%20Sapper%202016.pdf#page=17 |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author = Chemring Energetics UK |title = Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo |year = 2011 |url = https://www.militarysystems-tech.com/files/militarysystems/supplier_docs/CEUK-AP-Bangalore-Torpedo.pdf |access-date = 20 January 2020 |author-link = Chemring Group |archive-date = 14 June 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200614192743/https://www.militarysystems-tech.com/files/militarysystems/supplier_docs/CEUK-AP-Bangalore-Torpedo.pdf |url-status = dead }}</ref> primarily to breach wire obstacles.

Combat engineers have been known to construct similar field versions of the Bangalore by assembling segments of metal picket posts and filling the concave portion with [[plastic explosive]] (PE).{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}} The PE is then primed with detonating cord and a detonator, and pickets are taped or wired together to make a long torpedo, producing [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragments]] (aka "[[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]]") that cut the wire when detonated. This method produces results similar to the standard-issue Bangalore, and can be assembled to the desired length by adding picket segments.

Newer Bangalore variants include the Alford Technologies Bangalore Blade and the Chemring Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo (APBT), with both developed in the United Kingdom. The Bangalore Blade is made from lightweight aluminium and is configured as a linear explosively formed projectile (EFP) array capable of cutting wire obstacles, which earlier Bangalore variants were incapable of breaching effectively. The improvements introduced with the Bangalore Blade give the charge a cutting action as well as a blasting effect.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bangalore Blade |url=https://www.explosives.net/bangalore-blade |publisher=Alford Technologies |access-date=2023-08-31}}</ref>

In a test detonation conducted on the [[television]] show ''[[Future Weapons]]'', the Bangalore Blade blasted a gap roughly five meters wide in [[concertina wire]], and created a trench deep enough to detonate most nearby anti-personnel mines. Alford Technologies' web page for the Bangalore Blade cites additional trial detonations involving two identical triple-razor wire entanglements erected between steel pickets. A Bangalore torpedo conforming to the original design cleared a three-metre path, while the Bangalore Blade cleared a ten-metre path.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bangalore Blade |url=https://www.explosives.net/bangalore-blade |publisher=Alford Technologies |access-date=2023-08-31}}</ref>

The Advanced Performance Bangalore Torpedo uses an aluminium body and is filled with two kilograms of DPX1 high density pressed explosive. A unique and patented design feature is incorporated which, in combination with the DPX1 explosive, provides enhanced blast and fragmentation effects which provide an enhanced cutting capability against both simple and complex wire entanglements. The APBT is capable of cutting through up to six millimetres of steel plating.<ref>{{cite web |author = Chemring Energetics UK |title = AP Bangalore Torpedo |year= 2016 |url= https://www.chemring.co.uk/~/media/Files/C/Chemring-V3/documents/energetics/bangalore-torpedo-apbt-.pdf |access-date= 20 January 2020|author-link = Chemring Group }}</ref>

Up to eight APBTs can be combined with one another, with the resulting assembly capable of defeating obstacles that are up to eight metres in length. The quick-turn thread used for this purpose has been designed for ease of assembly when contaminated with sand, soil, or mud while being strong enough to ensure reliable deployment of connected charges without inadvertent decoupling.<ref>{{cite web |author = Chemring Energetics UK |title = AP Bangalore Torpedo |year= 2016 |url= https://www.chemring.co.uk/~/media/Files/C/Chemring-V3/documents/energetics/bangalore-torpedo-apbt-.pdf |access-date= 20 January 2020|author-link = Chemring Group }}</ref> The APBT has an improved [[Insensitive munition|Insensitive Munition]] signature compared to preceding in-service designs.<ref>{{cite web |author = Chemring Energetics UK |title = Bangalore Torpedo Replacement |year= 2010 |url= https://imemg.org/wp-content/uploads/IMEMTS%202010/presentations/im_systems_4_Young.pdf |access-date= 1 July 2020|author-link = Chemring Group }}</ref>

The U.S. [[Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System]] (APOBS) is being brought into service as a replacement to the Bangalore for path-clearing due to its ease of use, effectiveness, and flexibility – it can clear a path several times longer than the Bangalore torpedo.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}

== Users ==

* {{Flag|Austria-Hungary}}
* {{Flag|Australia}}
* {{Flag|Canada}}
* {{Flag|China}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=H. G. |editor1-last=Thursfield |editor1-first=H. G. |title=Brassey's Annual: The Armed Forces Year-Book |date=1951 |publisher=William Clowes & Sons Limited |location=London and Beccles, UK |page=240 |edition=62nd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6IjAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA240 |chapter=Chapter XX: Korea—Some Tactical Lessons}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Finland}}
* {{Flag|German Empire}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gudmundsson |first1=Bruce I. |title=Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914–1918 |date=1989 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=9780275933289 |pages=172, 191}}</ref>
* {{Flag|India}}
* {{Flag|Israel}}
* {{Flag|Empire of Japan}} – Used by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] and [[Special Naval Landing Forces]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ness |first1=Leland |title=Rikugun: Guide to Japanese Ground Forces 1937–1945 |date=2015 |publisher=Helion & Company |location=Solihull, England |isbn=978-1-912174-58-4 |page=65 |volume=2: Weapons of the Imperial Japanese Army & Navy Ground Forces |edition=ePub}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Pakistan}}
* {{Flag|Philippines}}
* {{Flag|Singapore}}
* {{URS}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Isby |first1=David C. |title=Weapons and tactics of the Soviet Army |date=1988 |publisher=[[Janes Information Services|Jane's]] |location=London and New York |isbn=978-0-7106-0352-4 |page=459 |edition=Fully revised |url=https://archive.org/details/weaponstacticsof0000isby/ |url-access=registration |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Ukraine}}<ref name="Ukr">{{cite news |date=30 November 2023 |title=The Ukrainian Armed Forces received Bangalore demolition systems to help overcome mine and wire obstacles (photo) - SUNDRIES |url=https://sundries.ua/en/the-ukrainian-armed-forces-received-bangalore-demolition-systems-to-help-overcome-mine-and-wire-obstacles-photo/ |access-date=3 December 2023 |work=Sundries}}</ref>
* {{Flag|United Kingdom}}
* {{Flag|United States}}
* {{Flag|North Vietnam}}

== See also ==
* [[Satchel charge]]
* [[Canadian pipe mine]]
* [[Mine-clearing line charge]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121006202620/http://www.popsci.com/archive-viewer?id=oiUDAAAAMBAJ&pg=119&query=Vol.+144 "Bangalore Torpedoes"]: ''[[Popular Science]]'' February 1944 World War II article
* [http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/7231-future-weapons-bangalore-blade-video.htm Future Weapons: Bangalore Blade] (video)
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqQ6b6vihZQ Australian Defence Force | New F60 Bangalore Torpedo] (video)

[[Category:Anti-fortification weapons]]
[[Category:English inventions]]
[[Category:Explosive weapons]]
[[Category:Military history of Bengaluru]]
[[Category:History of the Madras Engineer Group]]
[[Category:Mine warfare countermeasures]]
[[Category:World War I British infantry weapons]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of the United States]]

Bangalore torpedo - Revision history

AndersonMcFarlan at 20:20, 4 March 2026