PARESH DESHPANDE      14-DEC-2003

Bangalore Torpedo

Named after a town in India they were originally invented at the time of the British

Empire’s conquest of India.

The Bangalore was first devised by Captain McClintock, of the British Army

in 1912. He invented it as a means of exploding booby traps and barricades left

over from the Boer and Russo-Japanese Wars. The Bangalore would be exploded

over a mine without the engineer having to approach it by more than about 10 feet (3

meters).

The Bangalore was later adapted by the US Army as well during World War II,

as the M1A1 Bangalore Torpedo. It was widely used by both the US and

Commonwealth forces, notably during D-Day.