Sappers of the Spanish Army show their Bangalore torpedoes in action in Latvia

@DefAviation ES 11·10·2022 · 22:54 0

Among the weapons used by sapper units to carry out their missions, there is one that is more than 100 years old and was invented in India.

Impressive images of the launch of an Instalaza C-90 of the Spanish Army
The self-propelled artillery of the Spanish Army is shown in action in Latvia

In 1912, Captain R. L. McClintock, of the Royal Engineers of the British Indian Army and stationed in Bangalore, in the south of that country, invented a tube-shaped demolition weapon with an explosive charge inside it. This weapon served to take off explosive traps and various obstacles, in order to open a path for the infantry. The Bangalore torpedo (as it is known in many countries) or explosive pole is still used today in many sapper units, including those of the Spanish Army.

NATO's eFP Battle Group Latvia today published a series of photos from an exercise demolition, VERBOOM 3, carried out by soldiers from various countries, including members of the Spanish contingent in Latvia. The images you see here show a mechanized unit of sappers in this exercise. Above these lines we see the commander of an Spanish Army M-113 VCZ sapper vehicle with his 12.7 mm Browning M-2 machine gun.

Above these lines, the Spanish sappers with their Bangalore torpedoes inside the M-113 VCZ. As we can see in the image, the troop compartment hatch is open.

One of the Spanish sappers placing a Bangalore torpedo in an area of barbed wire, in order to clear it. Next to him he has a Heckler & Koch G-36E assault rifle, the regulation in the Spanish Army. In this case, the rifle is equipped with a 40mm AG-36 grenade launcher, located under its forend.

The blasting of the Bangalore torpedoes in the barbed wire area. Below, on the right, we see the Spanish Army M-113 VCZ sapper vehicle with its driver and commander leaning out of its hatches.

The Spanish Army M-113 VCZ sapper vehicle surrounded by smoke and dust raised by the explosion of the Bangalore torpedoes.