Fougasse (weapon)
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For other meanings, see fougasse (disambiguation).
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. 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. This technique was used in several European wars, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. The term is sometimes 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. 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 damp, 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. 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.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.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". When fired, the powder charge would both throw out the shells and also ignite their fuzes, 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.Flame
A flame fougasse was a similar weapon in which the projectile was a flammable liquid, typically a mixture of petrol (gasoline) and oil. The flame fougasse was developed by the British in response to the threat of German invasion during World War Two and was later used in the Vietnam War and other conflicts.
In Britain, during WWII, the flame fougasse was usually constructed from a 40-gallon 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. Guncotton provided a 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.Hayward, 2001, p18.
Flame fougasses would normally be fired electrically, or by detonating cord.
Notes
References
- Hayward, James. The Bodies On The Beach — Sealion, Shingle Street and the Burning Sea Myth of 1940. CD41 Publishing, 2001 ISBN 0954054903.
External links
- [Image on an early stone cut mortar.]
- [Faugasse on Malta.]
- [Imperial War Museum Online Collection] Images of petroleum warfare, search for "Fougasse".
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