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A wire catcher (also known as ''Wire Cutter'' or ''Wire Anti-Decapitation Device'') is a device used to protect military personnel in open vehicles against taut-wire traps.
File:Ford GPW (1942) owned by Paul Bater pic1.JPG, 1942 Ford GPW with wire catcher
File:Ford GPW (1944) owned by Andrew Meardon pic1.JPG, 1944 Ford GPW with wire catcher
File:Véhicules militaires 6 juin 2009 lison 02.jpg, Willys Jeep with wire catcher
File:1945 Willys jeep with trailer 1.JPG, 1945 Willys MB Jeep with wire catcher
File:PikiWiki Israel 8985 jeep willis from the independence war.jpg, Willys MB Jeep from the
online-pdf
'Wire Anti-Decapitation Device''
from 42fordgpw.com
A wire catcher (also known as ''Wire Cutter'' or ''Wire Anti-Decapitation Device'') is a device used to protect military personnel in open vehicles against taut-wire traps.
Design
A wire catcher consists of a strip ofangle iron
Structural steel is steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section. Structural steel shapes, sizes, chemical comp ...
bolted upright to the forward bumper
Bumper or Bumpers may refer to:
People
* Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers
* Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator
* Bumper Robinson (born 1974) ...
of a jeep. "It extends above the heads of those riding in the jeep, and is notched a few inches from the top so that any wire extending across the road will be caught and snipped."
History
The first land vehicle wire cutter to be demonstrated was attached to a Killen-Strait tractor for the British in 1915. Two scissor-like Royal Navytorpedo net
Torpedo nets were a passive ship defensive device against torpedoes. They were in common use from the 1890s until the Second World War. They were superseded by the anti-torpedo bulge and torpedo belts.
Origins
With the introduction of the Whit ...
cutters were fitted to the front of the tractor at the end of two protruding shaped metal rods. The tractor was driven into a field of tensioned barbed wire
Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire
Barbed wire, also known as barb wire or bob wire (in the Southern and Southwestern United States), is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the ...
that had been strung up at precisely the cutter's height. It was not effective with wire at different heights and was not put into service. Heavy tank
A heavy tank is a tank classification produced from World War I to the end of the Cold War. These tanks generally sacrificed mobility and maneuverability for better armour protection and equal or greater firepower than tanks of lighter classes.
...
s were used simply to crush barbed wire obstacles instead.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the Germans employed taut-wire traps strung across roadways designed to harm enemy soldiers riding in open vehicles such as jeeps
Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Cor ...
and motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...
. Wire catchers were installed on jeeps as field modifications.
Wire catchers were used up through the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.
Gallery
Samson's Foxes
Samson's Foxes (, ''Shu'alei Shimshon'') was an Israeli commando unit of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was part of the 54th Battalion (commanded by Zvi Zur) of the Givati Brigade. The unit participated in various battles on the southern front ...
unit in the independence war (1948) with wire catcher
See also
*Rhino tank
"Rhino tank" (initially called "Rhinoceros") was the American nickname for Allied tanks fitted with "tusks", or bocage cutting devices, during World War II. The British designation for the modifications was Prongs.
In the summer of 1944, during ...
(with ''Culin hedgerow cutter'')
* Wire strike protection system
The wire strike protection system (WSPS) is a mechanical wire cutter designed to mitigate the risk of wire strikes while flying helicopters at low level.
History
Between 1974 and 1979 wire strike accidents accounted for 8% of United States Army ...
References
Further reading
* Mick Bowley, ''THE JEEP WIRE CUTTER'' The Newsletter of World War 2 Jeeps, NSW, October 2006 – Volume No.93, page 1online-pdf
External links
{{Commons category, Wire Cutter'Wire Anti-Decapitation Device''
from 42fordgpw.com
Body
Body may refer to:
In science
* Physical body, an object in physics that represents a large amount, has mass or takes up space
* Body (biology), the physical material of an organism
* Body plan, the physical features shared by a group of anim ...
Military vehicle components
Catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
1915 introductions