Wire catcher
A wire cutter is a military installation used to protect personnel in open vehicles against taut-wire traps. It was first used late in World War II and mainly installed as a field modification. There are no standard models, but wire cutters usually consisted of a piece of iron installed vertically on the front bumper coming up between two and three feet above the windshield of the vehicle when raised.[1]
These wire cutters offer no protection against tripwires, or IED triggering.
The first land vehicle wire cutter to be demonstrated was fitted to the Killen-Strait tractor, during a demonstration in 1915. This used a pre-existing design of torpedo net cutter, intended for use on submarines. Despite the tactical importance of removing barbed wire barriers during World War I, this type of cutter was not attempted in the field. Heavy tanks were used simply to crush the obstacles.
Gallery
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1942 Ford GPW with wire cutter -
1944 Ford GPW with wire cutter -
1945 Willys Jeep with wire cutter -
Willys Jeep with wire cutter -
1945 Willys MB Jeep with wire cutter -
Willys MB Jeep from the Samson's Foxes unite in the independence war (1948) with wire cutter
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References
- ^ Kappelman, Glenn L. (2003). Through My Sights: A Gunner's View of WWII. Sunflower Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9704764-1-8.
See also
Further reading
- Mick Bowley, THE JEEP WIRE CUTTER The Newsletter of World War 2 Jeeps, NSW, October 2006 – Volume No.93, page 18 online-pdf