The Bouncing Betty was a type of land mine weighing 8.8 pounds with a 4-inch diameter and a height of about 6 inches. Upon detonation, the mine would bounce up approximately 3 feet and explode, sending shrapnel in all directions. As a result, this made them one of Nazi Germany's best defensive tools, having been used to fend off numerous attacks by the Allies, including the North Africa, Italy, and D-day invasions. These mines were so commonly used, in fact, that there are still many minefields made up of Bouncing Betties across Europe and North Africa to this day. For example, it is estimated that 27% of the farmland in Libya is unusable due to the still-active minefields.
Although the Bouncing Betty saw much use towards the later years in the war, it saw much use since the beginning. In 1939, during the Phony war, French soldiers scouting in the German Saar region were triggered multiple S-mines, causing the French attempts at an advance to grind to a halt. The continued usage of these mines showed the Germans' defensive potential and prompted many countries, including the United States, to try and replicate the design of the Bouncing Betty to varying degrees of success.
The name Bouncing Betty was ultimately coined by American infantrymen after witnessing its destructive capabilities. Although it did not always kill, it almost always lead to permanent damage to limbs, making it widely feared amongst the allied forces. It was later described as "probably the most feared device encountered by Allied troops in the war."
http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/wikispeedia/wpcd/wp/s/S-mine.htm
http://www.worldwar2facts.org/s-mine-facts.html
Interesting post, Charles! I liked hearing about the developments in technology from the Nazis and how they impacted the war. Meanwhile, on the American side, scientists worked to develop the first atomic bomb in the Manhattan project. Their successful experiments led to the atomic bomb being used as a weapon against the Japanese and ultimately the end of the war in the Pacific and the deaths of many civilians. It is interesting to see how technology developed during WWII changed how we perceive war today and how it is fought.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.britannica.com/event/Manhattan-Project
It's scary to learn about the degree at which these horrific weapons were being produced. Another relatively new technology that was utilized during the war was the flamethrower, which was first introduced by the Germans in WWI. By WWII the United States had their own version of the flamethrower, and they were commonly used by both infantrymen and tanks. They were most effective in the Pacific Theater, where both the Americans and the Japanese used them to clear out foxholes and caves.
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http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/military-history/military-weapons-the-flamethrower/
The title of this article alone caught my attention. Thank you for this post. What seems to be a happy and carefree wording is actually tied to such a deadly weapon. How horrific. One explosion from this weapon can do so much damage within the radius. Over the past 20 years plus, Princess Diana of Wales brought to light the necessity of removing minefields. It's hard to believe that Bouncing Betty mines could still be out there and active today.
ReplyDeleteI hope that this still remains an issue in the news even without a celebrity champion for the cause. The clean-up and removal of the S-mines should continue until they are eradicated.
Good connection to something we learned about in class. It's really fascinating how inventive the different types of weapons seem to be during wartime, especially with the numerous inventions made solely for the purpose of killing or injuring more enemy soldiers. I was curious about the technology which allowed the Bouncing Betty to "bounce" before it detonated, and I found that there's actually a sensor within the bomb that, when activated, fired the mine upwards around 1 meter by a small propellant charge. Then, once the mine reached the optimum height to kill, it would detonate, increasing the sphere of shrapnel it could send flying. It would spray in all directions, and the time between triggering and detonation would be between 3.9 and 4.5 seconds.
ReplyDeletehttps://scout.com/military/warrior/Article/Bouncing-Betty-Nazis-Deadly-Landmine-101459104