A fougasse (, , , in Italian and Maltese foggazza) is an improvised mortar constructed by making a hollow in the ground or rock and filling it with explosives (originally, black powder) and projectiles. The fougasse was used by Samuel Zimmermann at AugsburgThe Origins of Military Mines, Major William C. Schneck, Engineer Bulletin July 1998 in the sixteenth century, referred to by Vauban in the seventeenth century, and well known to military engineers by the mid-eighteenth century. Notable use of permanent fougasse installations intended for coastal defence were carved into the limestone by the Knights of St. John on Malta. This technique was used in several European wars, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. The term is still used 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 "sausage", a cloth or leather tube waterproofed 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 run to get clear after lighting the fuse. The black powder was also very susceptible to moisture, 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 an anti-personnel fragmentation mine.

In a letter to his sister, Colonel Hugh Robert Hibbert described such a weapon employed during the Crimean War:

Types There are several variants according to the material projected by the explosion.

Stone

The most common type in early use was the stone fougasse, which was a hole simply filled with large rocks and bricks. When fired, it would scatter a hail of fast-moving stones across the area to its front. Large stone fougasses might hold several tons of rubble and as much as a hundredweight of powder.

Shell The shell fougasse was constituted by a box buried and concealed in the ground, divided by a partition into two parts: loaded shells were placed in the upper part, with the fuzes pointed downwards, connected with the lower part by holes bored in the partition, to ensure their ignition; a black powder charge was placed in the lower part, capable, when fired, to throw the shells to the surface. Incendiary carcasses were also used as an alternative load. The fougasse was activated when the enemy was over the spot: the shells were thrown into the air before they exploded, thus increasing the chance for devastation – possibly foreshadowing modern bounding munitions.

Flame

A flame fougasse was a similar weapon in which the projectile was a flammable liquid, typically a mixture of petrol and oil. The flame fougasse was developed by the British Petroleum Warfare Department in response to the threat of German invasion during World War II.

In Britain, during WWII, the flame fougasse was usually constructed from a 40-gallon drum 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. Ammonal provided the propellant charge which, when triggered, caused the weapon to shoot a flame wide and 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, p. 18.

The November 1944 issue of the U.S. War Department Intelligence Bulletin refers to 'Fougasse flame throwers' used in the Russian defence at Stalingrad being the basis of a German version found in Italy that were buried with a fixed direction discharge tube and integrated with conventional landmines and barbed wire in defense works. The German weapon, the Abwehrflammenwerfer 42 had an fuel tank and the seven in the installation were wired back to a control point and could be fired individually or together.

The flame fougasse has remained in army field manuals as a battlefield expedient. Such expedients are constructed from available fuel containers combined with standard explosive charges or hand grenades triggered electrically or by lengths of detonating cord. Some designs use lengths of detonating cord or blasting caps to rupture the fuel container as well as detonate the main charge.FM 20-33, 1967, chapter 6. Weapons of this sort were widely used in the Korean and Vietnam wars as well as other conflicts.

Scrap metal

A scrap metal fougasse is designed to launch metallic projectiles – such as steel balls, nuts, nails, bolts, various metal scrap fragments, etc.

This model was used, for instance, by the Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN), which had been fighting for Algeria's independence from France since 1954. The FLN's fougasse was electrically ignited, and consisted of a large metal pipe sealed at one end; at the bottom of it was placed a black powder explosive charge, then covered by a first wadding (such as rags, felt, cardboard, etc.), by a quantity of metallic materials serving as "shrapnel" projectiles, and finally by a second wadding. Embedded in the black powder charge there was an incandescent light bulb – which had the glass bulb broken but the filament intact – connected to an electrical circuit comprising cables, a battery, and an open switch. When the light bulb's filament received an electric current it would glow incandescently, thereby detonating the black powder charge, which projected forward the metal scrap. The switch was operated at the right moment by an FLN member concealed nearby, or it was buried along the anticipated path of enemy troops or thin-skinned vehicles, so that they would accidentally step on it, thereby triggering the fougasse mine.

Similar devices – albeit lighter and smaller in size, making them comparable to improvised Claymore mines or improvised grapeshot charges – also appear in certain U.S. military manuals written for special forces.

See also Anti-personnel weapon Flame fougasse Improvised explosive device

Notes

References

Hayward, James. The Bodies on the Beach – Sealion, Shingle Street and the Burning Sea Myth of 1940. CD41 Publishing, 2001 . FM 20–33. Combat Flame Operations. Headquarters Department of the Army, Washington, June 1967.

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