Dog Mines

[dgridley]

Anti-tank dogs, also known as dog mines, were hungry dogs with explosives harnessed to their back and trained to seek food under enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. By doing so, a detonator (usually a small wooden lever) would be set off, triggering the explosives and damaging or destroying the military vehicle.

The dogs were employed by the Soviet Union during World War II, to be used against German tanks. The dogs would be kept without food for a few days, then trained to find food under a tank. The dogs quickly learned that being released from their pens meant to run out to where a tracked vehicle was parked and find some food. Once trained, the dogs would be fitted with an explosive charge and set loose into a field of oncoming German tanks and other tracked vehicles. When the dog went underneath the tank—where there was less armour—the charge would detonate and damage the enemy vehicle.

Realization of that plan was less successful. The Hundeminen, as they were called by the Germans, had been trained using Soviet tanks, and would sometimes become confused in battle, only to turn round and run towards the Soviets' own vehicles. Other times, the dogs would spook at the rumble of a vehicle's engine and run away.

http://www.chanceonlove.com/fun/pictures/dogmine.html



Reminds me of Allied plans to fit incendiary devices on bats and release them from planes over occupied territories..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_bomb

 

[commes]

Haha I read the whole article, and dam that'd be scary having a ton of dogs running around the battlefield with a bunch of explosives on their backs, I know I'd be running from them lol!

-Commes

 

[The Equivocate]

Sounds like even if the dogs were smart enough to go underneath the trucks and eat the food, the Germans would just throw some bratwurst or something far enough away... or not store food under the tank (which I've never even heard of before anyways).

 

[dgridley]

They didn't store food under the tanks.. that's how they trained the dogs to run under the tanks tho, by placing food under them as they trained them.

or not store food under the tank (which I've never even heard of before anyways).

 

[The Equivocate]

They didn't store food under the tanks.. that's how they trained the dogs to run under the tanks tho, by placing food under them as they trained them.

My bad - I thought at first the charge somehow detonated when the dog physically tried to eat So the charge was detonated remotely, or on a timer, etc. Then I can definitely see how flawed this was - if you release 20 dogs to take out 20 tanks, being able to time each explosive with when the dog is underneath the tank, especially with the tanks moving and probably running over 90% of the dogs in the first place...

Although pretty soon you'll see cameras on small insects like bees or flies for spy purposes... If they don't already.

 

[dgridley]

The charges had a wooden toggle switch on top so when the dog ran under the tank looking for food, the switch would be tripped and the charge would detonate (PETA: take note )

My bad - I thought at first the charge somehow detonated when the dog physically tried to eat So the charge was detonated remotely, or on a timer, etc. Then I can definitely see how flawed this was - if you release 20 dogs to take out 20 tanks, being able to time each explosive with when the dog is underneath the tank, especially with the tanks moving and probably running over 90% of the dogs in the first place...

Although pretty soon you'll see cameras on small insects like bees or flies for spy purposes... If they don't already.