How not to open a grenade...

[Copper]

Don't try this at home folks! If they needed scrap metal, I could think of a lot better sources...

Aug 9, 7:36 AM (ET)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - A Brazilian man died Tuesday when he tried to open what police believe was a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer in a mechanical workshop on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Another man who was in the workshop at the time of the explosion was rushed to a hospital with severe burns, a police officer told Reuters. The workshop was destroyed and several cars parked outside caught fire.

Police found several unexploded army issue rocket-propelled grenades in the workshop. They believe the ammunition had been brought there by scavengers wanting to sell them as scrap metal, but they also are investigating a possible link to Rio's heavily armed drug gangs who often raid military bases.

[gsmittle]

I read a report once about a group of men in Sarajevo who found an unexploded land mine. They sat at a table and took turns drinking shots and stamping on the mine. Yep, it exploded.

g.

[Bruce Cohen]

And I used to think that the US Govt was stupid placing the words "this side towards enemy" on a claymore.

Bruce

[Santa Clarita Len]

Claymore

Excuse please. What's a claymore?

[LCHIEN]

Excuse please. What's a claymore?

An anti-personnel mine.
when detonated sprays a flat wide pattern of shrapnel at human height in the forward direction, hence the reference to pointing it in the right direction.

Extended description available:

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

[mudder]

And I used to think that the US Govt was stupid placing the words "this side towards enemy" on a claymore.

Bruce

Didn't the VC used to sneak in and turn them around on you?
At least that's what they told us in SF training.

[cabinetman]

Mudder

Weren't there were some guys who tried to fool the VC by using the ones made in China, that were printed on both sides?



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[Bruce Cohen]

I knew a group of guys who excelled in booby trapping them to explode when the cover was pried open. Charlie had the bad habit of finding unexploded ones and opening them up for the C-4 to make sachel charges to throw into the REMFs who used to drive around in Saigon in an open jeeps. Not the smartest way to get sent back to the "world".

So when the VC got their hands on them, they never had a chance to do it again, if you get my drift.

Bruce