SOE Sabotage - Explosive Coal

During the Second World War Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) developed a whole series of sabotage devices for use behind enemy lines. Using unique archival footage this series of short videos examines some of the weapons developed for use by SOE agents in occupied Europe. In this episode we look at Explosive Coal, designed to explode inside fireboxes, furnaces and coal stores hampering enemy infrastructure.
The footage is part of the Imperial War Museum's collection © IWM MGH 4324 and is used under the Non-commercial Use agreement.
Be sure to check out our accompanying for this video here -
armourersbench.com/2020/06/28/soe-sabotage-explosive-coal/
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[@TheArmourersBench]

Hi everyone, hope you're all keeping well! My apologies for not posting a video the past week or so but we're back with an exciting series looking at SOE sabotage devices using some unique archival footage. Check out the full article accompanying this video here - armourersbench.com/2020/06/28/soe-sabotage-explosive-coal Please do share the video with friends and help us continue to grow TAB. Thanks for watching! - Matt

[@MrChrisStarr]

Thanks for the info. Looking forwards tonthe next!

[@DanielsPolitics1]

If you return to this topic, I have parts of the catalogue digitised, and can probably capture more in TNA when needed.

[@TheArmourersBench]

@@DanielsPolitics1 I would love to see that. He great to chat, drop me an email - [e-mail]

[@DanielsPolitics1]

@@TheArmourersBench Will do

[@johnib5905]

The charge shown in the archival foltage does look remarkably like a mass of thermite going off. Naval boilers may be tough, but I'm sure a bucket of thermite would rupture one easily.

[@TheArmourersBench]

It does look a heck of a lot like thermite or something similar. I could find no accounts of incendiary coal but there's so few sources for this stuff especially during lockdown. Thanks for watching.

[@JaykPuten]

Another excellent TAB short I dont mind waiting an extra week here n there for a video, as ones like this fill my mind with amazement as well as a disbelief as to the fact this footage was stumbled across, recognized, and shared with us for how cool it is! I wonder how many other cool SOE/OSS/older sneaky nefarious projects Ive never heard or dreamt of, are waiting to be found

[@LeeThule]

These items from the SOE's bag of dirty tricks are so interesting.

[@uTube486]

Very nice production. One has to learn something new every day. I did. Thanks from the USA!

[@TheArmourersBench]

Thanks! Thank for watching - Matt

[@DJSockmonkeyMusic]

I guess I'm watching the whole series then...SOE is so bloody interesting!

[@LoremIpsum1970]

Great vid. This reminds me of David Niven's character in Guns of Navarone and Edward Fox's character in Force 10 from Navarone. The suitcase of exploding rats and dog poo, etc.

[@zoiders]

Thats definately a thermite charge. It would easily burn through a steam engines combustion chamber. It burns so energetically you can weld rail track with it. Thermite was used to put German aircraft out of action in North Africa, it will melt engine blocks and also set aluminium airframes on fire. Once aluminium is alight you have a chemical fire on your hands that can't be put out with water. Saboteurs and the commando types loved thermite.

[@benwilson6145]

Thank you

[@Виктор_В]

Coal bomb was used by Soviet Union, as well. But it has no detonator, it was just 50-250 grams of TNT painted black. Temperature and pressure in steam engine firebox is enough to explode TNT. As I've read - this bombs was rather effective, one saboteur teem, damaged 92 Axis trains during 1942-43.

[@bernardtheulsterman]

German resistance group "Wollweber" sunk some axis ships using Courtenay torpedoes...

[@24680kong]

Very interesting. Although when I first read the title, I thought it was referring to using liquid oxygen + fuel mixture, where coal dust is saturated in liquid oxygen and then detonated. This has been used in mining in the past, but not in war (so far as I can tell). Alternatively, if liquid oxygen is not available, they can use liquid air (a mix of liquid oxygen and nitrogen), but the nitrogen boils off preferentially, so it tends to have a higher oxygen proportion than regular air once it has partially boiled off.

[@TheArmourersBench]

That almost sounds more interesting haha. Thanks for watching. - Matt

[@footingball5566]

@@TheArmourersBench it's called oxyliquit if you want to look it up.

[@stamfordly6463]

Seems to me that something like thermite disguised as coal might also make a useful sabotage weapon. Less obviously explosive but very damaging to any boiler it found it's way into.

[@Revivethefallen]

That was fantastic!

[@TheArmourersBench]

Glad you found it interesting Daniel, this is part of a whole series of videos on SOE stuff, feel free to check them out (linked at the end of this video). Thanks for watching!

[@MrChrisStarr]

Great video Matt! You mention a book on Station 12? Could you let me know the title? I live near Stevenage, Aston is now on the outskirts of this new town. The hall is of course no longer there.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Of course Chris, it's Des Turner's Station 12: SOE's Secret Weapons Centre, by the way all the sources from the videos are listed in the accompanying articles. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it.

[@peternystrom921]

I heard long ago that if you are not nice santa Clause will give you one of this 😉😊

[@versoarmamentcompany]

Neat

[@scottd9448]

If that is thermite, it could burn through a firebox with disastrous results to the engine.

[@johnpotter4750]

Thermite type welding was used on British continuous welded track rails (and Broken Rails) you'd find tubes of the stuff lying all over.