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Special detonators for det cord

E

EOD

Well-Known Member
As there is no branch for demolition material here I'll post my question here.

I know from the German Bundeswehr that they have and use special detonators for det cord (there designated as boosters then).
Means when det cord is used to ignite another charge or a repective munition with a fuze well accomodating a regular detonator these "boosters" are used (crimped like regular dets) and no regular dets (what shoud work as well in my view).
These "boosters" can not be set off by a safety fuze and need a HE impulse to work. (what is sometimes misleading even people who are supposed to be experts and then wonder why their set ups go dud - in these cases then mental duds but as the situ predicts they do not realize it).
These boosters are made of copper and have a small circular groove and otherwise have the shape of a regular det (like a No8) so a positive ID is given by 100%.
One may wonder if such boosters are needed at all. Opinions or explanations?

Question:
- Do other armies use such "boosters" as well? (have seen many foreign manuals on the subject but do not remember having seen such)
- If not, do they simply use regular dets?
 
Yes, the US M183 Demo Charge Assembly uses the same. They are referred to as priming assemblies and each is a 5ft length of det cord with a booster crimped on each end. Each booster is 13.5 grains of RDX or PETN and in the US Charges, the boosters are copper shells which helps to distinguish them from standard caps.
 
Eodtek, thanks!
So in the US they are no loose supply items like regular dets and come only readily crimped to a length of det cord?
 
Hi

British Det Cord Booster, photo shows an empty L10A1 box and a complete box of L11A1 drill boosters as well as some of the new big and small non-magnetic det cord clips.

Web det cord booster 001.jpgWeb det cord booster 002.jpgWeb det cord booster 003.jpgWeb det cord booster 005.jpgWeb det cord booster 006.jpg
 
Richard, thanks!
So these are to be clipped onto the det cord at any wanted position making it easier than working with separate trunk lines. I like that system.
I just can't see how the dets are fitted to the ordnance item then (unless it is plastic HE).
 
we use these.
 

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I remember those now as you are showing it. So these are meant to set off regular charges rather than other munitions with a M10x1 fuze well which may have a thicker body.
 
Czechoslovak Army, and both separate ones after 1993, use BP-1 booster.
Shape and dimensions equal the detonator.
1,25g of Np 10 T.
Comes in paper box of 20 unlike the wooden box of 15 detonators, that would be another "antiswap" measure.

As for use:
to initiate TNT block with det cord it helps to have the screw that holds the detonator or booster in place.
200g-3kg TNT charges have their wells equipped with screw.
Without this booster you would have to use wooden wedge to keep the det cord inside the charge.
I think that plain det cord would result in high percentage of duds just breaking the TNT charge in pieces.

Bob
 
Nabob said:
Czechoslovak Army, and both separate ones after 1993, use BP-1 booster.
Shape and dimensions equal the detonator.
1,25g of Np 10 T.
Comes in paper box of 20 unlike the wooden box of 15 detonators, that would be another "antiswap" measure.

As for use:
to initiate TNT block with det cord it helps to have the screw that holds the detonator or booster in place.
200g-3kg TNT charges have their wells equipped with screw.
Without this booster you would have to use wooden wedge to keep the det cord inside the charge.
I think that plain det cord would result in high percentage of duds just breaking the TNT charge in pieces.

Bob
Click to expand...

Interesting to hear about the Czech boosters! Are they made of Aluminum?
I remember times when things were in short supply where we had to make 3 truns/slings of det cord around 400 gram blocks and stuff the remaining end into the det hole to be sure all works fine - it always did.
 
With over 40 years in EOD and other explosive related jobs I have never had to use a booster to set off det cord. A good old military cap has always worked fine for me, same goes for every military explosive I have used and most commercial. Now the Army came out with the flex linear shaped charges and I found that there a booster was needed (some times). There were a few explosives from Europe or eastern Europe (don't recall which country right now) but I needed to use a booster there.

The MK 138 demo charges mentioned earlier, yes it had boosters on the end os det cords for the charges, but that det cord was set off with regular military caps too.

Looks like the new world of insensitive explosives will be calling for boosters as time goes on
 
Mike, maybe somebody was not very clear at some point and caused a confusion, the boosters here are not meant to set off the det cord but to be used at the end of a length of det cord which is meant to set off some other charge or ammunition item.

As far as I know det cord itself is still normally set off by a regular det.
 
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