Unknown Clam (small Limpet)

[cranwill]

A friend of mine shared some photos of a supposed Clam that I had not seen before. He said that the enclosed tape would be used to seal the edges and opening of the case.

It looks modern to me, and the magnets are different than other Clams that I have encountered.

Does anyone recognize this item?

Thank you for your help.

 

[kiwieod]

very interesting,certainly looks like a limpet but a few things that might mean it isnt
the 2 rods with knurled knobs might be for forming a space for detonators but the forming part seems very small diameter(less than 6mm which most dets are)
the magnets dont appear to protrude past the base,so couldnt stick to target
however it has that CIA look/feel about it,maybe it was a prototype of some sort

 

[millsbomber]

Iv just noticed the magnets are sprung fixings which makes sense if mounting on uneven surface, i guess the hole at the top if for tying on with a cord of some sort, i tend to agree CIA, i have dead drops that are earlier with same look to this which are CIA,

 

[kiwieod]

i suppose the hole could be for fixing,but the hole isnt sealed so moisture/water could easily get into the explosive/det area and cause failure
the magnets still appear to be well below the surface and the spring is pushing them into the body so i dont see how they could reach out past the surface to stick to something?.i wonder if this was intended for a specific target where the magnets lined up with something on the target?

 

[Burney Davis]

Is it possible that the protrusion of the magnets past the case is adjustable using the screws?

 

[kiwieod]

possibly ,although it has screws on the inside and outside,it depends how these screws act against each other,the screws on the magnet side would seem to push the magnets in,or if you backed off the screws,the screw head would be above the magnet?

 

[Anders]

Most likely weak springs, which the magnets will compress, causing them to stick to the surface and thereby protrude beyond the casing.

 

[kiwieod]

yes that sounds right ,if the magnets are very powerful and the springs would keep the magnets below the surface to stop them sticking to something when you didnt want it to

 

[pat]

pour moi c'est CIA , (prototype peut être)