What Is It

[Ronniefromalabama]

Again, moderators if this is inappropriate for this forum, please move it.

Can anyone identify this device?

It came to me in a lot of guns, ammunition, and accessories that I bought in an estate sale several years ago. There was a great deal of military paraphernalia in the lot. It was a long time before I associated the two different pieces as belonging to each other because they were in different boxes and it was a while before I got around to reducing all of the stuff down to one small pile. Then I noticed that the threads on the cartridge portion would fit into the threaded hole in the little box.

The cartridge portion has what appears to be a primer in the threaded end that is about 8-10 mm across. The other end is sealed with what appears to be a reddish wax substance like a blank cartridge.

The box is about the size of a penny match box. Inside it has a spring loaded mechanism that appears to be a firing pin. When the firing pin is pulled back, a pin can be inserted through holes on corresponding sides of the box, locking the firing pin in an "armed" state. No pin was in the lot, so in the pictures, I am using a finishing nail for demonstration.

My best guess is that it is some kind of trip wire alarm device. The "cartridge" would explode when fired by the firing pin in the triggering device when a trip wire was pulled, extracting the pin and allowing the spring loaded firing pin to strike the primer.

There are no markings whatsoever on the device.

I have included one pic below with a quarter for size perspective.

What is it? Who manufactured it? Is it military or "prepper"? Anyone????

 

[entropy]

You are correct. It is a perimeter breach detection alarm.

 

[Ronniefromalabama]

Any more specific info on this particular device? I'll google the terminology you used and see if I come up with any thing.

 

[WestKentucky]

looks like what I saw when I googled WW2 booby trap device. I would make a point of not ever installing the cartridge to the other part until I figured out what the other part does...and im hoping for your sake it sets off smoke or something very non-destructive.

 

[col.lemat]

Pen flare from a pilots survival vest. "Pen flair gun" The other part is a "mouse trap" type of booby trap. This set up would be for perimeter security for alert, non lethal. Military for sure. Never seen any maker information even when the traps were new in a card board box. Late WW2

 

[Ronniefromalabama]

Westkentucky, I have no desire to loose any part of my anatomy, particularly accidentally. Did that 2 years ago when my left thumb encountered an angry table saw. It ain't fun. At least, two years ago, a miracle working surgeon put my thumb back on... with explosives I'm afraid I might not be so lucky. In other words - I ain't putting nothing together that might go boom unless I know perzactly what I'm doing.

 

[rcmodel]

Col. LeMatt gets the cigar I think.

http://www.armslist.com/posts/32920...pen-flare-mk-31-mod-0--launcher-and-7-flares-

rc

 

[Ronniefromalabama]

WestKentucky, I found this exact device when I googled "ww2 booby trap". It is listed as an M5 Booby Trap. The cartridge shown with the device is slightly different than mine, but I found a very similar cartridge further down in the listing without the trigger. It was also shown as a triggering device for a grenade.

Further googling the M5 description, I found one for sale without a cartridge for $33 on a site called inertorg.com.

In all of the pen flair guns I found, the cartridges did not have threads.

Very interesting gentlemen, (and ladies if any are reading this). I've been trying to figure this bird out for several years. Thanks all for the responses.

 

[col.lemat]

Myself I have two sets of the pen flares, but never used them although I have a pilot friend who has. Myself I carry the MK 13 Mod 0 day night flare when I want to be seen.

 

[rcmodel]

I don't think the cartridge thing goes with the M5, even though the threads may be the same size.

I think the cartridge is a signal flare, and the M5 is what you think it is.

But it wouldn't have used a cartridge like that.

It would have used a small detonator that threaded into it on one end and into a pineapple grenade, etc. on the other end.



If you find one of those, throw it in a deep lake without dropping it on the way there!!

rc

 

[rcmodel]

Here are some more related things you probably don't see every day anymore.

Original Vietnam era trip wire spool.
M57 Claymore mine piezoelectric firing device.
M60 Blasting fuze igniter.





PS: Yes, none of this is reloading related.
But I hope the mods allow it for everyone's enlightenment of things you might find in a garage or estate sale that 'can' still be loaded & dangerous to play around with!!

rc

 

[mnrivrat]

This mini flare gun came with different colored flares to drop into the barrel. The flares are powered by shotgun primers and you can see mine has a loaded primer. The barrel screws off to load the primer.

When I picked this up it had one flare with it yet but that was lost in moving.

PS: it has no markings

 

[Steve762us]

Booby trap device....not a pen-gun flare launcher.

M5 Pressure-Release Firing Device. Non-electric blasting cap would
be threaded into side, to initiate det cord, C4, grenade, etc. "As lethal
as you'd want it to be."

 

[Klint Beastwood]

if this will this be close enough to believe. It goes to an anti personnel mine. Im pretty sure I know which if you think this looks close enough

 

[Klint Beastwood]

i meant this not the last image.

 

[shell70634]

It's a booby trap mousetrap. The threaded portion that the firing pin (hammer) hits accepts a threaded coupler containing a primer, similar to 209 but more powerful I think. The other end of the coupler has a protrusion that you can crimp a non-electric blasting cap on. The coupler can then be screwed into a grenade, mine, or any other piece of military ordnance designed to be booby trapped.

 

[Steve762us]

Pic & spec sheet...Post #4:

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/for...rap-and-firing-devices-my-updated-collection/

 

[shell70634]

I forgot to say the pin flare part doesn't belong. I have some base couplings that accept crimp on non-electric blasting caps, late 60's vintage.

 

[kBob]

I know this has been asleep a while, but just thought I would mention, this "mouse trap" is what screws into the threaded hole on the underside of the M18 (teller mine) and M21 series anti tank mines to discourage folks from digging them up. Placing them is a bit hairy.

Other armies use things like this and this is why the preferred method of mine removal amongst the Infantry is to blow them in place.

BTW as late as 1974 US infantry trained to fuze M18 Teller Mines though that hole with a non electric blasting cap and a few inches of fuze and a M2 or M60 lighter for hurling on to the decks of passing tanks. Yeah buddy...…. We used dummy blue training M18s on a group of Leopard I tanks over running our position in a joint West German/US training event. A German tank commander can get VERY bug eyed when he finds he can not quite swivel his MG3 (7.62NATO MG42) around quick enough to prevent a GI from tossing one across his engine deck , under his "luggage rack" and against his turret ring.

I bet rc would have called that a good day!

-kBob