Tut, tut, Harry.

Even in 1939 Canada was part of the "British Commonwealth", not the
British Empire.




Harry Needham (Tel 776-8612) wrote:
>
> I agree with George. Bloody dangerous things, those PIATs (mostly to the
> user!). For those not familiar with it, the Projector Infantry Anti-Tank (PIAT)
> was an awkward, heavy contraption for close-in defence against tanks, used by
> British and British-equipped troops in the Second World War. The user lay on
> the ground and used all his strength to cock the very strong spring which was
> all that propelled the missile. The missile had a shaped-charge head which
> looked very like the float in a toilet tank. The missile arced through the air
> and, if it hit the right way in the right spot, would burn a hole through the
> tank's armour and do nasty things to whatever was inside.
>
> It was theoretically accurate up to 100 feet if you were an optimist. If you
> were OVERLY optimistic, given how close you were to the enemy tank, unpleasant
> things tended to happen to you.
>
> In the spring of 1997, I talked to Smokey Smith of the Seaforth Highlanders of
> Canada who won his Victoria Cross (the highest decoration for bravery in what
> was then the British Empire) for knocking our three German tanks, one after the
> other, with a PIAT. I asked him why he'd done such a damn-fool thing with what
> was such an unpredictable piece of kit. Smokey replied, "Well, you know, those
> XXXX guys really XXXXX me off!". A reasonable explanation, I thought.
>
> George's points are all good ones. Even weapons that have theoretically been
> cleaned out may still be dangerous. We acquired a Claymore from Viet Nam twenty
> years ago, which was supposed to have been "unloaded". When we went to display
> it a few months ago, we discovered enough C-40 in it to have done a nice job on
> anyone who might have dropped it the right (wrong) way!
>
> Some explosives can become extremely unstable over time, especially those
> considered "high" explosives, such as the fillers in grenades, mines or
> artillery shells. I remember as a boy in Quebec hearing every year about some
> damned fool who had blown himself up climbing over the fence, ignoring the
> warning signs, to pick up what looked like a harmless old shell on the wartime
> artillery range at nearby Camp Valcartier. Propellants are much more stable.
>
> We, too, have a very good working relationship with the military and police
> forces, who are ALWAYS willing to help. Use them!
>
> Harry Needham
> Major (Ret'd)
> Director - Programmes & Operations
> Canadian War Museum



Bob Willson
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http://www3.sympatico.ca/hrc/haida