Posted: 1/16/2009 12:52:55 PM EDT
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Our PD conducted it's first explosive entry this morning and all that I can say is "WOW!!". The times where I am truly impressed with something new at work grows further and further apart these days but that was very impressive.
It was Section 8 housing with heavy duty doors (wood solid core), main dead bolt. renter's dead bolt and a C clamp with a metal door frame. Generally a two-man slammer with multiple swings but the linear charge beat that door with a very strong pimp hand. The door was laying inside the apt (3 feet) with the C clamp and dead bolts still engaged. Our SWAT team broke it's explosive cherry and I see more of this in the future. The people inside the apt were so stunned by the blast that it took them almost 30 minutes before they could start talking the usual shit. When I get the green light I'll post some pics. |
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Good deal, in for pics too. The explosives handlers are a crazy bunch for the most part. I got to experience a sliding panduit charge on a door in a training senario once. Well, lets say the handler used a little TOO much det cord, around 350 grains per hinge. (3 - 1' sections along a 50 grain main cord) and blew the door about 20 feed into the room, well it was an outward opening door Glad it was training Anyway they used it on a suspected bad guys apartment,(more correct charges) and it worked excellent. I definitely agree it is very impressive.
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Alright, these aren't all of the pictures but they make the case:
This pic was taken from the doorway showing the door and how far it traveled into the apt. Note the locks still in place. 
This pic shows the door frame where the hinges used to be. 
This shows the C clamp still engaged on the latch side of the door frame 
The last pic shows some debris from the blast inside of the apt. 
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Quoted:
Nice, but I was really hoping for some action photos  , like your SWAT has a cameraman who follows you around and snaps photos while you work Don't laugh. They had a FNG that hasn't been to basic school so you can guess what his job was. The video is for in-house viewing only. |
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Explosive entry capability is a tremendous asset to any SWAT team. Anybody with more than a few entries under their belt appreciates the fact that a good breach often means the difference between getting the drop, and getting dropped.
There are very few doors that can't be defeated by even a modest amount of HE... and if the door is indeed heavy enough to make explosive entry unrealistic (let's face it... you can blow up any door, but you might shatter every window in the neighborhood doing it... NOT good for public relations), just make a new doorway through the wall with a frame charge (water tamp it if necessary... the pre-made frames can be filled with water for extra punch). The options are endless. If your breacher is worth his salt, you'll be getting in... the only question is where. |
