British pistol ground spike

[dan h]

I stumbled on a nice lot of ordnance at an auction and this items was all disassembled in a box of assorted fuses. I could not figure it out for a while, I thought it was an odd nail at first. The auction was of a WW2 vet who was involved in all kinds of ordnance training. There was a lot of neat items that I got outbid on but this little gem was a sleeper. The shell with it is deactivated. Apparently this was used to disable the tires of vehicles as well as an anti personal mine. It was buried with only the tip of the bullet exposed and very little pressure set it off.

[dan h]

Another view

Another view

[dan h]

Manual

Here is a page from an old manual.

[dan h]

Page 2

Second page.
Interesting warning at the end, don't blow your finger off!

[Bob Hritz]

What a fantastic find. These unusual booby trap devices are truly historical. Thank you for posting this great find.

Bob Hritz

[dan h]

Address

The return address on this wooden box is the fellow who had the ground spike.
I also bought this empty box at the auction.