Very rare find a World war 2 British SOE [special operations executive] Number 8-mark 1 Anti-Personal trap recovered from the site of a special operations executive training ground in England

This is a very rare find a World war 2 British SOE [special operations executive] Number 8-mark 1 Anti-Personal trap. The trap is not complete it has rusted solid and has bent in the middle the spike is 6 inches long. It is rusty but solid it has been very well cleaned and is perfect for display or any collection. The trap comes with A5 laminated information card with pictures. The trap was recovered from the site of a special operations executive training ground in England.

The trap was Developed by MD1 production of this switch commenced in January of 1940. It is in reality a small anti-personnel land mine that was also useful against wheeled vehicles. It was designed to be laid in paths, roads, and tracks so that when pressure is applied it would fire a bullet upwards through a man’s foot or into a tire. These were used by British special forces as well as provided to the resistance across Europe and used by SOE agents dropped into occupied Europe.

When the spike is driven into the ground, the switch is carefully loaded with a special cartridge that rests on top of the striker with the point of the cartridge protruding above the switch. When a pressure of about 4 pounds is applied to the top of the cartridge it pushes it down forcing the striker down. The sleeve on the striker contacts the umbrella catch and forces it in to release the spring retaining sleeve. Once released the firing spring forces upward on the retaining sleeve which then hits the sleeve on the bottom of the striker with a sharp blow. The blow is transmitted to the striker head and thus the percussion cap in the cartridge causing it to fire.