# Question about Saving Prvt Ryan. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724 "2010-01-28T03:13:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/1 "2010-01-28T03:13:20Z")
What where those explosive tube thingamabobs they used during the Omaha beach scene? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/2 "2010-01-28T03:22:17Z")
[Bangalore torpedoes.](http://www.strictly-gi.com/bangalore.html) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/3 "2010-01-28T03:23:04Z")
[Bangalore torpedo.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore_torpedo) Damn you ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/4 "2010-01-28T03:35:22Z")
Great idea! Crappy barbed wire, though. It should be flexible enough that a coil just jumps up a few feet after the explosion, or gives a bit when a steer casually tests it with his butt at -15F. Snapping under strain is inexcusable. Went to school in DeKalb, IL, home of barbed wire. We take our wire seriously. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/5 "2010-01-28T03:36:53Z")
That was quick! Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/6 "2010-01-28T04:49:36Z")
Another scene involving a Bengalore torpedo can be found in _The Big Red One_. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/7 "2010-01-28T16:15:24Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Another scene involving a Bengalore torpedo can be found in _The Big Red One_. And in _The Longest Day_ ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/8 "2010-01-28T16:32:30Z")
and in The Sands of Iwo Jima ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/9 "2010-01-28T16:59:18Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Another scene involving a Bengalore torpedo can be found in _The Big Red One_. This is indeed the most nerve-wracking use of this weapon in any film I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/10 "2010-01-28T18:47:04Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Another scene involving a Bengalore torpedo can be found in _The Big Red One_. As Private Zab (Robert Carradine) said in _The Big Red One_: "The Bangalore Torpedo was 50’ long and packed with 85 pounds of TNT and you assembled it along the way. By hand. I’d love to meet the asshole who invented it. " ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/11 "2010-01-28T18:48:36Z")
It’s such a splendid serendipity that the name of the place the torpedo is named for so perfectly describes the intended effect. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/12 "2010-01-28T20:37:46Z")
Slightly off-topic, but why couldn’t a soldier just hack through the wire with a large pair of wire cutters (not the little ones, but ones with very very long handles, for superior torque and a cushion of relative safety)? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/13 "2010-01-28T20:42:13Z")
It puts you out in the open for a very long time, subject to snagging on wire and being shot at by unfriendly types. The Bangalore torpedo is capable of being inserted with much less exposure and is capable of clearing much more wire in much less time. Although, as shown in _The Big Red One_, it was still rather hazardous to use. ---
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/14 "2010-01-29T11:36:29Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > Slightly off-topic, but why couldn’t a soldier just hack through the wire with a large pair of wire cutters (not the little ones, but ones with very very long handles, for superior torque and a cushion of relative safety)? Also, altough I’m not sure how much this was done in WWII, Jerry had a habit of running current throught his wires, at least during WWI. Could have some isolation on the cutters, of course… ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/15 "2010-01-29T12:31:00Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > Slightly off-topic, but why couldn’t a soldier just hack through the wire with a large pair of wire cutters (not the little ones, but ones with very very long handles, for superior torque and a cushion of relative safety)? _ **A** _ soldier, maybe, but a whole gaggle of them? Also, wasn’t barbed wire set out in a tangled mess, not a nice, neat, cow-fence. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/16 "2010-01-29T12:45:18Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > _ **A** _ soldier, maybe, but a whole gaggle of them? Also, wasn’t barbed wire set out in a tangled mess, not a nice, neat, cow-fence. Yes, there were generally multiple spools, sometimes even threaded into each other. It’d be like clearing brambles with scissors. While being shot at. Besides, the bangalore also cleared mines and tank traps (those tripods made out of girders) around the explosion point all in one go, and created a shallow trench providing some measure of cover. High explosive is such a versatile tool, isn’t it ? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/17 "2010-01-29T15:06:54Z")
There are very few of Life’s problems that cannot be successfully addressed with high explosives. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/18 "2010-01-29T15:10:55Z")
Mythbusters: “When in doubt: C4” ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2010, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-saving-prvt-ryan/526724/19 "2010-01-31T06:01:57Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > Another scene involving a Bengalore torpedo can be found in _The Big Red One_. Any chance someone has a link to this? I’ve seen that so many times I don’t watch it anymore.