Booby-Trapped Russian AK-47 Magazines are Showing Up in Ukraine

The use of booby-trapped military equipment is hardly a new idea, with a documented history of usage throughout wars in the 20th and 21st centuries. Considering the hot topic of late, the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Russians have been particularly busy in that area.  While the matter of booby traps, in general, will have to wait for a future deep dive, one particular item offers a window into Russian thinking on the aforementioned topic, that being the explosive sabotage of Kalashnikov magazines.

In a posting made on March 25, 2022, Twitter user @ZloyAtoshnik posted a photo of a Kalashnikov rifle magazine cutaway depicting what appears to be a spring-loaded detonator mechanism, a buff-colored putty-like material resembling a plasticized explosive, and a message roughly translated (according to Google) to read “Guys do not pick up from old corpses or on the road.” This photo has since been shared in numerous social media posts.

 

 

Intrigued, I did some research and discovered a 1998 graphic describing a similar technique used in the 1990s during the Balkans campaign, specifically during the time frame of Operation Joint Endeavor, which was the U.S. arm of NATO’s larger Implementation Force.  It was this organization that was charged with establishing specific aspects of the Dayton Peace Accords.  The graphic, prepared by a now-retired United Kingdom EOD officer named Bob Gravett who was working for a company called BACTEC International Ltd. clearing mines and explosive remnants of war after the Bosnian conflict, depicts a professionally produced (not improvised) “bakelite” AK-47 Kalashnikov magazine with a complex spring operated and ball bearing controlled pressure release mechanism designed so that when the user removed rounds of ammunition from the magazine, pressure was relieved on the mechanism until finally a striker (also under spring pressure) shot downwards into a detonator, which in turn initiated the explosion of some 35 grams of TNT according to Mr. Gravett.  The back story on the magazine reveals a potential Russian connection to the device.  During my May 5, 2022 interview with Mr. Gravett, he advised the magazine was recovered in either late 1995 or early 1996 by a Bosnian patrol in Banja Luka, who heard what they believed to be a Serbian patrol, opening fire in that general direction.  Mr. Gravett explained that after about 30 minutes, what he described as a Bosnian fighting patrol went out to investigate the incident, where they found Serb gear, blood-splattered webbing, and the aforementioned magazine.  Fortunately, they examined the magazine and noted it had a pull ring still in place, which was obviously not normal, and they then realized the magazine was a booby trap style IED. As to a potential Russian nexus, the close relationship between Russia and Serbia, both largely Slavic nations, has been long documented,

 

Old Tricks for Old Dogs of War

Russian usage of booby-traps in Afghanistan has been long documented and includes innocuous items like toys and things like rifle magazines or other military equipment. The Russians, of course, are not the only military to booby trap rifle magazines. During the Vietnam War, for instance, U.S. programs included booby-trapped rifle magazines, the so-called “308 Special Devices,” as part of the overall 3801 Swimmer Weapon System. While the goals of these two programs were similar, 308 Special Devices such as rifle magazines, flashlights, binoculars, and even cameras (the technical literature for which can be found in now declassified U.S. military EOD manuals) were typically deployed by U.S. Navy SEALs and other special operations forces according to conversations I had with EOD SGM Mike Weber, USA (Retired). His comprehensive publication, Secret Weapons of the U.S. Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War, provides fascinating details of the 308 Special devices, with pictures showing the 308-17 device, which was a booby-trapped AK-47 magazine employing a microswitch. When a user removed ammunition (either manually or by firing the rifle) the microswitch would complete the circuit, causing the Composition C-4 filled magazine to explode.