Airedale as War Dog- Anti Tank Suicide Bomber

[callmerico]

This is how most Russian dogs, including Airedales, were used during the wars..actual footage below.
(Airedale at 30 seconds)




Kamikaze Suicide Mission, War Dogs of WWII!



During the Great War & World War II, many countries used different types of War Dogs. Used in many engagements
or defensive operations. These war dogs were trained to find and rescue wounded soldiers, detect enemy
locations and mines or as Anti Tank dogs.



During the Blitzkrieg campaign, the Soviets used suicidal dogs, Jerries tanks were too decisively devastating for the Russian Army.

The dogs, named “anti-tank” dogs or AKA Suicide Dogs, were trained to seek food under the armoured vehicles but mostly tanks,
the dogs having been starved, hungry dogs with explosives harnessed to their backs.

The dogs were trained under Soviet tanks, which were quieter than their German diesel tanks.
As a result, the dogs were often unable to distinguish allied from enemy tanks, and therefore blew up a fair number of both. And they would often, quite literally, turn tail and run away from battle.

They wore a pouched overcoat filled with explosives. When they ducked under the enemy’s tanks, using a “Tilt Fuse,”
which detonated when bent. As the explosive were set off destroying the tank.

This tactics disabling over 300 German tanks,
for this reason Jerry had orders to shoot all dogs on sight. Soon afterward the anti-tank dogs were withdrawn from service.
Training of anti-tank dogs continued until at least June 1996.


See below Video of WW2 Airedale and German Shepherd being used / killed in battle.
Nothing glamerous.




www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Lv_vd30s5s&feature=player_embedded

[markbaldassarre]

Where's the footage or documentation of Airedales running from battle?

Those two dogs looked; well fed, unconcerned and eager to work to me.

All accounts I've read spoke of Airedales running TOWARD gunfire [battle].

I call BS.

[callmerico]

Jun 16, 2011 22:06:21 GMT -5 markbaldassarre said:

Where's the footage or documentation of Airedales running from battle?

Never stated they ran from battle but TO the Tanks In battle. It is the nature of war.
Did you read the article? Apparently not.
I posted Videos of the dogs IN Battle doing what they were trained to do-blow themselves up when engaging a tank, which it was conditioned to via feeding.

Jun 16, 2011 22:06:21 GMT -5 markbaldassarre said:

Those two dogs looked; well fed, unconcerned and eager to work to me.

A Suicide dog need not be starved just hungry to be effective.

Jun 16, 2011 22:06:21 GMT -5 markbaldassarre said:

All accounts I've read spoke of Airedales running TOWARD gunfire [battle].

Thats the WHOLE purpose of a Suicide dog, to run TOWARDs a tank and blow it up when under the tank with the explosives strapped on its back.
Something tells me your reading comprehension is not too good today.

Jun 16, 2011 22:06:21 GMT -5 markbaldassarre said:

I call BS.

Call what you want, facts is facts...its how the majority of war dogs were used.



I will link the poignant parts of the article for your reading understanding..

During the Blitzkrieg campaign, the Soviets used suicidal dogs, Jerries tanks were too decisively devastating for the Russian Army.

The dogs, named “anti-tank” dogs or AKA Suicide Dogs, were trained to seek food under the armoured vehicles but mostly tanks,
the dogs having been starved, hungry dogs with explosives harnessed to their backs.

The dogs were trained under Soviet tanks, which were quieter than their German diesel tanks.
As a result, the dogs were often unable to distinguish allied from enemy tanks, and therefore blew up a fair number of both. And they would often, quite literally, turn tail and run away from battle.

They wore a pouched overcoat filled with explosives. When they ducked under the enemy’s tanks, using a “Tilt Fuse,”
which detonated when bent. As the explosive were set off destroying the tank.

This tactics disabling over 300 German tanks,
for this reason Jerry had orders to shoot all dogs on sight. Soon afterward the anti-tank dogs were withdrawn from service.
Training of anti-tank dogs continued until at least June 1996.

[callmerico]

Mark
I have further researched for you using this wonderful tool called Google by typing in Anti Tank Dogs.
I could only find about 20 pages on Google using this search.
Enjoy the reading and do you now retract your BS call?



en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog


Anti-tank dogs (Russian: собаки-истребители танков or противотанковые собаки; German: Panzerabwehrhunde or Hundeminen, "dog-mines") were dogs taught to carry explosives to tanks, armored vehicles and other military targets. They were intensively trained by the Soviet and Russian military forces between 1930 and 1996 and used in 1941–1942 against German tanks in World War II.

Although the original dog training routine was to leave the bomb and retreat so that the bomb would be detonated by the timer, this routine failed and was replaced by an impact detonation procedure which killed the dog in the process.



In 1924, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Soviet Union approved the use of dogs for military purposes, which included a wide range of tasks such as rescue, delivery of first aid, communication, tracking mines and people, assisting in combat, transporting food, medicine and injured soldiers on sledges, and detonation of enemy targets. For these purposes, a specialized dog training school was founded in the Moscow Oblast. Twelve regional schools were opened soon after, three of which trained anti-tank dogs.[1][2]

The Soviet Army had no dedicated dog trainers, therefore they recruited hunters and circus and police dog trainers. Several leading animal scientists were also involved, in order to help organize a wide-scale training program.
The idea of using dogs as mobile mines was developed in the 1930s, together with the dog-fitting mine design. In 1935, anti-mine dog units were officially included in the Soviet Army.[1][2]
[edit] Training

The original idea was for a dog to carry a bomb strapped to its body, and reach a specific static target. The dog would then release the bomb by pulling with its teeth a self-releasing belt and return to the operator.
The bomb could then be detonated either by a timer or remote control, though the latter was too rare and expensive at the time to be used.
A group of dogs practiced this for six months, but the reports show that no dogs could master the task. They performed well on a single target but became confused after the target or location was changed and often returned to the operator with the bomb unreleased, which in a live situation would have killed both the dog and the operator.[3]

Continual failures brought about a simplification. The bomb was fastened on the dog and detonated upon contact with the target, killing the animal. Whereas in the first program, the dog was trained to locate a specific target, this task was simplified to find any enemy tank.
Dogs were trained by being kept hungry and their food was placed under tanks. The tanks were at first left standing still, then they had their engines running, which was further combined with sporadic blank-shot gunfire and other battle-related distractions. This routine aimed to teach the dogs to run under the tanks in battlefield situations.[3]

Each dog was fitted with a 10–12-kilogram (22–26 lb) mine carried in two canvas pouches adjusted individually to each dog. The mine had a safety pin which was removed right before the deployment; each mine carried no markings and was not supposed to be disarmed.
A wooden lever extended out of a pouch to about 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in height. When the dog dived under the tank, the lever struck the bottom of the tank and detonated the charge. Because the chassis was the most vulnerable area of these vehicles, it was hoped the explosion would gut the vehicle.[4][5]

[markbaldassarre]

callmerico,


Thanks for the addtl. info. My comprehension's fine. Maybe you forgot what you wrote. The issues I responded to in your orig post were regarding the dogs being STARVED and TURNING TAIL from battle:

"The dogs, named “anti-tank” dogs or AKA Suicide Dogs, were trained to seek food under the armoured vehicles but mostly tanks,
the dogs having been starved, hungry dogs with explosives harnessed to their backs"
"The dogs were trained under Soviet tanks, which were quieter than their German diesel tanks.
As a result, the dogs were often unable to distinguish allied from enemy tanks, and therefore blew up a fair number of both. And they would often, quite literally, turn tail and run away from battle"

Your second post agrees w/my initial comments! The dogs do NOT need to be starved-correct.
And...the dogs would run TO battle. But that's not what you wrote in your first post. That's why I called BS.

[thistlesdale]

www.airedale.ru/history_eng.php3