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The explosive rat, also known as a rat bomb, was a weapon developed by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) in World War II for use against Nazi Germany. Rat carcasses were filled with plastic explosives, and were to be distributed near German boiler rooms where it was expected they would be disposed of by burning, with the subsequent explosion having a chance of causing a boiler explosion.
The explosive rats never saw use, as the first shipment was intercepted by the Germans; however, the resulting search for more booby trapped rats consumed enough German resources for the SOE to conclude that the operation was a success.
The idea, developed in 1941, was that when the dead rat was discovered in the Mechanical room of a locomotive, factory, power station, or similar installation, the stoker tending the boiler would dispose of the unpleasant discovery by shoveling it into the furnace, causing the booby trapped rat to explode. A rat could contain only a small amount of explosive; however, a penetration of a highly pressurized steam boiler could trigger a devastating boiler explosion. A rat bomb could also be set with a delayed fuse.
A biography of Station IX officer J. Elder Wills claims that nine boilers were damaged in Belgian factories by the rats but is probably a myth.
Operational history
The first shipment of carcasses was intercepted by the Germans, and the SOE plan was dropped. The Germans exhibited the rats at top military schools and conducted searches for further exploding rats. The SOE concluded: "The trouble caused to them was a much greater success to us than if the rats had actually been used."
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