Cartridge Trap
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A booby trap devised by the Viet Cong and subsequently used against American and other anti-Communist forces supporting South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It derives its name from the fact that the wounding component of the trap is a small arms cartridges.
[edit] Design
It is a very simple trap, made from four main components: a bamboo pipe, a piece of wood, a nail and any ammunition from small arms. The device required a ammunition to be stood upright and when a person (usually a soldier) stepped on the trap, the pressure placed on the bullet would force it down onto a nail, igniting the primer and subsequently causing the round to fire. [1]
[edit] Purpose
The intent of the trap was to cause the round to travel through an enemy soldier's foot, causing him and probably his entire section to cease their actions in order to treat him. This would often create an opportunity for a Viet Cong (or other North Vietnamese force) to engage the stationary section in an ambush.
Even if an ambush was not achieved, the booby trap would ultimately cause the victim to be wounded and incapable of fighting, not to mention the adverse affects to the objective the section was trying to achieve.
