Hoist by His Own Petard/Real Life: Difference between revisions

* In 1917 the British were having a problem with a particular German-laid minefield off the coast of Ireland. It seemed that however diligent the RN minesweepers were in their duties, ships were still being lost in this field. The Director of Naval Intelligence, Admiral Sir William Reginald Hall, deduced that the Germans were eavesdropping on the minesweepers' radio traffic, and were simply sending a U-boat out to re-lay the minefield when they heard the sweepers broadcast the 'field cleared' message. The British response? To leave the minefield intact and broadcast a false 'field cleared' signal. UC-44 sailed out to re-lay the field...and was sunk by the mines. The only survivor was her Commander, who was furious that the RN minesweepers had done such an inefficient job of clearing the field.

** [http://uboat.net/wwi/boats/index.html?boat=uc+44 There are disagreements on this part], but the new theory is that UC-44 was blown up by her own [[Failsafe Failure|prematurely armed]] mine -- known issue even for specialized minelayers of this era -- so it fits either way.

* A Indonesian militant was trying to bomb a police station with a homemade bomb. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100930/ap_on_re_as/as_indonesia_bicycle_bomber But on his way in his bicycle it blew up before he got there.]

** More than one bomb maker has met his end while assembling a bomb, and more than one bomber has had the bomb go off before he could arrive at the target. At least a few have died from accidentally setting their bomb vests off while giving their buddies one last good bye hug. It's not a job that lends itself well to on the job training.