Gatecrasher™ is the original water-tamped wall breaching charge, producing human-sized holes in brick and masonry walls up to 500mm (20") thick. Water tamping amplifies the explosive's effect, so a successful breach needs less explosive, at least half the usual safety distance, and produces minimal forward fragmentation. Military and law enforcement breachers worldwide regard it as the go-to wall breaching charge. Sizing the breach: the peripheral explosive loop defines the hole; thin internal walls need only that loop with a single length of cord. For walls beyond 50cm, remove the inserts and load the full channel and pockets with plastic explosive. Wall breaching is covered in our Explosive Breaching & MoE training.
One charge, four wall thicknesses. Load the same case for single, double, triple, or quadruple brick, from 35g of detonating cord to a 3kg full plastic-explosive load
Three explosive types. Detonating cord, plastic explosive, or sheet explosive in the removable-insert pockets, matched to the target and what's in your inventory
Safety distance cut by at least half, thanks to water tamping that also minimises forward fragmentation
Built for the approach. Disintegrating board handles for gloved grip, integral webbing straps for the carry, and moulded holes to hang the charge from nails or strong points
NSN 1375-99-895-4034, model L18A2
Explosive Load and Performance
Gatecrasher can house variable explosive loads and be equipped with three different types of explosives. Two channels accommodate the explosive: the first is a closed loop around the periphery of the charge, which defines the size of the hole produced, and the second channel runs along the vertical centre line.
When using sheet explosive, take out the removable inserts to expose 8 x 8 cm pockets. Squares of sheet explosive are layered in these pockets and interconnected with a detonating cord. For extremely thick walls, the whole channel and all pockets can be loaded with plastic explosive to provide an NEQ of approximately 3kg.
Gatecrasher™ has been successfully used on brick walls up to 50cm thick. You only need to use the peripheral charge for thin structures such as internal walls. It may consist of one or more lengths of detonating cord. A single length of 10g/m cord would give a loading of 23g of explosive. The groove can accommodate 100g/m of cord.
Deployment to Target
The charge case has two horizontal high-density board handles large enough for gripping with a gloved hand. These handles disintegrate upon firing, reducing the projected fragment hazard. Moulded holes allow charges to be hung on the target or suspended from nails or strong points. Integral webbing straps enable the charge to be easily carried into position.
Related Resources
Specifications
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 580 x 1090 x 60 m |
| Weight empty | ~4kg |
| Weight loaded | ~21kg |
| Water volume | 14.25 litres |
| NEQ | 35g single strand 10g/m detcord 3kg PE |
| Single brick load | 8 strands of 10g/m detcord |
| Double brick load | 6mm sheet explosive |
| Triple brick load | 9mm periphery, 12mm centre. Full load of PE4 with inserts in |
| Quadruple brick load | 12mm periphery, 15mm centre |
| Over 50cm thick | Full load of PE4 without inserts |
| Colour | Black |
| Model no. | L18A2 |
| NSN | 1375-99-895-4034 |
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