TRAP FOR TANKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24106, 27 October 1941, Page 8

TRAP FOR TANKS

NEW BAB BED WIRE AUSTRALIAN'S INVENTION MASS PRODUCTION COMMENCED Already in mass production both for Australian home defence and for use overseas, a new type of barbed wire said to have enormous tensile strength and to be capable of stopping tanks, is the invention of Mr. H. A. Abbott, of Bendigo, Australia, a brother of Dr. W. N. Abbott, of Auckland. Mr. Abbott, who served with the Australian forces in the last war and was wounded tlwec times, also has other inventions to his credit. The new product is called Barblok. It is said to have a. tensile strength of 110 tons, and is expected to have an important bearing on future developments of defence against attacks by mechanised forces. According to the Bendigo Advertiser, Mr. Abbott spent two and a-lialf years perfecting his latest invention before submitting it to the Australian War Department. The product is claimed to be the strongest barbed wire in the world. Each barb is individually locked to the wire, the locking apparatus ensuring the eflectiveness of the entanglements, no matter how much tiie wire may be stretched or moved. "Because of the fixed barbs, attacking armoured vehicles become enmeshed in"tlie wire, which is stretched .longitudinally in tunnel-shaped formations," the newspaper says. It adds that the invention is highly commended bv experts as being one oi the foremost of the war. for defence purposes. Mr. Abbott, who was educated at the Bendigo School o! Alines, has received a letter from the Commonwealth Government expressing appreciation of his action ill returning to the nation a considerable proportion of the royalties he has received from tlie State tor his new invention. Three of Mr. Abbott's brothers have achieved success in various forms of research. The late Captain R. H. S. Abbott had 04 inventions to his credit, several being applied successfully in the last war. and in this. Another brother. Mr. G. J. Abbott, of England._ also has a distinguished record as an inventor, while Dr. Abbott, of Auckland, has been prominent in various branches of medical research, particularly in relation to the sequelae of chemical injury in ex-soldiers.