osssabotage

Simple Sabotage Field Manual

Office of Strategic Services

OSS REPRODUCTION BRANCH

SIMPLE SABOTAGE FIELD MANUAL

Strategic Services

(Provisional)

STRATEGIC SERVICES FIELD MANUAL No. 3

Office of Strategic Services

Washington, D. C.

17 January 1944

This Simple Sabotage Field Manual Strategic Services (Provisional) is

published for the information and guidance of all concerned and will be

used as the basic doctrine for Strategic Services training for this

subject.

The contents of this Manual should be carefully controlled and should

not be allowed to come into unauthorized hands.

The instructions may be placed in separate pamphlets or leaflets

according to categories of operations but should be distributed with

care and not broadly. They should be used as a basis of radio

broadcasts only for local and special cases and as directed by the

theater commander.

AR 380-5, pertaining to handling of secret documents, will be complied

with in the handling of this Manual.

[Illustration]

William J. Donovan

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. POSSIBLE EFFECTS

3. MOTIVATING THE SABOTEUR

4. TOOLS, TARGETS, AND TIMING

5. SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR SIMPLE SABOTAGE

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to characterize simple sabotage, to

outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting

and executing it.

Sabotage varies from highly technical _coup de main_ acts that require

detailed planning and the use of specially-trained operatives, to

innumerable simple acts which the ordinary individual citizen-saboteur

can perform. This paper is primarily concerned with the latter type.

Simple sabotage does not require specially prepared tools or equipment;

it is executed by an ordinary citizen who may or may not act

individually and without the necessity for active connection with an

organized group; and it is carried out in such a way as to involve a

minimum danger of injury, detection, and reprisal.

Where destruction is involved, the weapons of the citizen-saboteur are

salt, nails, candles, pebbles, thread, or any other materials he might

normally be expected to possess as a householder or as a worker in his

particular occupation. His arsenal is the kitchen shelf, the trash

pile, his own usual kit of tools and supplies. The targets of his

sabotage are usually objects to which he has normal and inconspicuous

access in everyday life.

A second type of simple sabotage requires no destructive tools

whatsoever and produces physical damage, if any, by highly indirect

means. It is based on universal opportunities to make faulty decisions,

to adopt a noncooperative attitude, and to induce others to follow

suit. Making a faulty decision may be simply a matter of placing tools

in one spot instead of another. A non-cooperative attitude may involve

nothing more than creating an unpleasant situation among one’s fellow

workers, engaging in bickerings, or displaying surliness and stupidity.

This type of activity, sometimes referred to as the “human element,” is

frequently responsible for accidents, delays, and general obstruction

even under normal conditions. The potential saboteur should discover

what types of faulty decisions and the operations are _normally_ found

in this kind of work and should then devise his sabotage so as to

enlarge that “margin for error.”

2. POSSIBLE EFFECTS

Acts of simple sabotage are occurring throughout Europe. An effort

should be made to add to their efficiency, lessen their detectability,

and increase their number. Acts of simple sabotage, multiplied by

thousands of citizen-saboteurs, can be an effective weapon against the

enemy. Slashing tires, draining fuel tanks, starting fires, starting

arguments, acting stupidly, short-circuiting electric systems, abrading

machine parts will waste materials, manpower, and time. Occurring on a

wide scale, simple sabotage will be a constant and tangible drag on the

war effort of the enemy.

Simple sabotage may also have secondary results of more or less value.

Widespread practice of simple sabotage will harass and demoralize enemy

administrators and police. Further, success may embolden the

citizen-saboteur eventually to find colleagues who can assist him in

sabotage of greater dimensions. Finally, the very practice of simple

sabotage by natives in enemy or occupied territory may make these

individuals identify themselves actively with the United Nations war

effort, and encourage them to assist openly in periods of Allied

invasion and occupation.

3. MOTIVATING THE SABOTEUR

To incite the citizen to the active practice of simple sabotage and to

keep him practicing that sabotage over sustained periods is a special

problem.

Simple sabotage is often an act which the citizen performs according to

his own initiative and inclination. Acts of destruction do not bring

him any personal gain and may be completely foreign to his habitually

conservationist attitude toward materials and tools. Purposeful

stupidity is contrary to human nature. He frequently needs pressure,

stimulation or assurance, and information and suggestions regarding

feasible methods of simple sabotage.

(1) _Personal Motives_

(a) The ordinary citizen very probably has no immediate personal motive

for committing simple sabotage. Instead, he must be made to anticipate

indirect personal gain, such as might come with enemy evacuation or

destruction of the ruling government group. Gains should be stated as

specifically as possible for the area addressed: simple sabotage will

hasten the day when Commissioner X and his deputies Y and Z will be

thrown out, when particularly obnoxious decrees and restrictions will

be abolished, when food will arrive, and so on. Abstract verbalizations

about personal liberty, freedom of the press, and so on, will not be

convincing in most parts of the world. In many areas they will not even

be comprehensible.

(b) Since the effect of his own acts is limited, the saboteur may

become discouraged unless he feels that he is a member of a large,

though unseen, group of saboteurs operating against the enemy or the

government of his own country and elsewhere. This can be conveyed

indirectly: suggestions which he reads and hears can include

observations that a particular technique has been successful in this or

that district. Even if the technique is not applicable to his

surroundings, another’s success will encourage him to attempt similar

acts. It also can be conveyed directly: statements praising the

effectiveness of simple sabotage can be contrived which will be

published by white radio, freedom stations, and the subversive press.

Estimates of the proportion of the population engaged in sabotage can

be disseminated. Instances of successful sabotage already are being

broadcast by white radio and freedom stations, and this should be

continued and expanded where compatible with security.

which the citizen-saboteur acquires a sense of responsibility and

begins to educate others in simple sabotage.

(2) _Encouraging Destructiveness_

It should be pointed out to the saboteur where the circumstances are

suitable, that he is acting in self-defense against the enemy, or

retaliating against the enemy for other acts of destruction. A

reasonable amount of humor in the presentation of suggestions for

simple sabotage will relax tensions of fear.

(a) The saboteur may have to reverse his thinking, and he should be

told this in so many words. Where he formerly thought of keeping his

tools sharp, he should now let them grow dull; surfaces that formerly

were lubricated now should be sanded; normally diligent, he should now

be lazy and careless; and so on. Once he is encouraged to think

backwards about himself and the objects of his everyday life, the

saboteur will see many opportunities in his immediate environment which

cannot possibly be seen from a distance. A state of mind should be

encouraged that anything can be sabotaged.

(b) Among the potential citizen-saboteurs who are to engage in physical

destruction, two extreme types may be distinguished. On the one hand,

there is the man who is not technically trained and employed. This man

needs specific suggestions as to what he can and should destroy as well

as details regarding the tools by means of which destruction is

accomplished.

lathe operator or an automobile mechanic. Presumably this man would be

able to devise methods of simple sabotage which would be appropriate to

his own facilities. However, this man needs to be stimulated to

re-orient his thinking in the direction of destruction. Specific

examples, which need not be from his own field, should accomplish this.

(d) Various media may be used to disseminate suggestions and

information regarding simple sabotage. Among the media which may be

used, as the immediate situation dictates, are: freedom stations or

radio false (unreadable) broadcasts or leaflets may be directed toward

specific geographic or occupational areas, or they may be general in

scope. Finally, agents may be trained in the art of simple sabotage, in

anticipation of a time when they may be able to communicate this

information directly.

(3) _Safety Measures_

(a) The amount of activity carried on by the saboteur will be governed

not only by the number of opportunities he sees, but also by the amount

of danger he feels. Bad news travels fast, and simple sabotage will be

discouraged if too many simple saboteurs are arrested.

(b) It should not be difficult to prepare leaflets and other media for

the saboteur about the choice of weapons, time, and targets which will

insure the saboteur against detection and retaliation. Among such

suggestions might be the following:

(1) Use materials which appear to be innocent. A knife or a nail file

can be carried normally on your person; either is a multi-purpose

instrument for creating damage. Matches, pebbles, hair, salt, nails,

and dozens of other destructive agents can be carried or kept in your

living quarters without exciting any suspicion whatever. If you are a

worker in a particular trade or industry you can easily carry and keep

such things as wrenches, hammers, emery paper, and the like.

(2) Try to commit acts for which large numbers of people could be

responsible. For instance, if you blow out the wiring in a factory at a

central fire box, almost anyone could have done it. On-the-street

sabotage after dark, such as you might be able to carry out against a

military car or truck, is another example of an act for which it would

be impossible to blame you.

(3) Do not be afraid to commit acts for which you might be blamed

directly, so long as you do so rarely, and as long as you have a

plausible excuse: you dropped your wrench across an electric circuit

because an air raid had kept you up the night before and you were

half-dozing at work. Always be profuse in your apologies. Frequently

you can “get away” with such acts under the cover of pretending

stupidity, ignorance, over-caution, fear of being suspected of

sabotage, or weakness and dullness due to undernourishment.

(4) After you have committed an act of easy sabotage, resist any

temptation to wait around and see what happens. Loiterers arouse

suspicion. Of course, there are circumstances when it would be

suspicious for you to leave. If you commit sabotage on your job, you

should naturally stay at your work.

4. TOOLS, TARGETS, AND TIMING

The citizen-saboteur cannot be closely controlled. Nor is it reasonable

to expect that simple sabotage can be precisely concentrated on

specific types of target according to the requirements of a concrete

military situation. Attempts to control simple sabotage according to

developing military factors, moreover, might provide the enemy with

intelligence of more or less value in anticipating the date and area of

notably intensified or notably slackened military activity.

Sabotage suggestions, of course, should be adapted to fit the area

where they are to be practiced. Target priorities for general types of

situations likewise can be specified, for emphasis at the proper time

by the underground press, freedom stations, and cooperating propaganda.

(1) _Under General Conditions_

(a) Simple sabotage is more than malicious mischief, and it should

always consist of acts whose results will be detrimental to the

materials and manpower of the enemy.

(b) The saboteur should be ingenious in using his every-day equipment.

All sorts of weapons will present themselves if he looks at his

surroundings in a different light. For example, emery dust—a powerful

weapon—may at first seem unobtainable, but if the saboteur were to

pulverize an emery knife sharpener or emery wheel with a hammer, he

would find himself with a plentiful supply.

capacity of his instruments. An inexperienced person should not, for

example, attempt to use explosives, but should confine himself to the

use of matches or other familiar weapons.

(d) The saboteur should try to damage only objects and materials known

to be in use by the enemy or to be destined for early use by the enemy.

It will be safe for him to assume that almost any product of heavy

industry is destined for enemy use, and that the most efficient fuels

and lubricants also are destined for enemy use. Without special

knowledge, however, it would be undesirable for him to attempt

destruction of food crops or food products.

(e) Although the citizen-saboteur may rarely have access to military

objects, he should give these preference above all others.

(2) _Prior to a Military Offensive_

During periods which are quiescent in a military sense, such emphasis

as can be given to simple sabotage might well center on industrial

production, to lessen the flow of materials and equipment to the enemy.

Slashing a rubber tire on an Army truck may be an act of value;

spoiling a batch of rubber in the production plant is an act of still

more value.

(3) _During a Military Offensive_

(a) Most significant sabotage for an area which is, or is soon destined

to be, a theater of combat operations is that whose effects will be

direct and immediate. Even if the effects are relatively minor and

localized, this type of sabotage is to be preferred to activities whose

effects, while widespread, are indirect and delayed.

(1) The saboteur should be encouraged to attack transportation

facilities of all kinds.

Among such facilities are roads, railroads, auto mobiles, trucks,

motor-cycles, bicycles, trains, and trams.

(2) Any communications facilities which can be used by the authorities

to transmit instructions or morale material should be the objects of

simple sabotage. These include telephone, telegraph and power systems,

radio, newspapers, placards, and public notices.

(3) Critical materials, valuable in themselves or necessary to the

efficient functioning of transportation and communication, also should

become targets for the citizen-saboteur. These may include oil,

gasoline, tires, food, and water.

5. SPECIFIC SUGGESTIONS FOR SIMPLE SABOTAGE

It will not be possible to evaluate the desirability of simple sabotage

in an area without having in mind rather specifically what individual

acts and results are embraced by the definition of simple sabotage.

A listing of specific acts follows, classified according to types of

target. This list is presented as a growing rather than a complete

outline of the methods of simple sabotage. As new techniques are

developed, or new fields explored, it will be elaborated and expanded.

(1) _Buildings_

Warehouses, barracks, offices, hotels, and factory buildings are

outstanding targets for simple sabotage. They are extremely susceptible

to damage, especially by fire; they offer opportunities to such

untrained people as janitors, charwomen, and casual visitors; and, when

damaged, they present a relatively large handicap to the enemy.

(a) _Fires_ can be started wherever there is an accumulation of

inflammable material. Warehouses are obviously the most promising

targets but incendiary sabotage need not be confined to them alone.

(1) Whenever possible, arrange to have the fire start after you have

gone away. Use a candle and paper, combination, setting it as close as

possible to the inflammable material you want to burn: From a sheet of

paper, tear a strip three or four centimeters wide and wrap it around

the base of the candle two or three times. Twist more sheets of paper

into loose ropes and place them around the base of the candle. When the

candle flame reaches the encircling strip, it will be ignited and in

turn will ignite the surrounding paper. The size, heat, and duration of

the resulting flame will depend on how much paper you use and how much

of it you can cramp in a small space.

(2) With a flame of this kind, do not attempt to ignite any but rather

inflammable materials, such as cotton sacking. To light more resistant

materials, use a candle plus tightly rolled or twisted paper which has

been soaked in gasoline. To create a briefer but even hotter flame, put

celluloid such as you might find in an old comb, into a nest of plain

or saturated paper which is to be fired by a candle.

(3) To make another type of simple fuse, soak one end of a piece of

string in grease. Rub a generous pinch of gunpowder over the inch of

string where greasy string meets clean string. Then ignite the clean

end of the string. It will burn slowly without a flame (in much the

same way that a cigarette burns) until it reaches the grease and

gunpowder; it will then flare up suddenly. The grease-treated string

will then burn with a flame. The same effect may be achieved by using

matches instead of the grease and gunpowder. Run the string over the

match heads, taking care that the string is not pressed or knotted.

They too will produce a sudden flame. The advantage of this type of

fuse is that string burns at a set speed. You can time your fire by the

length and thickness of the string you chose.

(4) Use a fuse such as; the ones suggested above to start a fire in an

office after hours. The destruction of records and other types of

documents would be a serious handicap to the enemy.

(5) In basements where waste is kept, janitors should accumulate oily

and greasy waste. Such waste sometimes ignites spontaneously, but it

can easily be lit with a cigarette or match. If you are a janitor on

night duty, you can be the first to report the fire, but don’t report

it too soon.

(6) A clean factory is not susceptible to fire, but a dirty one is.

Workers should be careless with refuse and janitors should be

inefficient in cleaning. If enough dirt and trash can be accumulated an

otherwise fireproof building will become inflammable.

(7) Where illuminating gas is used in a room which is vacant at night,

shut the windows tightly, turn on the gas, and leave a candle burning

in the room, closing the door tightly behind you. After a time, the gas

will explode, and a fire may or may not follow.

(b) _Water and miscellaneous_

(1) Ruin warehouse stock by setting the automatic sprinkler system to

work. You can do this by tapping the sprinkler heads sharply with a

hammer or by holding a match under them.

(2) Forget to provide paper in toilets; put tightly rolled paper, hair,

and other obstructions in the W. C. Saturate a sponge with a thick

starch or sugar solution. Squeeze it tightly into a ball, wrap it with

string, and dry. Remove the string when fully dried. The sponge will be

in the form of a tight hard ball. Flush down a

W. C. or otherwise introduce into a sewer line. The sponge will

gradually expand to its normal size and plug the sewage system.

(3) Put a coin beneath a bulb in a public building during the daytime,

so that fuses will blow out when lights are turned on at night. The

fuses themselves may be rendered ineffective by putting a coin behind

them or loading them with heavy wire. Then a short-circuit may either

start a fire, damage transformers, or blow out a central fuse which

will interrupt distribution of electricity to a large area.

(4) Jam paper, bits of wood, hairpins, and anything else that will fit,

into the locks of all unguarded entrances to public buildings.

(2) _Industrial Production: Manufacturing_

(a) Tools

(1) Let cutting tools grow dull. They will be inefficient, will slow

down production, and may damage the materials and parts you use them

on.

(2) Leave saws slightly twisted when you are not using them. After a

while, they will break when used.

(3) Using a very rapid stroke will wear out a file before its time. So

will dragging a file in slow strokes under heavy pressure. Exert

pressure on the backward stroke as well as the forward stroke.

(4) Clean files by knocking them against the vise or the workpiece;

they are easily broken this way.

(5) Bits and drills will snap under heavy pressure.

(6) You can put a press punch out of order by putting in it more

material than it is adjusted for—two blanks instead of one, for

example.

(7) Power-driven tools like pneumatic drills, riveters, and so on, are

never efficient when dirty. Lubrication points and electric contacts

can easily be fouled by normal accumulations of dirt or the insertion

of foreign matter.

(b) Oil and lubrication systems are not only vulnerable to easy

sabotage, but are critical in every machine with moving parts. Sabotage

of oil and lubrication will slow production or stop work entirely at

strategic points in industrial processes.

(1) Put metal dust or filings, fine sand, ground glass, emery dust (get

it by pounding up an emery knife sharpener) and similar hard, gritty

substances directly into lubrication systems. They will scour smooth

surfaces, ruining pistons, cylinder walls, shafts, and bearings. They

will overheat and stop motors which will need overhauling, new parts,

and extensive repairs. Such materials, if they are used, should be

introduced into lubrication systems past any filters which otherwise

would strain them out.

(2) You can cause wear on any machine by uncovering a filter system,

poking a pencil or any other sharp object through the filter mesh, then

covering it up again. Or, if you can dispose of it quickly, simply

remove the filter.

(3) If you cannot get at the lubrication system or filter directly, you

may be able to lessen the effectiveness of oil by diluting it in

storage. In this case, almost any liquid will do which will thin the

oil. A small amount of sulphuric acid, varnish, water-glass, or linseed

oil will be especially effective.

(4) Using a thin oil where a heavy oil is prescribed will break down a

machine or heat up a moving shaft so that it will “freeze” and stop.

(5) Put any clogging substance into lubrication systems or, if it will

float, into stored oil. Twisted combings of human hair, pieces of

string, dead insects, and many other common objects will be effective

in stopping or hindering the flow of oil through feed lines and

filters.

(6) Under some circumstances, you may be able to destroy oil outright

rather than interfere with its effectiveness, by removing stop-plugs

from lubricating systems or by puncturing the drums and cans in which

it is stored.

commission in a fairly short time, with considerable damage to an

engine or motor, if you put into it several pinches of hard grain, such

as rice or wheat. They will swell up and choke the circulation of

water, and the cooling system will have to be torn down to remove the

obstruction. Sawdust or hair may also be used to clog a water cooling

system.

(2) If very cold water is quickly introduced into the cooling system of

an overheated motor, contraction and considerable strain on the engine

housing will result. If you can repeat the treatment a few times,

cracking and serious damage will result.

(3) You can ruin the effectiveness of an air cooling system by plugging

dirt and waste into intake or exhaust valves. If a belt-run fan is used

in the system, make a jagged cut at least half way through the belt; it

will slip and finally part under strain and the motor will overheat.

(d) Gasoline and Oil Fuel Tanks and fueling engines usually are

accessible and easy to open. They afford a very vulnerable target for

simple sabotage activities. (1.) Put several pinches of sawdust or hard

grain, such as rice or wheat, into the fuel tank of a gasoline engine.

The particles will choke a feed line so that the engine will stop. Some

time will be required to discover the source of the trouble. Although

they will be hard to get, crumbs of natural rubber, such as you might

find in old rubber bands and pencil erasers, are also effective.

(2) If you can accumulate sugar, put it in the fuel tank of a gasoline

engine. As it burns together with the gasoline, it will turn into a

sticky mess which will completely mire the engine and necessitate

extensive cleaning and repair. Honey and molasses are as good as sugar.

Try to use about 75–100 grams for each 10 gallons of gasoline.

(3) Other impurities which you can introduce into gasoline will cause

rapid engine wear and eventual breakdown. Fine particles of pumice,

sand, ground glass, and metal dust can easily be introduced into a

gasoline tank. Be sure that the particles are very fine, so that they

will be able to pass through the carburetor jet.

(4) Water, urine, wine, or any other simple liquid you can get in

reasonably large quantities will dilute gasoline fuel to a point where

no combustion will occur in the cylinder and the engine will not move.

One pint to 20 gallons of gasoline is sufficient. If salt water is

used, it will cause corrosion and permanent motor damage.

(5) In the case of Diesel engines, put low flashpoint oil into the fuel

tank; the engine will not move. If there already is proper oil in the

tank when the wrong kind is added, the engine will only limp and

sputter along.

(6) Fuel lines to gasoline and oil engines frequently pass over the

exhaust pipe. When the machine is at rest, you can stab a small hole in

the fuel line and plug the hole with wax. As the engine runs and the

exhaust tube becomes hot, the wax will be melted; fuel will drip onto

the exhaust and a blaze will start.

(7) If you have access to a room where gasoline is stored, remember

that gas vapor accumulating in a closed room will explode after a time

if you leave a candle burning in the room. A good deal of evaporation,

however, must occur from the gasoline tins into the air of the room. If

removal of the tops of the tins does not expose enough gasoline to the

air to ensure copious evaporation, you can open lightly constructed

tins further with a knife, ice pick or sharpened nail file. Or puncture

a tiny hole in the tank which will permit gasoline to leak out on the

floor. This will greatly increase the rate of evaporation. Before you

light your candle, be sure that windows are closed and the room is as

air-tight as you can make it. If you can see that windows in a

neighboring room are opened wide, you have a chance of setting a large

fire which will not only destroy the gasoline but anything else nearby;

when the gasoline explodes, the doors of the storage room will be blown

open, a draft to the neighboring windows will be created which will

whip up a fine conflagration.

(e) Electric Motors Electric motors (including dynamos) are more

restricted than the targets so far discussed. They cannot be sabotaged

easily or without risk of injury by unskilled persons who may otherwise

have good opportunities for destruction.

(1) Set the rheostat to a high point of resistance in all types of

electric motors. They will overheat and catch fire.

(2) Adjust the overload relay to a very high value beyond the capacity

of the motor. Then overload the motor to a point where it will overheat

and break down.

(3) Remember that dust, dirt, and moisture are enemies of electrical

equipment. Spill dust and dirt onto the points where the wires in

electric motors connect with terminals, and onto insulating parts.

Inefficient transmission of current and, in some cases, short circuits

will result. Wet generator motors to produce short circuits.

(4) “Accidentally” bruise the insulation on wire, loosen nuts on

connections, make faulty splices and faulty connections in wiring, to

waste electric current and reduce the power of electric motors, the

power output or cause short circuiting in direct-current motors: Loosen

or remove commutator holding rings. Sprinkle carbon, graphite, or metal

dust on commutators. Put a little grease or oil at the contact points

of commutators. Where commutator bars are close together bridge the

gaps between them with metal dust, or sawtooth their edges with a

chisel so that the teeth on adjoining bars meet or nearly meet and

current can pass from one to the other.

(6) Put a piece of finely grained emery paper half the size of a

postage stamp in a place where it will wear away rotating brushes. The

emery paper and the motor will be destroyed in the resulting fire.

(7) Sprinkle carbon, graphite or metal dust on slip-rings so that the

current will leak or short circuits will occur. When a motor is idle,

nick the slip-rings with a chisel.

(8) Cause motor stoppage or inefficiency by applying dust mixed with

grease to the face of the armature so that it will not make proper

contact.

(9) To overheat electric motors, mix sand with heavy grease and smear

it between the stator and rotor, or wedge thin metal pieces between

them. To prevent the efficient generation of current, put floor

sweepings, oil, tar, or paint between them.

(10) In motors using three-phase current, deeply nick one of the

lead-in wires with a knife or file when the machine is at rest, or

replace one of the three fuses with a blown-out fuse. In the first

case, the motor will stop after running awhile, and in the second, it

will not start.

(f) Transformers

(1) Transformers of the oil-filled type can be put out of commission if

you pour water, salt water, machine-tool coolant, or kerosene into the

oil tank.

(2) In air-cooled transformers, block the ventilation by piling debris

around the transformer.

(3) In all types of transformers, throw carbon, graphite or metal dust

over the outside bushings and other exposed electrical parts.

(g) Turbines for the most part are heavily built, stoutly housed, and

difficult of access. Their vulnerability to simple sabotage is very

low.

(1) After inspecting or repairing a hydro turbine, fasten the cover

insecurely so that it will blow off and flood the plant with water. A

loose cover on a steam turbine will cause it to leak and slow down.

(2) In water turbines, insert a large piece of scrap iron in the head

of the penstock, just beyond the screening, so that water will carry

the damaging material down to the plant equipment.

(3) When the steam line to a turbine is opened for repair, put pieces

of scrap iron into it, to be blasted into the turbine machinery when

steam is up again.

(4) Create a leak in the line feeding oil to the turbine, so that oil

will fall on the hot steam pipe and cause a fire.

(h) Boilers

(1) Reduce the efficiency of steam boilers any way you can. Put too

much water in them to make them slow-starting, or keep the fire under

them low to keep them inefficient. Let them dry and turn the fire up;

they will crack and be ruined. An especially good trick is to keep

putting limestone or water containing lime in the boiler; it will

deposit lime on the bottom and sides. This deposit will provide very

good insulation against heat; after enough of it has collected, the

boiler will be completely worthless.

(3) _Production. Metals_

(a) Iron and Steel

(1) Keep blast furnaces in a condition where they must be frequently

shut down for repair. In making fire-proof bricks for the inner lining

of blast furnaces, put in an extra proportion of tar so that they will

wear out quickly and necessitate constant re-lining.

(2) Make cores for casting so that they are filled with air bubbles and

an imperfect cast results.

(3) See that the core in a mold is not properly supported, so that the

core gives way or the casting is spoiled because of the incorrect

position of the core.

(4) In tempering steel or iron, apply too much heat, so that the

resulting bars and ingots are of poor quality.

(b) Other Metals

No suggestions available.

(4) _Production: Mining and Mineral Extraction_

(a) Coal

(1) A slight blow against your Davy oil lamp will extinguish it, and to

light it again you will have to find a place where there is no fire

damp. Take a long time looking for the place.

(2) Blacksmiths who make pneumatic picks should not harden them

properly, so that they will quickly grow dull.

(3) You can easily put your pneumatic pick out of order. Pour a small

amount of water through the oil lever and your pick will stop working.

Coal dust and improper lubrication will also put it out of order.

(4) Weaken the chain that pulls the bucket conveyers carrying coal. A

deep dent in the chain made with blows of a pick or shovel will cause

it to part under normal strain. Once a chain breaks, normally or

otherwise take your time about reporting the damage; be slow about

taking the chain up for repairs and bringing it back down after

repairs.

(5) Derail mine cars by putting obstructions on the rails and in switch

points. If possible, pick a gallery where coal cars have to pass each

other, so that traffic will be snarled up.

(6) Send up quantities of rock and other useless material with the

coal.

(5) _Production: Agriculture_

(a) Machinery

(1) See par. 5 b. (2) (c), (d), (e).

(b) Crops and livestock probably will be destroyed only in areas where

there are large food surpluses or where the enemy (regime) is known to

be requisitioning food.

(1.) Feed crops to livestock. Let crops harvest too early or too late.

Spoil stores of grain, fruit and vegetables by soaking them in water so

that they will rot. Spoil fruit and vegetables by leaving them in the

sun.

(6) _Transportation: Railways_

(a) Passengers

(1.) Make train travel as inconvenient as possible for enemy personnel.

Make mistakes in issuing train tickets, leaving portions of the journey

uncovered by the ticket book; issue two tickets for the same seat in

the train, so that an interesting argument will result; near train

time, instead of issuing printed tickets write them out slowly by hand,

prolonging the process until the train is nearly ready to leave or has

left the station. On station bulletin boards announcing train arrivals

and departures, see that false and misleading information is given

about trains bound for enemy destinations.

(2) In trains bound for enemy destinations, attendants should make life

as uncomfortable as possible for passengers. See that the food is

especially bad, take up tickets after midnight, call all station stops

very loudly during the night, handle baggage as noisily as possible

during the night, and so on.

(3) See that the luggage of enemy personnel is mislaid or unloaded at

the wrong stations.

Switch address labels on enemy baggage.

(4) Engineers should see that trains run slow or make unscheduled stops

for plausible reasons.

(b) Switches, Signals and Routing

(1) Exchange wires in switchboards containing signals and switches, so

that they connect to the wrong terminals.

(2) Loosen push-rods so that signal arms do not work; break signal

lights; exchange the colored lenses on red and green lights.

(3) Spread and spike switch points in the track so that they will not

move, or place rocks or close-packed dirt between the switch points.

(4) Sprinkle rock salt or ordinary salt profusely over the electrical

connections of switch points and on the ground nearby. When it rains,

the switch will be short-circuited.

(5) See that cars are put on the wrong trains. Remove the labels from

cars needing repair and put them on cars in good order. Leave couplings

between cars as loose as possible.

(1) On a curve, take the bolts out of the tie-plates connecting to

sections of the outside rail, and scoop away the gravel, cinders, or

dirt for a few feet on each side of the connecting joint.

(2) If by disconnecting the tie-plate at a joint and loosening sleeper

nails on each side of the joint, it becomes possible to move a sections

of rail, spread two sections of rail and drive a spike vertically

between them.

(d) Oil and Lubrication

(1) See 5 b. (2) (b).

(2) Squeeze lubricating pipes with pincers or dent them with hammers,

so that the flow of oil is obstructed.

(e) Cooling Systems

(1) See 5 b (2) (c).

(f) Gasoline and Oil Fuel

(1) See 5 b (2) (d).

(g) Electric Motors

(1) See 5 b (2) (e) and (f).

(h) Boilers

(1) See 5 b (2) (h).

(2) After inspection put heavy oil or tar in the engines’ boilers, or

put half a kilogram of soft soap into the water in the tender.

(i) Brakes and Miscellaneous

(1) Engines should run at high speeds and use brakes excessively at

curves and on downhill grades.

(2) Punch holes in air-brake valves or water supply pipes.

(3) In the last car of a passenger train or or a front car of a

freight, remove the wadding from a journal box and replace it with oily

rags.

(7) _Transportation: Automotive_

(a) Roads. Damage to roads [(3) below] is slow, and therefore

impractical as a D-day or near D-day activity.

(1) Change sign posts at intersections and forks; the enemy will go the

wrong way and it may be miles before he discovers his mistakes.

In areas where traffic is composed primarily of enemy autos, trucks,

and motor convoys of various kinds remove danger signals from curves

and intersections.

(2) When the enemy asks for directions, give him wrong information.

Especially when enemy convoys are in the neighborhood, truck drivers

can spread rumors and give false information about bridges being out,

ferries closed, and detours lying ahead.

(3) If you can start damage to a heavily traveled road, passing traffic

and the elements will do the rest. Construction gangs can see that too

much sand or water is put in concrete or that the road foundation has

soft spots. Anyone can scoop ruts in asphalt and macadam roads which

turn soft in hot weather; passing trucks will accentuate the ruts to a

point where substantial repair will be needed. Dirt roads also can be

scooped out. If you are a road laborer, it will be only a few minutes

work to divert a small stream from a sluice so that it runs over and

eats away the road.

(4) Distribute broken glass, nails, and sharp rocks on roads to

puncture tires.

(b) Passengers

(1) Bus-driver can go past the stop where the enemy wants to get off.

Taxi drivers can waste the enemy’s time and make extra money by driving

the longest possible route to his destination.

(1) See 5 b. (2) (b).

(2) Disconnect the oil pump; this will burn out the main bearings in

less than 50 miles of normal driving.

(d) Radiator

(1) See 5 b. (2) (c).

(e) Fuel

(1) See 5 b. (2) (d).

(f) Battery and Ignition

(1) Jam bits of wood into the ignition lock; loosen or exchange

connections behind the switchboard; put dirt in spark plugs; damage

distributor points.

(2) Turn on the lights in parked cars so that the battery will run

down.

(3) Mechanics can ruin batteries in a number of undetectable ways: Take

the valve cap off a cell, and drive a screw driver slantwise into the

exposed water vent, shattering the plates of the cell; no damage will

show when you put the cap back on. Iron or copper filings put into the

cells i.e., dropped into the acid, will greatly shorten its life.

Copper coins or a few pieces of iron will accomplish the same and more

slowly.

One hundred to 150 cubic centimeters of vinegar in each cell greatly

reduces the life of the battery, but the odor of the vinegar may reveal

what has happened.

(g) Gears

(1) Remove the lubricant from or put too light a lubricant in the

transmission and other gears.

(2) In trucks, tractors, and other machines with heavy gears, fix the

gear case insecurely, putting bolts in only half the bolt holes. The

gears will be badly jolted in use and will soon need repairs.

(h) Tires

(1) Slash or puncture tires of unguarded vehicles. Put a nail inside a

match box or other small box, and set it vertically in front of the

back tire of a stationary car; when the car starts off, the nail will

go neatly through the tire.

(2) It is easy to damage a tire in a tire repair shop: In fixing flats,

spill glass, benzine, caustic soda, or other material inside the casing

which will puncture or corrode the tube. If you put a gummy substance

inside the tube, the next flat will stick the tube to the casing and

make it unusable. Or, when you fix a flat tire, you can simply leave

between the tube and the casing the object which caused the flat in the

first place.

(3) In assembling a tire after repair, pump the tube up as fast as you

can. Instead of filling out smoothly, it may crease, in which case it

will wear out quickly. Or, as you put a tire together, see if you can

pinch the tube between the rim of the tire and the rim of the wheel, so

that a blow-out will result.

(4) In putting air into tires, see that they are kept below normal

pressure, so that more than an ordinary amount of wear will result. In

filling tires on double wheels, inflate the inner tire to a much higher

pressure than the outer one; both will wear out more quickly this way.

Badly aligned wheels also wear tires out quickly; you can leave wheels

out of alignment when they come in for adjustment, or you can spring

them out of true with a strong kick, or by driving the car slowly and

diagonally into a curb.

(5) If you have access to stocks of tires, you can rot them by spilling

oil, gasoline, caustic acid, or benzine on them. Synthetic rubber,

however, is less susceptible to these chemicals.

(8) _Transportation: Water_

(a) Navigation

(1) Barge and river boat personnel should spread false rumors about the

navigability and conditions of the waterways they travel. Tell other

barge and boat captains to follow channels that will take extra time,

or cause them to make canal detours.

(2) Barge and river boat captains should navigate with exceeding

caution near locks and bridges, to waste their time and to waste the

time of other craft which may have to wait on them. If you don’t pump

the bilges of ships and barges often enough, they will be slower and

harder to navigate. Barges “accidentally” run aground are an efficient

time waster too.

(3) Attendants on swing, draw, or bascule bridges can delay traffic

over the bridge or in the waterway underneath by being slow. Boat

captains can leave unattended draw bridges open in order to hold up

road traffic.

(4) Add or subtract compensating magnets to the compass on cargo ships.

Demagnetize the compass or maladjust it by concealing a large bar of

steel or iron near to it.

(b) Cargo

(1) While loading or unloading, handle cargo carelessly in order to

cause damage. Arrange the cargo so that the weakest and lightest crates

and boxes will be at the bottom of the hold, while the heaviest ones

are on top of them.

Put hatch covers and tarpaulins on sloppily, so that rain and deck wash

will injure the cargo.

Tie float valves open so that storage tanks will overflow on perishable

goods.

(9) _Communications_

(a) Telephone

(1) At office, hotel and exchange switch boards delay putting enemy

calls through, give them wrong numbers, cut them off “accidentally,” or

forget to disconnect them so that the line cannot be used again.

(2) Hamper official and especially military business by making at least

one telephone call a day to an enemy headquarters; when you get them,

tell them you have the wrong number.

Call military or police offices and make anonymous false reports of

fires, air raids, bombs.

(3) In offices and buildings used by the enemy, unscrew the earphone of

telephone receivers and remove the diaphragm. Electricians and

telephone repair men can make poor connections and damage insulation so

that cross talk and other kinds of electrical interference will make

conversations hard or impossible to understand.

(4) Put the batteries under automatic switchboards out of commission by

dropping nails, metal filings, or coins into the cells. If you can

treat half the batteries in this way, the switchboard will stop

working. A whole telephone system can be disrupted if you can put 10

percent of the cells in half the batteries of the central battery room

out of order.

(b) Telegraph

(1) Delay the transmission and delivery of telegrams to enemy

destinations.

(2) Garble telegrams to enemy destinations so that another telegram

will have to be sent or a long distance call will have to be made.

Sometimes it will be possible to do this by changing a single letter in

a word—for example, changing “minimum” to “miximum,” so that the person

receiving the telegram will not know whether “minimum” or “maximum” is

meant.

(1) Cut telephone and telegraph transmission lines. Damage insulation

on power lines to cause interference.

(d) Mail

(1) Post office employees can see to it that enemy mail is always

delayed by one day or more, that it is put in wrong sacks, and so on.

(e) Motion Pictures

(1) Projector operators can ruin newsreels and other enemy propaganda

films by bad focusing, speeding up or slowing down the film and by

causing frequent breakage in the film.

(2) Audiences can ruin enemy propaganda films by applauding to drown

the words of the speaker, by coughing loudly, and by talking.

(3) Anyone can break up a showing of an enemy propaganda film by

putting two or three dozen large moths in a paper bag. Take the bag to

the movies with you, put it on the floor in an empty section of the

theater as you go in and leave it open. The moths will fly out and

climb into the projector beam, so that the film will be obscured by

fluttering shadows.

(f) Radio

(1) Station engineers will find it quite easy to overmodulate

transmissions of talks by persons giving enemy propaganda or

instructions, so that they will sound as if they were talking through a

heavy cotton blanket with a mouth full of marbles.

(2) In your own apartment building, you can interfere with radio

reception at times when the enemy wants everybody to listen. Take an

electric light plug off the end of an electric light cord; take some

wire out of the cord and tie it across two terminals of a two-prong

plug or three terminals of a four-prong plug. Then take it around and

put it into as many wall and floor outlets as you can find. Each time

you insert the plug into a new circuit, you will blow out a fuse and

silence all radios running on power from that circuit until a new fuse

is put in.

(3) Damaging insulation on any electrical equipment tends to create

radio interference in the immediate neighborhood, particularly on large

generators, neon signs, fluorescent lighting, X-ray machines, and power

lines. If workmen can damage insulation on a high tension line near an

enemy airfield, they will make ground-to-plane radio communications

difficult and perhaps impossible during long periods of the day.

(10) _Electric Power_

(a) Turbines, Electric Motors, Transformers

(1) See 5 b. (2) (e), (f),and (g).

(b) Transmission Lines

(1.) Linesmen can loosen and dirty insulators to cause power leakage.

It will be quite easy, too, for them to tie a piece of very heavy

string several times back and forth between two parallel transmission

lines, winding it several turns around the wire each time. Beforehand,

the string should be heavily saturated with salt and then dried. When

it rains, the string becomes a conductor, and a short-circuit will

result.

(11) _General Interference with Organizations and Production_

(a) Organizations and Conferences (1) Insist on doing everything

through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to

expedite decisions.

(2) Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great

length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of

personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate

“patriotic” comments.

(3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study

and consideration.” Attempt to make the committees as large as

possible—never less than five.

(4) Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible.

(5) Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes,

resolutions.

(6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt

to re-open the question of the advisability of that decision.

(7) Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your fellow-conferees

to be “reasonable” and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments

or difficulties later on.

(8) Be worried about the propriety of any decision—raise the question

of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction

of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some

higher echelon.

(b) Managers and Supervisors

(1) Demand written orders.

(2) “Misunderstand” orders. Ask endless questions or engage in long

correspondence about such orders. Quibble over them when you can.

(3) Do everything possible to delay the delivery of orders. Even though

parts of an order may be ready beforehand, don’t deliver it until it is

completely ready.

(4) Don’t order new working materials until your current stocks have

been virtually exhausted, so that the slightest delay in filling your

order will mean a shutdown.

(5) Order high-quality materials which are hard to get. If you don’t

get them argue about it. Warn that inferior materials will mean

inferior work.

(6) In making work assignments, always sign out the unimportant jobs

first. See that the important jobs are assigned to inefficient workers

of poor machines.

(7) Insist on perfect work in relatively unimportant products; send

back for refinishing those which have the least flaw. Approve other

defective parts whose flaws are not visible to the naked eye.

(8) Make mistakes in routing so that parts and materials will be sent

to the wrong place in the plant.

(9) When training new workers, give incomplete or misleading

instructions.

(10) To lower morale and with it, production, be pleasant to

inefficient workers; give them undeserved promotions. Discriminate

against efficient workers; complain unjustly about their work.

(11) Hold conferences when there is more critical work to be done.

(12) Multiply paper work in plausible ways.

Start duplicate files.

(13) Multiply the procedures and clearances involved in issuing

instructions, pay checks, and so on. See that three people have to

approve everything where one would do.

(14) Apply all regulations to the last letter.

(1) Make mistakes in quantities of material when you are copying

orders. Confuse similar names. Use wrong addresses.

(2) Prolong correspondence with government bureaus.

(3) Misfile essential documents.

(4) In making carbon copies, make one too few, so that an extra copying

job will have to be done.

(5) Tell important callers the boss is busy or talking on another

telephone.

(6) Hold up mail until the next collection.

(7) Spread disturbing rumors that sound like inside dope.

(d) Employees

(1) _Work slowly_. Think out ways to increase the number of movements

necessary on your job: use a light hammer instead of a heavy one, try

to make a small wrench do when a big one is necessary, use little force

where considerable force is needed, and so on.

(2) Contrive as many interruptions to your work as you can: when

changing the material on which you are working, as you would on a lathe

or punch, take needless time to do it. If you are cutting, shaping or

doing other measured work, measure dimensions twice as often as you

need to. When you go to the lavatory, spend a longer time there than is

necessary.

Forget tools so that you will have to go back after them.

(3) Even if you understand the language, pretend not to understand

instructions in a foreign tongue.

(4) Pretend that instructions are hard to understand, and ask to have

them repeated more than once. Or pretend that you are particularly

anxious to do your work, and pester the foreman with unnecessary

questions.

(5) Do your work poorly and blame it on bad tools, machinery, or

equipment. Complain that these things are preventing you from doing

your job right.

(6) Never pass on your skill and experience to a new or less skillful

worker.

(7) Snarl up administration in every possible way. Fill out forms

illegibly so that they will have to be done over; make mistakes or omit

requested information in forms.

(8) If possible, join or help organize a group for presenting employee

problems to the management. See that the procedures adopted are as

inconvenient as possible for the management, involving the presence of

a large number of employees at each presentation, entailing more than

one meeting for each grievance, bringing up problems which are largely

imaginary, and so on.

(9) Misroute materials.

(10) Mix good parts with unusable scrap and rejected parts.

(12) _General Devices for Lowering Morale and Creating Confusion_

(a) Give lengthy and incomprehensible explanations when questioned.

(b) Report imaginary spies or danger to the Gestapo or police.

(d) Be as irritable and quarrelsome as possible without getting

yourself into trouble.

(e) Misunderstand all sorts of regulations concerning such matters as

rationing, transportation, traffic regulations.

(f) Complain against ersatz materials.

(g) In public treat axis nationals or quislings coldly.

(h) Stop all conversation when axis nationals or quislings enter a

cafe.

(i) Cry and sob hysterically at every occasion, especially when

confronted by government clerks.

(j) Boycott all movies, entertainments, concerts, newspapers which are

in any way connected with the quisling authorities.

(k) Do not cooperate in salvage schemes.