Life and Death > Historical Mystery Writing

Early 1930's Safe-Cracking

(1/2) > >>

Angie:
I've got my fingers crossed that somebody can help with this...

My husband is working on a heist story set in early 1930's Chicago. He's been googling like mad trying to find out how bank vaults would have been cracked and ran into trouble trying to get details. It looks like prior to 1930, the acetylene torch was the tool of choice for cracking vaults. The next generation of vaults evidently addressed this with a copper sheet within the wall of the vault that would melt and then re-seal. Okay, cool. But then there's nothing on how robbers got around this nifty impediment! Most of the safe-cracking info doesn't pick up again until the 1950's, so that's no help. Any ideas on where to look/who to ask?!

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks,

Angie J-S

Dave Freas:
There's always dynamite or nitro.  ;D

Dave

Elena:
It took practice and then a fair amount of time, but vaults used to be able to be cracked by listening (stethoscope) or feeling the tumbler action. 

Or they could break  into the back of the vault by tunneling or whatever got them there.  The backs were not particularly reinforced.

And, they really could use the acetylene torch since even if the safe building technology had improved, banks could not easily install a new safe.  Chances were good, especially considering the depression, that the safe was a pre-1930's model.  They were built into the building at the time of construction.  You can always depend on the false security of nothing have ever happened to make the bank even consider the extreme expensive of installing a new vault  :D

Elena

Peg H:
Angie,
You got me curious about safe cracking in the 1930's so I did some research and came across an article your husband might enjoy reading.
 
http://tacomathenandnow.typepad.com/tacoma_then_and_now/2007/11/eddie-bentz-car.html  

The article gives another explanation as to why safe cracking became less popular.

Peg H  ;D

Angie:
Thanks for the link to the article, Peg - I'm sure he'll get some good info out of it. I like the idea of the acetylene torch being big 'n heavy - adds another problem to be dealt with! And Elena, I've been thinking maybe he's making too much out of the new tech. That's a good point about it being a massive pain to put in a new safe.

Still wish I could just find a good book or website on the history of safe-cracking! The few that I've found just aren't that specific & have a big gap between the 1920's and 1950's.

Angie

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page