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Thread: Hatton Gardens

  1. #11
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    Is that the strongroom that was pierced? If so they were relying on 70 year old technology. Doubtless very good in its day but scarcely adequate for the modern tooling available now.

    From what has been said, though, it sounds as if there has been inside help. I suppose if your staff are bent there isn't a lot that is going to keep a place secure. Of course all this is pure speculation.

  2. #12
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    There's just been a live update on the bbc news with a police spokesperson holding a press update outside the deposit centre. A few hard and fast details are now starting to come out- just announced they went through the vault wall which was 2 metres thick and used a Hilti DD350 to drill holes..

  3. #13
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    2 metres of Chubb concrete with a Hilti. Mmmmmmm. I suppose it is possible. But that can't be the whole story. What about the steel? I suspect this is not the full story by any means.

    Good recommendation for Hilti tools, though.

  4. #14
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    Here's an image of a Hilti in use. I might expect the Hatton Garden gang used a smaller drill since reports state several holes were drilled.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Here's a similar setup that was being used to break into a Berlin bank but the bad guys tripped an alarm before they were finished:

    Click image for larger version. 

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  5. #15
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    2 meters of this...

    Click image for larger version. 

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    or was it only the door that was new in 1947?

  6. #16
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    Wow- that's a serious size core. With 2 metre thick walls, I was thinking the same. The DD350 seems a pretty impressive bit of kit, and is according to makers spec intended for stitch drilling cores- seeing the size of those it could be possible but there would still be complications. The limited depth feed of the drill (500 mm?) means either continuous drilling by adding additional extensions or drilling to max depth and then breaking out a part-core. not at all easy assuming the 2 metres thickness is peppered with any one of Chubb's famous barrier deflectors- tangbar, spiral matress etc.

    my guess is continuous holes drilled with extensions until they broke clean through, but either way it must have been hell of a slog with all the reinforcing.

  7. #17
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    I'd be surprised if they were still using that door from the late 1940s. Perhaps we'll find out eventually but knowing the periodic makeovers and upgrades some of the other deposit centres had over the years it'd be risky if they are.

    when you consider the massive risks involved with this sort of business, it raises (for me anyway!) many questions about the vault itself. We all know how secretive the safety deposit world is, and the fact the values and losses involved often many times what's declared. Which raises the big question of what spec vault and door would you opt for? Add into the equation the fact that we're now in an age of off-the-shelf doors made to resist to a certain grade only and the whole concept and idea seems madness to me- unless you're prepared to still take massive risks which insurers are still prepared to cover..

  8. #18
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    Gotta love those Germans. So a meter is 39 inches so we're talking about 78 inches. So unless they had a good method to remove the plug as they went part way in, they would have needed a very long core drill. Certainly possible but does sound a bit fishy.

  9. #19
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    Sorry Max for repeating what has already been said. When I do mine I'm going through the door.

  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug MacQueen View Post
    ... unless they had a good method to remove the plug as they went part way in, they would have needed a very long core drill.
    I wonder if they used a smaller-diameter core drill and drilled many holes. With a small diameter and a good diameter-to-length ratio you can probably drive a wedge in on one side and break off the plug then continue. Once that's done you start another hole, and continue until you get something big enough to crawl through. After all, they had four days and only opened 70 boxes.

    A few more images follow. The first is via YouTube showing a drill in a deep hole. Second is an actual hole in a parking garage which was used to dig a tunnel into a bank in Berlin. Third is a 6 3/4 inch diameter, 17 inch long core drill.

    Click image for larger version. 

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