Anti-personnel mine
Encyclopedia
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mine
Anti-tank mine
An anti-tank mine, , is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles....
s, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines, the latter may or may not be bounding mine
Bounding mine
A bounding mine is an anti-personnel mine designed to be used in open areas. When tripped, a small propelling charge launches the body of the mine 3-4 feet into the air, where the main charge detonates and sprays fragmentation at roughly waist height....
s.
The mines are often designed to injure, not kill, victims in order to increase the logistical (mostly medical) support required by enemy forces that encounter them. Some types of anti-personnel mines can also damage the tracks on armoured vehicles or the tires of wheeled vehicles.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working for a world free of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.The coalition was formed in...
has sought to ban land mines culminating in the 1997 Ottawa Treaty
Ottawa Treaty
The Ottawa Treaty or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines around the world. , there were 158...
, although this treaty has not yet been accepted by a number of countries including the USA, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Use
Anti-personnel mines are used in a similar manner to anti-tank mines, in static "mine fields" along national borders or in defense of strategic positions as described in greater detail in the land mineLand mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
article. What makes them different from most anti-tank mines, however, is their smaller size, which enables large numbers to be simultaneously deployed over a large area. This process can be done manually, via dispensers on land vehicles, or from helicopters or aircraft. Alternatively, they can be dispensed by cargo-carrying artillery shells.
Other uses specific to anti-personnel mines, are where they are deployed on an ad hoc basis in the following situations:
- When laying an ambush.
- Protecting a temporary base.
- To evade pursuit (e.g. M86 Pursuit Deterrent MunitionM86 Pursuit Deterrent MunitionThe M86 Pursuit Deterrent Munition is a small US anti-personnel mine intended to be used by special forces to deter pursuing enemy forces....
) - To protect equipment by employing the mines as booby trapBooby trapA booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s. - To booby trapBooby trapA booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
other mines as a form of anti-handling deviceAnti-handling deviceAn anti-handling device is an attachment to or integral part of a landmine or other munition e.g. some fuze types found in air-dropped bombs such as the M83, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is specifically designed to prevent tampering. When the protected device is disturbed it detonates, killing...
Blast mines
Typically, anti-personnel blast mines are activated i.e. they are triggered when the victim steps on it. Their primary purpose is to blow the victim's foot or leg off, disabling them. Injuring, rather than killing, the victim is viewed as preferable in order to increase the logistical (evacuation, medical) burden on the opposing force.Effect
When a person steps on a blast mine and activates it, the mine's main charge detonates, creating a blast shock waveShock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
consisting of hot gases travelling at extremely high velocity. The shock wave sends a huge compressive force upwards, ejecting the mine casing and any soil covering the mine along with it. When the blast wave hits the surface, it quickly transfers the force into the subject's footwear and foot. This results in a massive compression force being applied to the victim's foot. In most cases, the victim's foot is blown off by the blast wave.
The resulting injuries to a human body depend on the size of the mine's main charge, the depth, type of soil it was laid in and how the victim contacted it e.g. stepping on the mine using all or part of the foot. Different types of soil will result in different amounts of energy being transferred upward into the subject's foot, with saturated "clay-like" soil transferring the most. Larger main charges result in a release of significantly more energy, driving the blast wave further up a target's foot and leg and causing greater injury, in some cases even described as severe as traumatic amputation
Traumatic amputation
Traumatic amputation is the partial or total avulsion of a part of human body, during a serious accident, like traffic, labor, etc,,.Traumatic amputation of a human limb, either partial or total, is a tragedy for the victim...
of the foot up to the knee.
Secondary injuries from a blast mine are often caused by the material that has been torn loose by the mine's explosion. This consists of the soil and stones that were on top of the mine, parts of the victim's footwear and the small bones in the victim's foot. This debris creates wounds typical of similar secondary blast effects or shrapnel
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
. Special footwear, including combat boots or so-called "blast boots", is only moderately protective against the destructive effects of blast mines, and the loss of a foot is a typical outcome.
Blast mines have little effect on armoured vehicles, but can damage a wheeled vehicle if it runs directly over the mine. Small blast mines will severely damage a tire, rendering it irreparable while some types could also damage adjacent running gear.
Components
Mine casing
The mine casing houses the components of the mine and protects it from its environment. Early land mines, such as the ones used in the World War II era, had casings made of steel or aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
. However, by the middle of World War II, the British Army was using the first, practical, portable metal detectors—the Polish mine detector
Polish mine detector
The Mine detector Mark I was a metal detector for landmines developed during World War II in the winter of 1941–1942 by Polish lieutenant Józef Kosacki.- History :...
. The Germans responded with mines that had a wooden or glass casing to make detection harder.
Wooden mines had been used by the Russians in 1939, before the appearance of metal detectors, in order to save steel. Some, like the PP Mi-D mine
PP Mi-D mine
The PP Mi-D mine is a Czech copy of the German Second World War Schu-mine 42 anti-personnel mine.It consists of a simple wooden box with a hinged lid that acts as the trigger mechanism. A slot is cut into the side of the lid which rests on the striker retaining pin...
, continued to be used into the 1980s as they were easy to make and hard to detect. Wood has the disadvantage of rotting and splitting, rendering the mine non-functional after a comparatively short time in the ground.
Mines manufactured after the 1950s generally use plastic casings to hinder detection by electronic mine detectors. Some, referred to as Minimum metal mine
Minimum metal mine
A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the minimum amount of metal in its construction . Both minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel mines exist. Some designs contain almost no metal at all...
s, are constructed with as little metal as possible (often around 1 gram, 0.04 oz) to make them difficult to detect. Mines containing absolutely no metal have been produced, but are uncommon. By its nature, a mine without any metal components in it cannot be found using a metal detector.
Pressure plate/fuze mechanism
The fuzeFuze
Fuze Beverage, commercially referred to as just Fuze , is a manufacturer of teas and non-carbonated fruit drinks enriched with vitamins. Currently the brand consists of five vitamin-infused lines: Slenderize, Refresh, Tea, Defensify, and Vitalize...
mechanism is designed to set off the detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
, either by striking it with a spring-loaded firing pin
Firing pin
A firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...
, compressing a friction sensitive pyrotechnic composition, or by passing an electric charge through it. Most mines employ a spring-loaded striker that hits a stab detonator when activated by the victim. Typically, the detonator contains a tiny pellet of lead azide. The fuze is the most complicated component in any landmine, though the amount of effort required to design and manufacture a simple fuze mechanism is quite low. For example, the retraction mechanism inside a cheap plastic ballpoint pen
Ballpoint pen
A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument with an internal ink reservoir and a sphere for a point. The internal chamber is filled with a viscous ink that is dispensed at its tip during use by the rolling action of a small sphere...
could easily be adapted to function as a basic anti-personnel landmine fuze after minor modifications. It follows that any factory capable of manufacturing retractable ballpoint pens could easily manufacture such fuzes.
More sophisticated examples, such as the Italian SB-33 mine
SB-33 mine
The SB-33 is a small Italian minimum metal blast type anti-personnel mine formerly manufactured by Misar, that entered service in 1977. The SB-33 can be emplaced by hand or scattered using the helicopter mounted SY-AT system....
have a fuze mechanism that detonates the mine if subject to gradual, steady pressure, but locks the fuze if subject to a sudden shock. This defeats one of the main methods of clearing a path through a minefield—detonating the mines with explosive devices, such as Mine-clearing line charge
Mine-clearing line charge
A mine-clearing line charge is used to create a breach in minefields under combat conditions. While there are many types, the basic design is for many explosive charges connected on a line to be projected onto the minefield. The charges explode, detonating any buried mines, thus clearing a path...
s.
Booster
The booster chargeExplosive booster
An explosive booster acts as a bridge between a low energy explosive and a low sensitivity explosive such as TNT. It increases the explosive shockwave from an initiating explosive to the degree sufficient to detonate the secondary charge.Unlike C4 plastic explosive, not all explosives can be...
is a highly sensitive explosive that will explode easily when subjected to the shock of the detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
. Typically, a pea-sized pellet of RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
is used. The purpose of the booster is to amplify the shock of the detonator and initiate the main explosive charge.
Main charge
The main charge consists of a stable explosive that is detonated by the booster charge. This is necessary, because making a mine out of highly sensitive detonator or booster explosive would be more expensive, and make the device more sensitive and thereby susceptible to accidental detonationDetonation
Detonation involves a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations are observed in both conventional solid and liquid explosives, as well as in reactive gases...
. In most AP blast mines TNT, Composition B
Composition B
Composition B, colloquially "comp B", is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades, sticky bombs and various other munitions...
or phlegmatised RDX
RDX
RDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
are used. On a U.S. M14 mine
M14 mine
The M14 mine is a U.S. small anti-personnel land mine first deployed circa 1955. The M14 mechanism uses a belleville spring to flip a firing pin downwards into a stab detonator when pressure is applied. Once deployed, the M14 is very difficult to detect because it is a minimum metal mine, i.e. most...
, 29 grams of tetryl
Tetryl
2,4,6-Trinitrophenylmethylnitramine commonly referred to as tetryl is a sensitive explosive compound used to make detonators and explosive booster charges....
is used, while 240 grams of TNT is used in a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n PMN mine
PMN mine
The PMN series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in Russia. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations.-PMN-1:...
.
Deployment
Anti-personnel blast mines are the most common type of land mine and typically deployed on the surface (hidden by leaves or rocks) or buried under soil at depths of 10 – 20 mm. They are activated by pressure i.e. when the victim steps on them, but could also be a vehicle driving over them.They were designed for use as area denial weapons
Area denial weapons
An area denial weapon is a device used to prevent an adversary from occupying or traversing an area of land. The specific method used does not have to be totally effective in preventing passage as long as it is sufficient to severely restrict, slow down, or endanger the opponent...
. Weapons of this type are supposed to deny opposing military forces access to a specific area.
Fragmentation mines
While blast mines are designed to cause severe injury to one person, fragmentation mines (such as the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era German S-mine
S-mine
The German S-mine , also known as the "Bouncing Betty," is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding mines. When triggered, these mines launch into the air and then detonate at about . The explosion projects a lethal spray of steel balls and fragments in all directions...
) are designed to project fragments across a wide area, causing shrapnel
Fragmentation (weaponry)
Fragmentation is the process by which the casing of an artillery shell, bomb, grenade, etc. is shattered by the detonating high explosive filling. The correct technical terminology for these casing pieces is fragments , although shards or splinters can be used for non-preformed fragments...
wounds to nearby personnel.
Fragmentation mines are generally much larger and heavier than blast mines, and contain a large amount (often several kilograms) of ferrous metal. As such, they are easy to detect if the environment is not too heavily contaminated with iron.
Effect
These mines are deemed more effective than purely "blast effect" mines, because the shrapnel effect covers a greater area, potentially injuring more combatants.The shrapnel from these mines can even disable some armoured vehicles, by puncturing their tires and—in the case of soft-skinned vehicles—also penetrating the skin and damaging internal components or injuring personnel. Because fragmentation mines generally contain a much larger charge than blast mines, they can cause severe damage to an unarmoured vehicle which runs directly over one.
Stake
These mines (such as the Russian POMZPOMZ
The POMZ, POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M are three types of Russian-made stake mounted anti-personnel fragmentation mine. The POMZ mine was used during the Second World War. It was superseded by the POMZ-2, and later by the improved POMZ-2M...
) are entirely above ground, having a fragmenting warhead mounted on a stake at a suitable height, concealed by vegetation or rubbish and triggered by one or more tripwire
Tripwire
A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to some device for detecting or reacting to physical movement...
s.
Bounding
Bounding mineBounding mine
A bounding mine is an anti-personnel mine designed to be used in open areas. When tripped, a small propelling charge launches the body of the mine 3-4 feet into the air, where the main charge detonates and sprays fragmentation at roughly waist height....
s have a small lifting charge that, when activated, launches the main body of the mine out of the ground before it detonates at around chest height. This produces a more lethal spray of shrapnel over a larger area. One such—the US M16 mine
M16 mine
The M16 mine is a U.S. made bounding anti-personnel mine. It was based on captured plans of the World War II era German S-mine and has similar performance. The mine consists of a cast iron body in a thin steel sleeve. A central fuze well on the top of the mine is normally fitted with a pronged M605...
—can cause injuries up to 200 metres (656.2 ft) away. The steel shrapnel makes bounding mines easy to detect, so they may be surrounded by Minimum metal mine
Minimum metal mine
A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the minimum amount of metal in its construction . Both minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel mines exist. Some designs contain almost no metal at all...
s to make mine clearance harder.
Directional
Directional fragmentation weapons (such as the M18 ClaymoreM18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine
The M18A1 Claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine used by the U.S. military. It was named after the large Scottish sword by its inventor, Norman A. MacLeod...
) differ from other types in that they are designed to direct their fragments only in limited arc. They are placed so that the blast will be directed at the target area and away from friendly forces. This design also allows forces to protect themselves by placing these types of mines near their own positions, but facing the enemy. They are triggered in a conventional manner with either tripwire
Tripwire
A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to some device for detecting or reacting to physical movement...
or command detonation. They are generally referred to as claymore mines from the US mine of this type.
Other mine types
During World War II, flame mines known as the flame fougasseFlame fougasse
A flame fougasse is a weapon. It is a type of mine which uses an explosive charge to project burning liquid onto a target. The flame fougasse was developed by the Petroleum Warfare Department in Britain as an anti-tank weapon during the invasion crisis of 1940...
were produced by the British during the invasion crisis of 1940
British anti-invasion preparations of World War II
British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British army needed to recover from the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in...
. Later, the Russians produced a flame-mine, called the FOG-1. This was copied by the Germans to produce the Abwehrflammenwerfer 42
Abwehrflammenwerfer 42
The Abwehrflammenwerfer 42 was a German static defensive flamethrower, flame fougasse or flame mine used during the Second World War. The design was copied from Russian FOG-1 mines that were encountered in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa. These were usually buried at intervals of covering road...
, these devices were effectively disposable, trip-wire triggered Flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
s. .
Chemical mines have also been made. They were made by Britain, the US and the Soviet Union during World War II, but never deployed. During the Cold War, the US produced the M23 chemical mine
M23 chemical mine
The M23 is a U.S. steel cased chemical landmine. The mine was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s and approximately 100,000 were produced. The U.S...
containing VX (nerve agent)
VX (nerve agent)
VX, IUPAC name O-ethyl S-[2-ethyl] methylphosphonothioate, is an extremely toxic substance whose only application is in chemical warfare as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687...
. A small explosive charge burst the mine open and dispersed the chemical when the mine was triggered.
Examples
World War II anti-personnel mines- S-mineS-mineThe German S-mine , also known as the "Bouncing Betty," is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding mines. When triggered, these mines launch into the air and then detonate at about . The explosion projects a lethal spray of steel balls and fragments in all directions...
(Bouncing Betty): infamous German bounding mine; widely copied after the war. - Glasmine 43Glasmine 43The Glasmine 43 was an anti-personnel mine used by the Germans during World War II.In order to make the mine less detectable, the entire body is made from glass. Aside from being less detectable, the use of less metal was beneficial because it saved this valuable war resource for other uses...
: German mine made largely from glass, to make it difficult to detect. - PDM-6 and PMD-7: Russian World War II mines, made from wood.
Post-War, US anti-personnel mines
- Gravel minesGravel minesGravel mines, also called Button mines were small U.S. made air-dropped anti-personnel mines. They were used extensively during the Vietnam War as part of the McNamara Line...
, 1960s–1970s. Simple, small mine with no moving parts. Millions were dropped during the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. - M16M16 mineThe M16 mine is a U.S. made bounding anti-personnel mine. It was based on captured plans of the World War II era German S-mine and has similar performance. The mine consists of a cast iron body in a thin steel sleeve. A central fuze well on the top of the mine is normally fitted with a pronged M605...
: improved version of the German S-mine. - BLU-43BLU-43BLU-43/B and BLU-44/B Dragontooth were air dropped land mines used by the United States during the Vietnam War. It is chemically activated and has a relatively low explosive content, typically maiming rather than killing.-Overview:...
(Dragontooth), 1970s. Air-dropped mine used during the Vietnam War. - GATOR mine systemGATOR mine systemThe GATOR mine system is a US system of air-dropped anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, that was developed in the 1980s to be compatible with existing cluster dispensers. It is used with two dispenser systems — the Navy 500 lb CBU-78/B and the Air Force 1,000 lb CBU-89/B...
: modern dispersal system, includes AP (BLU-92/B) and anti-tank mines. - M18 ClaymoreM18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel MineThe M18A1 Claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine used by the U.S. military. It was named after the large Scottish sword by its inventor, Norman A. MacLeod...
: directional mine. - M86 Pursuit Deterrent MunitionM86 Pursuit Deterrent MunitionThe M86 Pursuit Deterrent Munition is a small US anti-personnel mine intended to be used by special forces to deter pursuing enemy forces....
: tripwire triggered bounding mine that automatically deploys its own tripwires. It is intended to be dropped by special forces when evading a pursuing enemy.
Post-War, Russian anti-personnel mines
- PFM-1PFM-1PFM-1 is a land mine of Soviet production, very similar to BLU-43 US Army landmine...
(butterfly mine, NATO: Blue Parrot), modern. - POMZPOMZThe POMZ, POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M are three types of Russian-made stake mounted anti-personnel fragmentation mine. The POMZ mine was used during the Second World War. It was superseded by the POMZ-2, and later by the improved POMZ-2M...
: tripwire triggered, stake-mine. - MON-50MON-50The MON-50 is a claymore shaped , plastic bodied, directional type of anti-personnel mine designed and manufactured by Russia. It is designed to wound or kill by explosive fragmentation...
: Russian directional mine; a copy of the American M18 Claymore. - PMN minePMN mineThe PMN series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in Russia. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations.-PMN-1:...
: one of the most commonly encountered mines during de-mining operations. - MON-200MON-200The MON-200 is a directional type anti-personnel mine designed and manufactured in Russia. It is an enlarged version of the MON-100 mine.Because of its large size, this directional blast mine can also be used against light-skinned vehicles and helicopters....
: large mine with a 12 kg TNT charge. Also effective against light vehicles.
Post-War, British anti-personnel mines
- HB 876 mineHB 876 mineThe HB 876 mine was an air dropped area denial weapon. It was used as part of the JP233 runway denial system and the 'Hades' variant of the BL755 cluster bomb. As a result of the anti-personnel mine ban it was withdrawn from British Army service, and the last stockpiles of the mine were destroyed...
: 1970s–1999. An air dropped mine used as part of the JP233JP233Originally known as the LAAAS , the JP233 was a British submunition delivery system consisting of large dispenser pods carrying several hundred submunitions designed to attack runways.-Design and development:...
runway attacking system. Each attack with a JP233 also dropped 215 HB 876s that were intended to make repair of the damaged runway slow and dangerous.
Yugoslav anti-personnel mines
- MRUDMRUDThe MRUD is a plastic bodied, convex rectangular directional type Anti-personnel mine designed to wound or kill by fragmentation. It is broadly similar to the M18A1 Claymore mine....
: Directional mine similar to the M18 Claymore.
See also
- Anti-tank mineAnti-tank mineAn anti-tank mine, , is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles....
- Blast resistant mineBlast resistant mineA Blast resistant mine is a landmine with a fuze which is designed to be insensitive to the shock wave from a nearby explosion. This feature makes it difficult or impossible to clear such mines using explosive minefield breaching techniques. As a result, the process of clearing minefields is...
- Anti-handling deviceAnti-handling deviceAn anti-handling device is an attachment to or integral part of a landmine or other munition e.g. some fuze types found in air-dropped bombs such as the M83, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is specifically designed to prevent tampering. When the protected device is disturbed it detonates, killing...
- Bounding mineBounding mineA bounding mine is an anti-personnel mine designed to be used in open areas. When tripped, a small propelling charge launches the body of the mine 3-4 feet into the air, where the main charge detonates and sprays fragmentation at roughly waist height....
- DeminingDeminingDemining or mine clearance is the process of removing either land mines, or naval mines, from an area, while minesweeping describes the act of detecting of mines. There are two distinct types of mine detection and removal: military and humanitarian.Minesweepers use many tools in order to accomplish...
- Land mine situation in ChechnyaLand mine situation in ChechnyaChechnya is the most land mine-affected region worldwide.Since 1994 there have been widespread use of mines, by both sides. Russia is a party to the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons but not the 1996 protocol on mines, booby traps, and other devices...
- Land mine situation in Nagorno Karabakh
- List of landmines
- Mine clearance agenciesMine clearance agenciesA mine clearance agency, or demining agency, is an organization involved in removal of landmines and Unexploded Ordnance for military, humanitarian, or commercial reasons....
- Mines Advisory GroupMines Advisory GroupThe Mines Advisory Group is a Non-Governmental Organisation , which assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance and SALW ....
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionOttawa TreatyThe Ottawa Treaty or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, officially known as the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines around the world. , there were 158...
also known as the Ottawa Treaty
External links
- "Antipersonnel Mines" Popular Science, February 1945, p. 71, article for US public about the German Mustard Pot Mine and the Sch-Mine.
- Mines Advisory Group
- Typical antipersonnel landmine injuries. Warning: graphic photographs
- Additional images of landmine injuries. Warning: graphic photographs
- Instructional video covering the treatment of landmine injuries. Produced by the Red Cross. Warning: graphic video
- Landmine injury. Warning: graphic photograph
