SB-81 mine

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The SB-81 is an Italian plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mine dating from the early 1980s. The mine uses an air pressure based fuze, which gives it protection against overpressure and blast. It can therefore be regarded as a blast resistant mine. The mine can be scattered by hand or by mine laying systems.

Anti-tank mine form of land mine designed for use against armored vehicles (including tanks)

An anti-tank mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.

In military munitions, a fuze is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze designs can be seen in cutaway diagrams.

Blast resistant mine

A 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 slower and more complex. Blast resistance can be achieved in a number of ways.

Contents

The mine is found in the Falkland Islands and the Western Sahara. An electronically fuzed version of this mine (the SB-81/AR-AN) was also produced which featured an integral anti-handling device plus self-destruct capability.

Falkland Islands archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean

The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 miles east of South America's southern Patagonian coast, and about 752 miles from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 square miles, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The Falkland Islands' capital is Stanley on East Falkland.

Western Sahara Disputed Territory

Western Sahara is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa, partially controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and partially occupied by neighboring Morocco. Its surface area amounts to 266,000 square kilometres (103,000 sq mi). It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at just over 500,000, of which nearly 40% live in Laayoune, the largest city in Western Sahara.

Anti-handling device integral part of a landmine or other munition that prevents tampering and disarming

An anti-handling device is an attachment to—or an integral part of—a landmine or other munition e.g. some fuze types found in general purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering. When the protected device is disturbed, it detonates, killing or injuring anyone within the blast area. There is a strong functional overlap of booby traps and anti-handling devices.

Specifications

RDX Chemical compound

RDX is an organic compound with the formula (O2NNCH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, chemically similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II and remains common in military applications.

HMX chemical compound

HMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive, chemically related to RDX. Like RDX, the compound's name is the subject of much speculation, having been variously listed as High Melting Explosive, Her Majesty's Explosive, High-velocity Military Explosive, or High-Molecular-weight RDX.

Variants

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 and various other munitions. It was also used for the explosive lenses in the first implosion-type nuclear weapons developed by the United States.

Afghanistan A landlocked south-central Asian country

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in South-Central Asia. Afghanistan is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east; Iran in the west; Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north; and in the far northeast, China. Much of its 652,000 square kilometers (252,000 sq mi) is covered by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the capital and largest city.

Iran Islamic Republic in Western Asia

Iran, also called Persia, and officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a country in Western Asia. With 82 million inhabitants, Iran is the world's 18th most populous country. Its territory spans 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi), making it the second largest country in the Middle East and the 17th largest in the world. Iran is bordered to the northwest by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan, to the north by the Caspian Sea, to the northeast by Turkmenistan, to the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and to the west by Turkey and Iraq. Its central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, give it geostrategic importance. Tehran is the political and economic center of Iran, and the largest and most populous city in Western Asia with more than 8.8 million residents in the city and 15 million in the larger metropolitan area.

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Valmara 69

Valmara 69 or V-69 is an Italian bouncing anti-personnel mine manufactured by Valsella. The mine was developed from the V-59 mine, and although the mine is no longer produced in Italy, a number of copies were produced in other countries e.g. the "SPM-1" manufactured by Singapore.

Type 72 Non-Metallic is a Chinese circular, plastic bodied landmine which is designed to damage or destroy a vehicle by blast effect.

Tellermine 43

The Tellermine 43 was a German circular steel cased anti-tank blast mine used during the Second World War. It was a simplified version of the Tellermine 42, which enabled simpler production techniques. Between March 1943 and the end of World War II, over 3.6 million Tellermine 43s were produced by Germany. Copies of the mine were produced by several countries including Denmark (M/47), France and Yugoslavia (TMM-1).

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.

PMN mine

The PMN series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations.

M15 mine

The M15 mine is a large circular United States anti-tank blast mine, first deployed during the Korean War. Essentially, it is a larger version of the M6A2 anti-tank mine, which it replaced. Although the M15 has been superseded by the M19 mine, the U.S. retains large stocks of M15s because they are still regarded as reliable and effective weapons. When used against main battle tanks the M15 is primarily a "track-breaker" which creates mobility kills, but has a comparatively small likelihood of causing crew fatalities. However, when used against lighter vehicles such as APCs or unarmored vehicles such as trucks the damage inflicted is much more severe.

VS-1.6 mine

The VS-1.6 is an Italian circular plastic-cased scatterable anti-tank blast mine. It has very few metal components and is resistant to overpressure and shock. The mine can also be deployed conventionally and from helicopters. It was produced by Valsella Meccanotecnica, but production has ceased.

VS-50 mine

The VS-50 is a circular plastic cased anti-personnel blast mine, formerly manufactured by the now-defunct Valsella Meccanotecnica SpA, an Italian high-tech defence industry specialized in area denial systems which was also the manufacturer of the Valmara 69 and one of the first industries in the world to implement plastic construction for landmines. The design is similar to the TS-50 and VS-MK2 mine. It is blast resistant and can be used in a minimum metal configuration. Though unlikely to kill, the explosive charge contained within a VS-50 is quite sufficient to destroy the victim's foot: the blast is capable of penetrating 5 mm of mild steel leaving an 80 mm-diameter hole.

The M7 is a small, metal-cased United States anti-tank blast mine that was used during the Second World War. It was based on the British Hawkins grenade. Approximately 2.5 million were produced before production ceased, and although it has long since been withdrawn from U.S. service, it can be found in Angola, Burma, Cambodia, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Korea, Lebanon, Myanmar, Somalia, Thailand, and Zambia.

M19 mine

The M19 is a large square plastic cased United States anti-tank blast mine. Intended to replace the M15 mine, the design dates from the mid-1960s and contains only two metal components: the copper detonator capsule and a stainless steel firing pin which weighs 2.86 grams. It is a minimum metal mine, which makes it very difficult to detect after it has been emplaced. This mine is produced under licence in Chile, South Korea and Turkey. A copy is produced in Iran. It is found in Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, Chile, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, South Korea, Lebanon, the Western Sahara, and Zambia.

The TC/3.6 and TC/6 are round minimum metal Italian anti-tank blast mines. Both mines use the same fuzing system. They have round deep ribbed plastic cases that are either sand colored or olive green. The fuze works on an air pressure system, with the top pressure plate forcing air through a small bleed valve. The air then inflates a diaphragm which indirectly applies force to the striker spring until a steel restraining ball is forced out of the way of the striker. The striker is then flipped into the detonator, triggering the mine.

The PM-60 or K-1 is a German round plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The case of the mine consists of two halves joined together by sixteen plastic nuts, giving the mine a distinctive appearance. The top of the mine has a large pressure plate which rests on top of the fuze assembly. Two fuzes are available for the mine, a conventional ball bearing retained striker and a chemical fuze, containing a glass ampule of acid over a flash composition. When the mine is deployed with the chemical fuze it is very difficult to detect because the only metal in the mine is the detonator capsule. There is a secondary fuze well on the bottom of the mine that can accept a fuze allowing remote command detonation of the mine.

The SACI is an Italian Bakelite cased minimum metal anti-tank blast landmine. A number of variants were produced with varying amounts of explosive. The mine has three fuze wells on the top surface, that are covered with a pressure plate. Several types of fuzes were made including a low metal fuze. Combined with the low metal fuze the mine is very difficult to detect with mine detectors.

The PRB M3 and PRB M3A1 are plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mine produced by the Belgian company Poudreries Réunies de Belgique in the 1970s and 1980s. The mine is square with an olive drab body constructed from polythene with a webbing carrying handle on the side and an ammonia-free bakelite seating for the pressure plate to be screwed into. The fuze well is in the centre of the seating, with the pressure plate screwed into it after the fuze has been inserted. The cylindrical pressure plate consists of two plastic plates, one of which moves under the weight of a vehicle driving over the mine to transmit the force to the fuze, shearing pins which hold it in place.

TMA-1 mine

The TMA-1 and TMA-1A are circular, plastic cased Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine consists of an upper plastic pressure plate, and the lower body containing the main charge. The pressure plate has eight triangular raised sectors, and a central fuze cap. The pressure plate is held in place by four plastic pins, which when suffient pressure is applied, shear allowing the pressure plate to collapse onto the mine body, triggering the UANU-1 fuze. A secondary fuze well is provided in the base of the mine, allowing the use of anti-handling devices. The mine is found in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.

The YM-III or YM-3 is a circular ABS plastic cased Iranian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is a copy of the Chinese Type 72 non-metallic anti-tank mine. The mine uses a blast-resistant fuze, which relies on gradual application of pressure to trigger it. The mine is found in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, and Iraq.

Minimum metal mine

A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the smallest amount of metal possible in its construction. Typically, the only metal components are located inside the fuze mechanism which triggers detonation. Both minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel mines exist. Some designs contain virtually no metal at all e.g. less than a gram. This is achieved by encasing the explosive charge in a plastic, wooden, or glass body, with metallic components limited to the few small parts in the fuze which can not easily be made from other materials, such as the spring, striker tip, and shear pin. Minimum metal mines are extremely difficult to detect using conventional metal mine detectors and usually require modern techniques, such as robotic Multi Period Sensing (MPS) equipment, to identify, but it is still too difficult to find non-metallic mines. These techniques are usually restricted to well-funded international mine clearing organizations and major militaries, making minimum metal mines especially pernicious where they are encountered.

TC/2.4 mine

The TC/2.4 is a circular plastic cased Italian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine uses a blast and shock resistant pneumatic fuze. It could be laid by hand or mechanically, and could be fitted with anti-handling devices. An Egyptian copy of the mine is produced, designated as the M/80. The mine was used in Iraq, but is no longer produced.

The BM/85 is an Italian blast resistant bounding anti-personnel mine that was produced by Tecnovar italiana SpA. The mine is cylindrical with a three pronged tilt/pressure fuze on the top with a central post for attaching a tripwire. A plastic safety clip prevents the fuze from tilting when in transit. Once the pressure clip is removed the mine is armed. Once the fuze is pulled sideways by a trip wire or by downward pressure, the mine is triggered. A small charge launches the mine to a height of about 0.45 meters where it explodes scattering 1,000 fragments to a lethal radius of about 25 meters.

TS-50 mine

The TS-50 is a 90 mm (3.5 in) diameter circular Italian blast resistant minimum metal anti-personnel mine designed and produced by Valsella Meccanotecnica.

References

ORDATA is a United States government database of landmines and other unexploded ordnance, developed to assist humanitarian demining work. The original version of ORDATA released in 1997 was CD-ROM based, and incorporated material from the earlier Minefacts program. ORDATA 2.0 was distributed on a CD-ROM and on the Internet. The database is hosted on the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery website, a part of James Madison University. In 2014-15 the interface underwent a revision and the data partially updated. The new site is known as the Collaborative ORDnance Data Repository (CORD) and is available online at https://www.jmu.edu/cisr/research/cord.shtml. An offline version is in development.