AT-8 (Cuban mine)

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The AT-8 or Cuban anti-tank mine is a square green plastic cased anti-tank mine. It is a scaled-up version of the Cuban anti-personnel mine. The mine consists of a plastic ribbed hinged upper case which rests on the fuzes placed into the lower plastic case. When enough pressure is placed on the upper lid the strikers are released from the fuzes. This triggers the main charge, which consists of up to twenty 400 g blocks of TNT. The mine is fitted with MUV or RO-1 type fuzes.

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.

Cuba Country in the Caribbean

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean meet. It is east of the Yucatán Peninsula (Mexico), south of both the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti and north of both Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. The area of the Republic of Cuba is 110,860 square kilometres (42,800 sq mi). The island of Cuba is the largest island in Cuba and in the Caribbean, with an area of 105,006 square kilometres (40,543 sq mi), and the second-most populous after Hispaniola, with over 11 million inhabitants.

The mine is found in Angola, Nicaragua and possibly Cuba.

Angola country in Africa

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a west-coast country of south-central Africa. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa, bordered by Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Zambia to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Angola has an exclave province, the province of Cabinda that borders the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The capital and largest city of Angola is Luanda.

Nicaragua Country in Central America

Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the largest country in the Central American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the northwest, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Managua is the country's capital and largest city and is also the third-largest city in Central America, behind Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. The multi-ethnic population of six million includes people of indigenous, European, African, and Asian heritage. The main language is Spanish. Indigenous tribes on the Mosquito Coast speak their own languages and English.

Specifications

Related Research Articles

Tellermine 42

The Tellermine 42 (T.Mi.42) was a German metal-cased anti-tank blast mine used during the Second World War. The mine was a development of the Tellermine 35 with improved resistance to blast. It was followed by the simplified Tellermine 43.

The PP Mi-D mine is a Czechoslovakian copy of the German Second World War Schu-mine 42 anti-personnel mine.

TM-57 mine

The TM-57 mine is a large, circular Soviet metal-cased blast anti-tank mine. It can either be triggered by a pressure or a tilt-rod fuze. A development of the TM-46 mine, it is found in Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

TM-46 mine

The TM-46 mine is a large, circular, metal-cased Soviet anti-tank mine. It uses either a pressure fuze or tilt-rod, which is screwed into the top. Anti-tank mines with this type of fuze were capable of inflicting much more damage to armored vehicles. The TMN-46 is a variant of the mine fitted with a secondary fuze well on the bottom which is slightly off-set from the centre of the mine. This secondary fuze well can be fitted with a pull-fuze which functions as an anti-handling device. The mine was used by the North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War, and is found in many countries in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia.

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.

TM-62 series of mines

TM-62 is the designation for a series of Soviet anti-tank blast mines. The mines have a central fuze and typically have a 7.5 kg explosive charge, however they vary greatly in detail. The mines can be laid manually or automatically from a mine laying machine including the PMR-1, PMR-2 wheeled towed mine layers, the GMZ tracked mine laying vehicle and the VMR-2 helicopter mine laying system.

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 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.

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.

Riegel mine 43

The Riegel mine 43 or is a German steel cased anti-tank bar mine used during the Second World War. The mine is a long thin rectangle. It consists of a lower and upper metal tray, and an internal metal-cased explosive block. It uses two ZZ42 fuzes inserted into either end of the internal block, although it can be used with an additional pressure fuze on the top. The mine is similar to the Italian B-2 mine. A variant, the Riegel mine 44 was also produced with a different fuze. Approximately 3,051,400 were produced between 1943 and 1945.

Panssarimiina m/44

The Panssarimiina m/44 is a Finnish anti-tank blast mine. It entered service in 1944 and was used during the Second World War and Continuation War. The mine used a wooden case, consisting of an upper box containing the main charge and a downward facing fuze, this was placed into a sturdy wooden tray, larger than the box. Enough pressure on the upper box resulting in the upper box collapsing into the lower tray triggering the detonator.

Type 72 metallic anti-tank mine

The Type 72 is a Chinese metal-cased circular anti-tank blast mine, it is similar to the Russian TM-46 mine, a plastic cased version of the mine is also produced, the Type 72 non-metallic anti-tank mine. The mine has a central plastic cased blast resistant fuze.

The MAT-76 is a large circular Romanian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is similar to the MAT-62B mine, sharing a fuze. The mine is actually a cast block of TNT with a thin coating of fibreglass. The mine has a central fuze well that normally uses a P-62 pressure fuze, although it can be used with any of the fuzes designed for the Russian TM-62 and TM-72 series of mines. The bakelite plastic used in the fuze of a MAT-76 may become brittle in desert conditions, which can reduce the activation pressure. This may make the mine unstable i.e. can detonate simply by handling it. The mine is found in Angola, Iraq, Kuwait, Liberia, Mozambique, and Zambia.

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.

TMA-2 mine

The TMA-2 is a rectangular plastic cased Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is very similar in appearance and size to the PT-56, which it replaced. The mine consists of two sections, an upper ribbed pressure plate with two large circular fuze caps, and a lower base section containing the main charge and two primary fuze wells containing UANU-1 fuzes. A secondary fuze well is provided in the base of the mine for an anti-handling device.

TMA-3 mine

The TMA-3 is a circular Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is very similar in appearance to the TMA-4. The mine consists of a cast circular block of explosive cased in resin reinforced fabric. The top of the mine has three fuze wells which each take a UTMA-3 fuze, and a fourth secondary fuze well is provided in the base of the mine to fit an anti-handling device. The fuze wells may also accept a number of other fuzes, including the UPROM-1, and other fuzes, potentially allowing tripwire activation. The small pressure plate area of the UTMA-3 fuzes gives the mine good resistance to minefield clearance techniques which used blast overpressure techniques i.e. explosive charges.

TMA-4 mine

The TMA-4 is a circular plastic cased Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is a modernized version of the TMA-3. The mine is basically a cast block of TNT with three fuze wells cut into it, encased in plastic. Three black plastic UTMA-4 fuzes are installed into the top surface of the mine. A thin rope carry handle is also provided. The small pressure plate area of the fuzes make the mine resistant to overpressure from explosive demining techniques. Additionally the low metal content of the mine make it very difficult to detect. Although no secondary fuze well is provided, it is possible that the mine could be fitted with improvised anti-handling devices.

The TMD-1 and TMD-2 are Yugoslavian wooden cased anti-tank blast mines, similar to the Russian TMD-B. The box consists of a wooden box, which contains the main cast TNT main charge. A webbing carrying handle is provided on one side of the mine. The fuze is placed in a central detonation well under the centre board of three that are fixed to the top of the mine. When sufficient pressure is placed on the boards, they collapse inwards, pressing on the installed fuze triggering the mine.

TM 65 mine

The TM 65 is a circular Finnish minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. It is broadly based on the Russian TM-62 mine. The mines body is made from a thin shell of fibreglass over a cast block of explosive, with a central fuze well that holds the pressure fuze. The original TM 65 used a US-65 fuze as used in the SM-65 anti-personnel mine, the later TM 65 77 uses a pressure fuze similar to the Russian MV-5 fuze called Painesytytin 77.

TM-35 mine

The TM-35 was a rectangular, metal-cased Soviet anti-tank mine used during the Second World War. The mine has a metal case, which is rectangular with a carrying handle on one side and a large raised pressure plate in the centre. Sufficient pressure on the central pressure plate presses down on one end of an internal see-saw like lever, which removes the retaining pin from an MUV fuze, releasing the striker, triggering the mine.

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.