P-25 mine

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The P-25 is a plastic cased Italian anti-personnel stake mine. It was developed along with the larger P-40 mine in the late 1970s by Misar SpA and entered production in 1978. The mine consists of a plastic cylinder with a fuse protruding from the top. The mine can either be stake mounted or buried, although it was designed to be stake mounted. Pull pressure on the tripwire results in the fuse head tilting sideways, releasing a striker into the detonator assembly.

Anti-personnel mine form of land mine designed for use against humans

Anti-personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, 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 a bouncing mine.

Valsella Meccanotecnica SpA was one of Italy's largest manufacturers of land mines. The Company's headquarters initially were in Montichiari. It had two production plants in Castenedolo near Brescia, Italy. The three companies of Valsella, Tecnovar Italiana SpA, and Misar SpA together were the centre of Italian mine production.

The mine has a steel fragmentation liner, which when it detonates scatters fragments to an effective radius of 15 meters.

The mine has been sold to Iraq (1980), Iran (1984) and to Australia, to whom, in 1986, the production technology was licensed. Production of the mine has ceased, and all Italian operational stocks of the mine have been destroyed.

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.

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MRUD

The 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.

The POMZ, POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M are three types of Soviet-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 It was superseded by the POMZ-2, and later by the improved POMZ-2M. These mines have been used in numerous conflicts, including the Vietnam War and the Korean War.

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.

The P2 Mk2 and P3 Mk2 are Pakistani plastic cased minimum metal anti-tank blast mines. The P2 Mk2 has a square case with a central circular ribbed pressure plate, the P3 is circular with a central circular pressure plate. Both mines use anti-personnel mines as the fuse, typically the either the P4 Mk1 or P2 Mk2 anti-personnel mines. The anti-personnel mine sits in a cavity below the pressure plate, when enough pressure is place on the pressure plate of the mine, it collapses onto the anti-personnel mine triggering it and the main charge which sits below it. A yellow canvas carrying strap is normally fitted to the side of the mine. The mines have a secondary fuse well on the bottom which can be used with anti-handling devices. A GLM-2 electronic booby trap can be fitted to the cavity under the pressure plate. The mine is supplied with a steel disc which makes the mine more easily detectable, although this is seldom used. Since 1997 only a detectable version of the mine has been produced, and to comply with the Convention on Conventional Weapons amended protocol II, Pakistani stocks of the mine are being retrofitted with steel detection discs. The mines are found in Afghanistan, Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia, and Tajikistan.

Valmara 59

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VS-JAP mine

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The No 7 Mk 1 Dingbat mine is a British anti-personnel blast mine. The mine has a steel body, with a flexible pressure pad on the top surface. Under the pressure pad is a belleville spring with a central striker. The fuse is slid into the side of the mine, a firing pin prevents the fuse being fully inserted until it is removed. The mine was intended to be scattered mechanically, and a number of systems were tested to scatter it. However, none were accepted into service, so the Dingbat mine was hand laid instead. The mine came with a small fabric cover to help hide it.

The MATS/2 is a scatterable Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It uses a pneumatic fuse which is resistant to shock and blast similar to the fuse fitted to the TS-50. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and the mine can be scattered from a helicopter traveling at up to 200 km/h using the Tecnovar DAT dispensing system. A secondary fuse well is provided in the base for the fitting of anti-handling devices.

The MATS/2.6 is a scatterable Italian circular, plastic-cased minimum metal blast resistant anti-tank blast mine. It is very similar to the MATS/2, except that it uses a smooth pressure plate rather than a griddle pressure plate. It uses a pneumatic fuse which is resistant to shock and blast similar to the fuze fitted to the TS-50. The mine's plastic case is waterproof, and the mine can be scattered from a helicopter.

The AUPS is a circular Italian bakelite cased minimum metal anti-personnel blast mine. The mine can be adapted with a steel fragmentation jacket and stake into a fragmentation stake mine. The mine is constructed in two halves, with the upper half containing the pressure fuse mechanism, the lower half contains the main charge and the detonator. The mine case is normally unpainted bakelite brown.

The NR-413 is a Belgian trip wire activated anti-personnel stake mine. The main body of the mine is wine bottle shaped, with an NR 410 tripwire fuse screwed into a fuse well on the top of the mine. Under the fuse well is a detonator and a row of booster pellets. Wrapped around the detonator and booster pellets is the main charge. An internally square cross-sectioned steel wire is coiled around the outside of the mine, which give a fragmentation effect. The mine produces 600 fragments with a velocity of approximately 1,660 metres per second. It has an effective range of around 15 metres. A variant is produced with a cast steel fragmentation jacket.

The MBV-78-A2 is a small cylindrical Vietnamese anti-personnel fragmentation stake mine. It is unrelated to the MBV-78-A1. The mine has a large plastic head which contains the main charge wrapped around the detonator. A fragmentation layer of steel pieces set into wax surrounds the main charge. The plastic head has two mounting lugs for stake mounting the mine. A Vietnamese copy of the Russian MUV fuze is typically used with the mine, although other fuzes could be used.

The Model 49 is a large cylindrical Swiss anti-personnel stake mine. The mine is no longer in service with Swiss forces and all operational stocks of the mine have been destroyed. The mine is normally stake mounted, and uses the ZDZ-39 fuze, which can be operated by either pull or tension release. The mine has a concrete fragmentation jacket with embedded steel fragments.

The P-40 mine is a Vietnamese anti-personnel fragmentation stake mine. The mines were produced using the spherical steel cases of United States BLU-24/B and BLU-66 submunitions on top of which is a plastic adaptor to accept an MUV style tripwire fuze.

The PMR-U is a Yugoslavian anti-personnel stake mine. The mine was apparently not mass-produced, but built in small numbers at a number of different locations.

The PPMP-2 is a Yugoslavian anti-personnel stake mine. The mine was not mass-produced, but was built in large quantities at a number of different locations.

The Min AP NM AE T1 is a small Brazilian minimum metal anti-personnel mine. The mine has a plastic case in the form of a truncated cone. with a small protruding fuse and pressure plate. The small size of the pressure plate gives the mine some blast resistance. The main charge is in the form of a small inverted cone which generates a shaped charge effect when detonated.

The VAR/40, VAR/100 and VAR/100/SP are Italian anti-personnel blast landmines produced by the Tecnovar italiana S.p.A. company.

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.

BPM-1 is a plastic cased Argentinian anti-personnel stake mine. It was developed late 1970s and entered production in 1978. BPM-1 was used in the Falklands War 1982.

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.