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An anti-tank mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
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 Tellermine consists of a circular pressed steel main body with a large central pressure plate. The pressure plate is smaller than the earlier Tellermine 35, which increases the mine's resistance to blast. Two secondary fuze wells are provided for anti-handling devices, one in the side, and one on the bottom of the mine. The mine has a carrying handle.
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 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 It was superseded by the POMZ-2, and later by the improved POMZ-2M.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 TM-46 mine is a large, circular, metal-cased Soviet anti-tank mine. It uses either a pressure or tilt-rod fuze, which is screwed into the top. Anti-tank mines with this type of fuze were capable of inflicting much more damage to armored vehicles, when compared to a typical AP 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. They are sometimes nicknamed "black widow" because of their dark casings.
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 Although the M15 has been superseded by the M19 mine, the U.S. retains large stocks of M15s because they are still regarded as reliable and effective weapons.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 light vehicles such as APCs or unarmored vehicles such as trucks the damage it can inflict is much more severe.
The VS-2.2, VS-3.6 and SH-55 are Italian circular plastic cased anti-tank blast mines that use the VS-N series fuze. They have very few metal components and are resistant to overpressure and shock. The VS-2.2 and VS-3.6 can also be deployed from helicopters. It was produced by Valsella Meccanotecnica and Singapore, but production has ceased. The VS-2.2 and VS-3.6 are essentially the same, the VS-3.6 being slightly larger, the SH-55 is larger still and has a more rounded appearance. A smaller mine, the VS-1.6 also uses the same fuze.
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 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 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 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.
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 extremely 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.
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.
The AC NM AE T1 is a Brazilian minimum metal anti-tank blast mine. The mine is believed to be in service with the Brazilian army, although production of the mine ceased in 1989. The mine has a square plastic main body, with a raised circular pressure plate and fuze. A carry handle is built into one side of the mine. It appears to be very similar to the PRB M3.
An anti-handling device is an attachment to or an integral part of a landmine or other munition such as some fuze types found in general-purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering or disabling, or to target bomb disposal personnel. 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.
The M2 is a United States bounding anti-personnel mine used during World War II. A number of variants of the mine were produced and although the mine is no longer in US service, it can be found in Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Laos, Oman, Rwanda, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. Copies of the mine were produced by Belgium, Pakistan (P7), Portugal (M/966) and Taiwan.
The M432 is a Portuguese bounding anti-personnel mine, which traces the roots of its design to the Second World War German S-mine, although it is probably more directly related to the Belgian NR 442 mine and United States M16 mine. As of 2004, all operational stocks of the mine have been destroyed, although some may have been retained for training purposes.
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.
Poudreries Réunies de Belgique SA was one of Belgium's oldest and largest manufacturers of munitions, once the second-largest Belgium armaments manufacturer. The company indirectly started in 1778 in Wetteren as a gunpowder factory. By its 200th anniversary in 1979 it had 73 factories throughout the world, with the headquarters in Brussels.
References
- Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance 2005-2006
- PRB-111 mine at ORDATA
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