Type 72 Non-Metallic is a Chinese circular, plastic bodied landmine which is designed to damage or destroy a vehicle by blast effect.
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 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 PT Mi-Ba-II is a large Bakerlite cased Czechoslovakian anti-tank blast mine. The mine is unusual in that it has two plunger fuses instead of a pressure plate. The plunger fuses give the mine resistance to overpressure, also the plastic body makes it difficult to detect.
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.
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 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 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.
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 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.
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.
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 TMA-5 and TMA-5A are rectangular plastic cased Yugoslavian minimum metal anti-tank blast mines. The mine's top surface has a single circular threaded fuze cap in the center, covering the fuze well. Additionally there is a small compartment for storing the fuze when disarmed. The corners of the mine have small posts to permit stacking of the mine. Although the mine does not have a secondary fuze well, it could easily be fitted with an improvised one in the field. The mine uses a single black plastic UANU-1 fuze.
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.
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.
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.
The FMK-1 is a small circular Argentina anti-personnel blast mine which, when fitted with a stiffened pressure plate, is also used as the fuze for the FMK-3 and FMK-5 anti-tank mines. The mine has a circular plastic body, with a number of small ribs running vertically around the outside of the mine, with the circular detonator and striker protruding on each side. The pressure plate has a distinctive six pointed star shape ribbing for stiffness. The bottom of the mine has small base plug inside which a small stud is installed. The stud increases the activation pressure of the mine. A metal detector disc can be added to the bottom of the mine, but it is not often used. It is actually in service with the Argentine Army.
The T-AB-1 is a rectangular plastic cased Brazilian anti-tank blast mine. The mine uses a T-AB-1 anti-personnel mine as a fuze. The AP mine is inserted into the body of the AT mine under a large stiff ABS plastic pressure plate. The pressure plate is fastened in place by a number of shear pins, which are designed to give way under a pressure of 200 kg. The AP mine under the pressure plate is then triggered, triggering the mine's main charge.
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.
