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An anti-tank or AT mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
The MON-90 is a Claymore-shaped, plastic bodied, directional type of anti-personnel mine designed in the Soviet Union. It is designed to wound or kill by fragmentation. The mine is similar in appearance to the MON-50, but is approximately twice the size with a much greater depth.
The L9 bar mine is a large rectangular British anti-tank landmine. The bar mine's principal advantage is its long length, and therefore its trigger length. A typical anti-tank landmine is circular, and a vehicle's wheels or tracks, which make up only a small proportion of its total width, must actually press on the mine to activate it. To increase the probability of a vehicle striking the mine, the mine's effective trigger width must be increased.
An anti-personnel mine or anti-personnel landmine (APL) is a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to an anti-tank mine, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; the latter may or may not be a bounding 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 VS-50 is a circular plastic-cased anti-personnel blast mine that entered production in 1985. It was formerly made by the now-defunct Valsella Meccanotecnica SpA, an Italian high-tech defence company specialized in area denial systems. The company also the made the Valmara 69, and was one of the first to implement plastic construction for landmines. The VS-50's design is similar to that of the TS-50 and VS-MK2 mines. It is blast resistant and can be used in a minimum metal configuration. Though unlikely to kill, its explosive charge is quite sufficient to destroy the victim's foot, being capable of penetrating 5 mm of mild steel leaving an 80 mm-diameter hole.
The TM-62 is a Soviet anti-tank blast mine made in many variants. It has a central fuze and typically a 7.5 kilograms (17 lb) explosive charge, but the variants differ greatly in detail. The mine can be laid manually or automatically from a mine laying machine including the PMR-1, PMR-2 wheeled towed mine layers, the GMZ-3 tracked mine laying vehicle and the VMR-2 helicopter mine laying system. The TM-62 can be fitted with the same fuzes as the TM-72, which include MVN-72 and MVN-80 fuzes, which are vibration and magnetism sensitive. The mine was used in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both Ukrainian and Russian soldiers have been observed to use modified TM-62s as a satchel charges. Strikes by a Russian UAV drones of the aircraft type "Molniya-2" with the TM-62 mine as a warhead has been observed starting January 2025.
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.
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 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 the gradual application of pressure to trigger it. The mine is found in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iran, and Iraq.
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.
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 VS-JAP is an Italian bounding anti-personnel mine. It is the latest of the Valmara family of bounding mines that includes the Valmara 59 and Valmara 69. The mine has a waterproof plastic faceted cylindrical body with a three-pronged cap, with a central fixing point for a tripwire. The fuze is triggered via downward or sideways pressure.
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 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 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.
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 (Italy).
The Pignone mod.43 were bakelite cased Italian anti-tank blast mines used during the Second World War in North Africa and Italy.
References
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(December 2014) |
- Canadian Forces Landmine Database, Canadian National Defense website
- King, Colin (ed.). Jane's Mine and Mine Clearance 2005–2006. Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group, 2005. ISBN 978-0-7106-2701-8.
- , ORDATA Online Entry: TYPE 72 (AT) `non-metallic'