Tests

Disposal of anti-personnel mines. Jumping death. The most brutal domestic anti-personnel mines. Heavy and obscene

Anti-personnel and anti-tank mines of NATO countries

Course work

St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University

Military department

St. Petersburg

2002

Introduction

Mines and land mines are divided into:

for tactical purposes - for anti-tank, anti-personnel, anti-vehicle (road), anti-amphibious, booby-traps (surprises);

according to the damaging effect - on shock waves (conventional and volumetric explosion), cumulative, fragmentation, shrapnel, incendiary (thermal) and others;

according to the principle of operation - guided (which can be blown up or brought into combat position at any time at the request of the user) and automatic (which explode upon direct impact on them or after a certain, predetermined period);

according to the methods of actuation - mines of pressure, exhaust (tension), hourly and combined action;

by duration - for instant mines and delayed mines;

according to the material of the case - into metal, plastic, wood, paper, glass and without a case (from stamped explosives);

according to the level of installation - on suspended (attached) taller than human height (higher than tank towers, car cabins); at ground level (according to the silhouette of a person, vehicles, armored vehicles); buried in the ground (built into buildings or technical facilities); installed at the bottom of reservoirs or in the underwater part of the coast; floating in the water.

Anti-tank mines are now more and more often used unframed, with plastic fuses. Such mines are not detected by induction mine detectors, however, they usually do not pose a danger to scouts, since they work when pressure is applied to them weighing at least 180-200 kg.

Anti-tank mines are intended for mining the terrain against tanks and other mobile ground military equipment of the enemy.

Anti-personnel mines are designed to mine the terrain against enemy manpower. According to the damaging effect, they are divided into high-explosive and fragmentation, according to the principle of actuating pressure or tension mines.

anti-personnel mines

1. Multi-purpose light ammunition (SLAM) M2, M4

(M2, M4 Selectable Lightweight Attack Munition (SLAM))

Multi-purpose engineering munitions, developed by Alliant Techsystem Inc (formerly Honeywell) to perform the tasks of destroying, damaging, incapacitating various enemy targets (pipelines, storage tanks for oil products with a capacity of up to 38 cubic meters, equipment and ammunition), its vehicles (cars, lightly armored vehicles, helicopters and aircraft in parking lots), inflicting losses on enemy personnel in places of their accumulation (units in the ranks, barracks, at entertainment events).

M2 ammunition designed specifically for Force units Special Operations(SOF). Other units and branches of the military are prohibited from using M2 ammunition. Dyed green. The picture shows in the position of an anti-aircraft mine.

The M4 ammunition is designed for light, airborne, air assault units, units of rapid deployment forces and anti-crisis units. Warhead painted in black, the rest in green. The figure shows in the position of the anti-bottom mine.

The ammunition was adopted by the US Army, US Marine Corps in March 1990.

It can be used as an anti-tank anti-bottom magnetic cumulative mine, as an anti-tank anti-aircraft cumulative (shock core) mine; as an object mine with the defeat of the object with a cumulative jet and an impact core, actuated by a delayed fuse or by command from the control panel

At its core, the ammunition is a reduced model of an anti-tank anti-aircraft mine such as the Soviet TM-83, Swedish Type 14 or French MAH mod.F.1 and hits the target with an impact core. The multi-purpose nature of the mine is given by a universal fuse, which has magnetic, infrared sensors, a timer and a percussion fuse.

The miner chooses one of the types of mine operation:

* the use of mines as an anti-bottom. The mine is laid on the ground with a cumulative funnel up. The magnetic sensor works, and the passive infrared sensor is covered with a cover. The combat operation time of the mine is set to 4, 10, 24 hours, after which the self-liquidator makes the mine safe (M2) or detonates the mine (M4). The explosion of the mine occurs when the car is above the mine.

* the use of mines as an anti-aircraft. The magnetic sensor, although it remains on, does not participate in the work. The mine is installed on the side of the road with a cumulative funnel towards the road. The cover is removed from the passive infrared sensor and it reacts to temperature changes (thermal radiation coming from the car engine) and explodes the mine. The combat operation time of the mine is set to 4, 10, 24 hours, after which the self-liquidator makes the mine safe (M2) or detonates the mine (M4).

* the use of mines as an object with a slowdown. The mine is installed against the object like an anti-aircraft mine, on or under it like an anti-bottom mine (directing the cumulative funnel towards the object). The timer turns on for a slowdown time of 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes, after which the mine explodes.

* the use of mines as a demolition charge. The mine is installed similarly to the previous method, but the explosion is carried out by a miner from a safe distance using a mechanical or electric fuse attached to the shock fuse.

The performance characteristics of ammunition M2 and M4

Ammunition type .............................................................. ............ multi-purpose, cumulative (strike core)

Frame................................................. ...........................metal

Total weight................................................ ..................1 kg.

Armor penetration .............................................................. ....up to 40 mm. mild steel

The time of combat work in the modes of the day. etc. board ..... 4, 10, 24 hours

Setting time of the timer in the "objective" mode .......... 15, 30, 45, 60 min ..

Self-destruction:

M4................................................. .... self-detonation

M2................................................. .... self-neutralization

A mine in the "anti-side" and "anti-bottom" modes is not neutralized. An explosion occurs when an attempt is made to move the mode select switch to the "safe" position. At the same time, in principle, the mine in the "anti-bottom" mode remains recoverable. It can be removed from its installation site and carried aside, but it cannot be made safe. In the "anti-aircraft" mode, approaching a mine is dangerous, because. the infrared sensor can react to the heat of the human body at a short distance.

2. M18 anti-personnel mine A 1 Claymore

(Anti-personnel mine M18A1 Claymore)

Directional anti-personnel fragmentation mine, controlled. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person is inflicted by injuring the body with ready-made lethal elements (balls or rollers). Adopted by the US Army in 1964

Type of mine…………………………………...... anti-personnel fragmentation guided directed destruction

Weight……………………………………....…..1.6 kg.

Mass of explosive (С-3)….........….682 gr.

Length…………………………………........…..21.5 cm.

Height …………………………................………9 cm.

Thickness......................……………………...…3.5cm.

Damage zone .............................................................. sector 60 degrees, radius 50m, height from 10cm. up to 4m.

Temperature range of application…......-40 --+50 hail.

Mina looks like a curved parallelepiped. The convex side is set in the direction of the enemy. From the inside, along the convex face, there are 678 ready-made slaughter elements in the form of steel balls or rollers with a diameter of 5.5 mm. When a mine explodes, a beam of lethal elements is formed, flying at a distance of up to 50m. in a 60 degree sector. Beam height up to 4 meters at the maximum range. Safe removal of their soldiers in the rear side of at least 35 meters. The figure shows conditionally the affected area of the mine.

In the Field Manual FM 20-32, the radius of the affected area is indicated as 100 meters and the height of the affected area is up to 2 meters, however, tests conducted in 1966 at a training ground near Moscow showed that the radius of the affected area does not exceed 50 meters, and the height of the affected area reaches 4 or more meters, and the probability of defeat at a distance of 50 meters is not more than 0.007.

For own troops, safe removals are 250 meters forward, 100 meters to the rear and 100 meters to the sides.

Minimum allowable distances from other mines:

*50 meters in front of or behind another M18A1 mine;

* 3 meters to the side to the neighboring M18A1 mine;

* 10 meters from anti-tank mines or fragmentation anti-personnel;

*2 meters from high-explosive anti-personnel mines

The mine does not have its own fuse. In the upper part there are two nests for electric detonators. Initially, it was assumed that the mine would be used exclusively as a guided mine and its detonation was to be carried out from the operator's control panel at the moment when the enemy soldiers were in the mine's affected area. To install a mine and determine the affected area, there is a sight in the upper part of the mine. The mine is installed on four legs on the ground, or with the help of the clamp included in the mine kit, it can be attached to local objects. In the process of operation, fuses of tension or break action began to be adapted to this mine, or, using the second socket, they began to be used as a double action mine (controlled and tension (break)).

According to Field Manual FM 20-32, the M18A1 mine belongs to special-purpose mines and is intended primarily for the Special Operations Forces (SOF), known to us under the names "Green Berets" or "Black Berets".

3. Anti-personnel mine M25 "Elsie"

(Anti-personnel mine M25 "LC")

Mine anti-personnel cumulative pressure action. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person is inflicted by penetrating the lower part of the leg (foot) with a cumulative jet during the explosion of a mine charge at the moment the foot steps on the mine container containing a very small explosive charge (only 9 grams), which simultaneously plays the role of a target sensor. Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot, with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine, is significantly damaged. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid (however, this rarely happened). Adopted by the US Army in 1962.

The mine can only be installed in the ground, in the snow, manually. This is due to the shape of the mine, which does not allow it to remain in a vertical position when trying to put it on the surface. When installed in snow, a wide ring with a hole in the middle is placed under its upper part so that when stepping on a mine, it would not sink into the snow, but an explosion would occur. In anticipation of the need to clear a minefield from M25 mines, their sappers used a metal ring when installing a mine. This was done so that mine detectors could detect the mine. Installation by means of mechanization was not provided.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. It has no elements of non-removability, non-neutralization and self-destruction.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine………………………………….......anti-personnel cumulative pressure action

Housing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Weight……………………………………....….90 gr.

Mass of explosive (tetryl)…..…..9 gr.

Diameter…………………………………...…..3 cm.

Height …………………………......................……9 cm.

Target sensor diameter……………………….1.5cm.

Sensitivity…………………………..... 7 - 10 kg.

Temperature range of application….....-40 --+50 hail.

The mine is triggered by stepping on a container with explosives protruding above the body, spring-loaded with a mainspring. In the figure, the top cover of the container is visible above the safety bracket (indicated by the number 2), hugging the container body. The container is freely removed from the mine body. mine does not have any fuses. In circulation, the container and body of the mine are carried separately. Before installing the mine, the sapper makes a hole in the ground with a special punch-template, inserts the case there, then the container with the safety bracket on it is inserted into the case. After masking the mine, the bracket is removed.

4. Anti-personnel scattered mines M67, M72

(Anti-personnel scatterable mines M67, M72)

Mine anti-personnel fragmentation jumping circular defeat. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of enemy soldiers is inflicted by fragments (ready-made lethal elements) during an explosion at a height of about 1.5m. a bursting element that is ejected from a mine when a soldier touches one of the four spring-loaded threads. Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1975

The mine is part of the ADAM remote mining system of the FASCAM mine family, which was put into service in 1975. A mine is installed only in a throw to the surface. It is delivered to the installation site in a 155mm caliber artillery shell. The delivery range depends on the range of a particular artillery system and can average up to 18 (M109A1 howitzer) - 24 km (M198 howitzer).

36 pieces of mines are placed in the body of the M692 projectile (M67 mines) or M731 (M72 mines) of the M483 artillery shot with the M577 remote-action mechanical fuse. The dispersion of mines over the terrain from one projectile is up to 600 meters from the aiming point.

The term of combat operation of the M72 mine is fixed - 48 hours, the M67 mine - 4 hours, after which the mine self-destructs by detonation. This is the only difference between the M67 and M72 mines. The mine is triggered when an enemy soldier touches one of the four threads, which, when the mine falls to the ground, are scattered to the sides with the help of springs within a radius of up to 6 m. An electronic contact fuse, which is part of the design of the mine, is triggered by a change in the position of the mine, which occurs when an enemy soldier catches on one of the threads. When the fuse is triggered, an explosive element is thrown out to a height of 1.5 m, which, during its explosion, strikes a target with fragments and ready-made lethal elements within a radius of up to 7 meters. The term for self-destruction by an explosion for the M72 is 48 hours, for the M67 mine - 4 hours.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the M67 mine

Tactical and technical characteristics of the M72 mine

Type of mine…………………………………...... anti-personnel fragmentation jumping circular destruction

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………540g.

Mass of explosive (A5)…............21 g.

Segment radius length……............................6.5 cm.

Segment height…………………………........7 cm.

Segment angle……………......................……..........35 degrees..

Target sensor length (one way) .............. 600 cm.

Sensitivity…………………………......454g.

Combat work time .......................................... 48 hours

Transfer time to combat position ........ 45 sec - 2 min.

Temperature range of application…......-12 --+50 hail.

155 mm howitzer shell M692 (M731) in section.

Mines at the factory are packed in shells of 36 pieces. The transfer of fuses to the firing position occurs automatically 45 seconds-2 minutes after being thrown out of the projectile.

5. Anti-Personnel Scattered Mine

(Anti-personnel scatterable mine M74)

Mine anti-personnel fragmentation circular defeat. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of enemy soldiers is inflicted by fragments of the hull during a mine explosion, which occurs when a soldier breaks one of eight broken threads 15 meters long each (breaking force 454 gr.). Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1975. It is a striking element of the cluster munition of the M138 (Flipper) mine spreader or the M128 mine spreader of the GEMSS mining system, which is part of the FASCAM mining family.

5 pieces of mines are placed in a cassette, which is inserted into the M128 spreader drum or the M138 grenade launcher supply system. Mines from the M128 spreader are thrown at a distance of 30-60 meters at 4 mines per second. From the M138 spreader, mines are fired at a distance of 20-30 meters every 10 seconds. After falling to the ground, after 45 minutes, from eight (four on the upper and lower planes) nests, thin broken threads 15 meters long each are thrown to the sides at a distance of about 12 meters. Mina becomes in combat position. When an enemy soldier touches any of the threads, it breaks (the breaking force is only 454 grams). As a result of a break in the thread, the safety electrical network opens, which causes the mine to explode. Personnel are affected by fragments of the hull, reinforced with ready-made fragments from the sides. The radius of destruction of mines is 12 meters.

In the diagram, a section of the hull is in red, ready-made fragments in purple, an explosive charge in yellow, and a control mechanism in turquoise.

The term of combat operation of the mine is 5 or 15 days (set by the operator before the start of mining), after which the mine self-destructs by detonation. This is the only difference between the M67 and M72 mines. 20% of the min in the spreader are non-removable. The mine is indestructible and unrecoverable. Painted grey-green. There are no markings or inscriptions on the mine.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………......

Actions

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Sensitivity…………………………......454g.

Transfer time to combat position ............... 45 min.

Combat work time .............................................. 5 or 15 days.

Temperature range of application…......-12 --+50 hail.

Mines at the factory are packed in cassettes of 5 pieces. A significant drawback of the mine is the inadmissibility of falling on hard surfaces (asphalt, concrete), because. in this case, the destruction of the body of the mine or the failure of its mechanisms may occur. When setting mines in loose deep snow, it can interfere with the spread of the target sensor filaments and the effectiveness of the minefield is sharply reduced. Bushes, tall grass, melting snow and other surfaces that do not provide a stable position of mines can cause false alarms of sensors and detonation of mines. This is especially true for mines that have a non-recovery mechanism, because. it is triggered by any change in the position of the mine. Self-destruction of mines begins by the middle of the fifth day of combat work for five-day mines, and the twelfth day for fifteen-day mines.

Freezing power supplies (temperature environment below -12 degrees) leads to self-destruction of mines. An attempt to use mines with expired storage periods leads to the self-destruction of mines immediately after leaving the mine cassette.

6. Pursuit-deterrent ammunition

M86 "Pidibi"

(Pursuit-Deternet Munition (PDB) M86)

At its core, this is an anti-personnel fragmentation jumping out mine of circular destruction. It is practically a complete analogue of the anti-personnel mine of the ADAM M67 remote mining system, but unlike the M67, it is not installed using an artillery shell, but manually. In this regard, changes have been made to the design of the mine - the transfer of the mine to the combat position occurs after 25 seconds. after pulling out the safety ring; the number of target sensors (spring threads) has been increased to seven versus four for the M67.

The time of combat work is fixed - 4 hours (error - 48 minutes).

The mine is installed manually on the surface of the earth. After pulling out the safety pins, after 25 seconds, up to seven threads 6 meters long each are thrown out of the mine (from two to three threads may not turn around due to the fact that the direction of their release will be in the direction of the ground) and the mine goes into combat position. The defeat of enemy soldiers is inflicted by fragments (ready-made lethal elements) when a mine explodes at a height of about 2.5m, which is thrown up by a special liquid-fueled mini-rocket engine. The operation of a mine occurs with any change in its position from the soldier touching the mine itself or one of the seven spring-loaded threads. If the meeting with the target did not happen, then after 3 hours 12 minutes - 4 hours 00 minutes. from the moment the mine is transferred to the combat position, the mine self-destructs by detonation.

Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps Special Operations Forces (SOF) in 1999. The main tactical purpose is the hasty mining of escape routes for special operations groups when they are pursued by the enemy. The similar purpose of the mine, as well as the absence of the word "mine" in the name, removes this mine from the jurisdiction of the Ottawa Mine Ban Convention.

The performance characteristics of the deterrent ammunition M86

Ammunition type……………………………......

Tactical purpose .............. deterrence of the pursuing

enemy

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………540g.

Mass of explosive (A5)…............21 g.

Segment radius length……............................6.5 cm.

Segment height…………………………........7 cm.

Segment angle……………......................……..........35 degrees..

Target sensor length (one way) .............. 600 cm.

Sensitivity…………………………......454g.

Combat work time .......................................... 4 hours

Transfer time to firing position .................. 25 sec..

Temperature range of application…......-12 --+50 hail.

7. M14 anti-personnel mine

(Anti-personnel mine M14)

High-explosive pressure anti-personnel mine. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person is inflicted by injuring the lower part of the leg (foot) during the explosion of the mine charge at the moment the foot steps on the pressure cover of the mine. Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot, with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine, is significantly damaged. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid (however, this rarely happened). Adopted by the US Army in 1962

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in snow, under water manually. Installation by means of mechanization was not provided.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. It has no elements of non-removability, non-neutralization and self-destruction.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………………….

Housing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Weight……………………………………....….130 gr.

Mass of explosive (tetryl)…..….30 gr.

Diameter…………………………………...…..5.6 cm.

Height …………………………......................……4 cm.

Target sensor diameter………………………3.8cm.

Sensitivity…………………………...8 - 25 kg.

Temperature range of application…..-40 --+50 degrees.

The fuse is the constructive part of the mine.

The mine is triggered by stepping on the pressure cap. The fuse is switched to combat (armed), intermediate (danger) and safe (safe) positions by turning the pressure cover with a black triangle extruded on the side surface so that the triangle points to one of the letters (A, D, S) (triangle and letter S clearly visible in the picture). An additional fuse is a fork-shaped safety pin (indicated by the number 2 in the figure)

8. anti-personnel mine M 16A1

(Anti-personnel mine M16A1)

Anti-personnel mine anti-personnel fragmentation circular destruction jumping out. Designed to incapacitate enemy personnel with hull fragments during its explosion at a height of 0.6 -1.2 meters from the ground.

The mine can be installed on the ground or in the ground manually. Installation by means of mechanization was not provided.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. It has no elements of non-removability, non-neutralization and self-destruction. Entered service with the Army and Marine Corps in 1965.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………......

Casing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Weight……………………………………................................….3.5 kg.

Mass of explosive (TNT or H2)…..........…..450 gr.

Diameter…………………………………...…................................10 cm.

Height ………………………….........................…............… 14 cm

Damage radius .................................................................. ...................up to 20m.

The length of the stretch sensor of the target …………… ....................... up to 18 m.

The diameter of the zone of action of the pressure sensor of the target ... .......... 5 cm.

Sensitivity of the tension / pressure target sensor .... 1.4 / 3.5 kg.

Temperature range of application…...........................-40 --+50 deg.

Fuze M403 double action (combined - tension or pressure). It can be used as a tension fuse, for which a tension wire is tied to the ring pin and triggered when an enemy soldier is touched by the wire. Can be used as a pressure fuse. To press the fuse, it is necessary to apply an axial pressure of 3.5 kg (step on) at least one of the antennae protruding from the top of the fuse.

On the image top part mines with an M403 fuse and a double-sided stretching wire.

9. Family of ammunition

large affected area

M93 "Hornet"

(M93 HORNET (Family of Wide Area Munitions - WAM))

Strictly speaking, this family does not yet exist. It is planned that in this family there will be four types of ammunition, differing in the method of delivery toplace of application, ease of handling.

First type:

*HE-Hornet is delivered to the installation site and installed manually. Not subject to decontamination. Self-destructs by detonation after the specified period of combat work (4, 48 hours, 5, 15, 30 days).

Second type:

*HE-Hornet PIP #1 is delivered to the installation site manually, but the transfer to the combat position is carried out from the control panel. From the remote control, you can transfer the ammunition to a safe position and again to combat. It can be removed from the installation site and moved to a new location. Self-destructs after the expiration of the specified period of combat work or at the command of the operator.

Third type:

*HE-Hornet PIP #2 differs from HE-Hornet PIP #1 in its ability to be used against unarmored vehicles and sensitivity to human approach (self-destructs).

Fourth type:

*DA-Hornet is delivered to the installation site by plane, rocket, helicopter, Air VOLCANO system, Ground VOLCANO system. It is transferred to a combat or safe position, self-destructs from a ground or air radio command control panel.

As of 2001, only the first type of HE-Hornet mine was submitted for military trial operation, but already in 1998 the mine was included in the FM 20-32 Field Manual.

At its core, the M93 is an anti-tank / anti-vehicle mine that hits the target with an impact core that occurs at the time of the explosion of an explosive charge that has a cumulative funnel. The defeat of the target is applied to the roof of the car.

A mine in a combat position has seismic target sensors turned on. When detected at a distance of more than 100 meters from a mine, infrared target sensors are turned on in any direction of a tank or other armored target. Signals from seismic and infrared target sensors enter the information processing unit, where the distance to the target, the direction to the target, and the nature of the target are determined.

When the target is identified as an armored object "worthy of attention", the guidance unit calculates the trajectory of the warhead and begins to point it in the direction of the target.

When the target is in the zone of sure defeat, a command is issued to launch the warhead.

Warhead rising up ballistic trajectory, searches for the target with its own infrared target sensor, and when the warhead is directly above the target, it turns strictly vertically down and is undermined. The impact core hits the target.

The picture on the right shows the moment the target was hit by the impact core. The shock core itself is clearly visible (a light strip above the tank).

The mine is small in size and has a relatively small weight - 15.876 kg, that is, it is easily carried by one person.

The picture on the left shows the M93 mine (HE-Hornet) in the position for manual transport.

The power supply is activated immediately upon insertion of the electric battery into the body of the ammunition. The active battery life of the power supply is 4 hours, after which the spare battery is activated. A mine can be in a pre-combat state for up to 60 days, in a combat state for up to 30 days. At an ambient temperature above +38 degrees, the pre-combat state is reduced to 30 days, the combat state to 15 days.

Firm developer and supplier of Textron Defense Systems. It is planned to supply 15259 kits to the army as part of the ACAT II program. in the amount of about 800 ml. dollars.

M93 is supposed to be used by groups of Special Operations Forces (Units SOF) to carry out terrorist acts against top enemy commanders, statesmen of enemy countries, destroy launchers and transport-loading vehicles of tactical and operational-tactical missiles; rangers against tanks and other armored vehicles on the march, in concentration areas, starting areas, halt and refueling areas.

In addition, the M93 can be used by conventional engineering units as conventional anti-tank or anti-vehicle mines on the battlefield.

The performance characteristics of mines M93 WAM (HE-HORNET)

Ammunition type……………………………...... anti-tank / anti-vehicle cumulative (shock core) high-altitude hitting the roof

Tactical purpose .............................destruction of tanks and lightly armored vehicles

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………15.876 kg.

Mass of explosive (??)….............??.

Armor penetration ........................................ up to 90 mm.

Dimensions in unfolded position……........??

Dimensions in transport position…….....??

Target detection range radius ............... 100m.

Target sensors:

Preliminary ................... seismic

Primary ..................................infrared

Warhead target sensor..........infrared

Combat work time .......................................... 4 hours, 48 hours , 5 days, 15 days, 30 days

Transfer time to combat position ........ 5-6 minutes ...

Temperature range of application…......-1 --+50 hail.

All mines are equipped with a self-liquidator and an anti-recovery element.

Installation restrictions:

* the maximum slope of the installed mine - 15 degrees;

* hole depth - no more than 21 cm (preferably on the surface of the earth);

* minimum hole diameter - 91 cm.

* local objects up to 1 m high - no closer than 3 meters from the mine;

Up to 2.5 m - no closer than 5 meters from the mine;

Up to 6.5 m - no closer than 15 meters from the mine;

Up to 25 m - no closer than 25 meters from the mine.

Tests conducted in September 1997 at the Yuma Proving Ground gave the result - out of six mines on the T-72 tank, only three reacted, of which only one hit the target. Tests in January 1998 - out of six mines laid, three mines found a target. Of these, one mine launched the warhead in the wrong direction, one warhead missed and one hit the target. Tests revealed a significant impact on the combat work of mines of both low and high temperatures, strong wind (more than 5 m / s.), Snowfall, rain, smoke (dustiness). Also, the operation of the radio control panel is strongly influenced by radio interference directors, unauthorized radio emissions (radio stations, television stations, radars, closely operating arresters, high-voltage networks, car engine spark plugs, etc.)

10. Anti-personnel mine "Ranger"

(Cassette mine element)

Remote-mounted high-explosive anti-personnel mine. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person is inflicted by injuring the foot of the foot when stepping on the pressure cover of the mine. Adopted in 1977 as a cluster munition for the Ranger mine layer. As of 2001, it is in service with the armies of Great Britain and a number of countries. british commonwealth nations. According to the English nomenclature, mines have no designation, because. is considered not a mine, but a striking element of a cluster mineammunition.

The mine can only be installed on the ground in a throw by ejecting a mine layer from the cassette with a powder charge. There are 72 mines in one cassette. It is transferred to the combat position after 20 seconds from the moment it falls to the ground.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. Unrecoverable and indestructible. It has no self-destruction systems.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Housing material..................................................aluminum

Total weight .................................................. ..........120gr.

Mass of explosives (gesogen).......................................10g .

Diameter................................................. .............6.2cm.

Height................................................. ...............3.4cm.

Target Sensor Diameter....................................6.2 cm.

Mines 72 pieces are in a cylindrical aluminum cassette with fuses in a safe position. 18 cassettes are placed in a special container-module, equipped with a control system for sequential firing of mines from cassettes. This container-module can be placed on a car, armored personnel carrier, tank, helicopter. Such a vehicle, equipped with a container-module, receives the name - minelayer "Ranger".

A small amount of explosives in a mine (10 g of RDX) is clearly not enough for a fatal defeat. The result of the explosion, if the victim does not die from shock, is a severe injury to the foot, usually leading to its amputation.

11. Anti-personnel mine DM11

(Deutsch Mine 11)

High-explosive anti-personnel mine. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person is inflicted by injuring the leg with the force of the explosion when stepping on the pressure sensor of the target, located in the center of the mine body. It has been in service with the Bundeswehr since 1972.

The mine can be installed in the ground (snow) or on the ground manually or by means of mechanization. It is transferred to the combat position immediately after the removal of the safety checks.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. It has no systems of non-removability, non-neutralization and self-destruction.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Mine type…………………………………………….

Body material .................................................plastic

Total weight .................................................. ..........200gr.

Mass of explosives (TNT) .............................................. 110g .

Diameter................................................. .............10.2cm.

Height................................................. ...............12.6cm.

Trigger force .............................................. 10 kg.

Target Sensor Diameter..............................4 cm.

The mine is very powerful, although it is somewhat inferior to the Soviet mine of the PMN type. Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine comes off completely or partially, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it can also be significantly damaged or not be damaged at all. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid.

anti-tank mines

1. Anti-vehicle mine Type 13

(Anti-vehicle mine Type 13)

Anti-vehicle mine of a combined type (cumulative-fragmentation) directed destruction controlled. Designed to disable unarmored and lightly armored enemy ground vehicles, low-flying aircraft and helicopters. Defeat vehicle inflicted due to damage to the hull, cabin, crew members by ready-made lethal elements (balls or rollers) and an impact core formed due to the cumulative effect. Adopted in 1991. As of 2001, it is in service with the armySweden.

The mine can be placed on the ground or attached to local objects (pillars, walls, tree trunks, etc.) manually. Installation by means of mechanization was not provided.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. It has no elements of non-removability, non-neutralization and self-destruction.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………....... anti-vehicle fragmentation - cumulative guided directed destruction guided

Frame................................................. ...............plastic

Total weight .................................................. ..........20 kg.

Mass of explosives (hexotol) .............................. 7.5 kg.

Dimensions ................................................. .............42x10x25 cm.

Number of ready-made slaughter elements .................... 1220

Damage zone .............................................................. .sector size 150x100x3m.

Information on other characteristics is not available. The Swedish Ministry of Defense classified the data.

Mina has the form of a parallelepiped. The side with the inscription "Denna sida mot fienden" is set in the direction of the enemy. From the inside, on this side of the face, ready-made slaughter elements in the form of steel balls or rollers are placed. When a mine explodes, a beam of lethal elements is formed, flying at a distance of up to 150m. (?). Scattering of fragments of the hull and lethal elements in sides is 50 (?) meters to the left and right at the maximum range. Beam height up to 3 meters at the maximum range. Safe removal of their soldiers in the rear side of at least 35 meters. The second damaging factor of the mine is the so-called shock core formed during the explosion due to the cumulative recess. This core is designed to disable lightly armored vehicles.

A smaller version of the mine is the Type 13 R mine (Type 13 R). The affected area of this mine is 100x70x3 meters.

The mine does not have its own fuse. In the upper part there are two sockets for electric detonators (in a controlled version) or fuses. The mine is installed on the surface of the earth with the help of racks, and with the help of the clamp included with the mine, it can be attached to local objects. Universal fuses with a combined seismic-infrared target sensor are suitable for this mine, and the sensitivity of the seismic sensor can be set to positions - special sensitivity, man, car, tank, off. There are also tension fuses.

2. Anti-tank mine M15

(Anti-tank mine M15)

Anti-tank anti-track mine. Designed to disable enemy tracked and wheeled vehicles. The defeat of enemy vehicles is inflicted due to the destruction of their undercarriage during the explosion of a mine charge at the moment the wheel (roller) runs over the pressure cover of the mine (M603 fuse) or the fuse is tilted (M624 fuse). According to the American classification, it refers to mines of the M-Kill type (i.e., damaging only the car). Adopted by the US Army in 1953

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in snow, under water manually or using the M57 trailed minelayer (developed in 1972).

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. With the destruction of the metal body of the mine from corrosion, the sensitivity of the mine increases from 150-338 kg. up to 3-5 kg. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. On the side wall of the case there is an additional point for installing a non-removable fuse.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Anti-track.

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………13.6 kg.

Mass of explosive (type "B")…..….9.9 kg

Diameter……………………………....…….....32 cm.

Height…………………………....……...….....12.4 cm.

Target sensor diameter (pressure cover)...22 cm.

Sensitivity (M603)……………........... 158 - 338 kg.

(M624)............................1.7 kg.

Temperature range of application…..-12 --+50 degrees.

M-603 chemical pressure fuse (the figure above shows an M15 mine with an M603 fuse).

The M624 fuse can be used, which is used as a tilt fuse (with an extension rod) or as a push-action fuse (the extension rod is not inserted into the fuse socket). The figure on the left shows the upper part of the mine with the M624 fuse in the version without the extension rod.

The drawing on the right, taken from Field Manual FM 20-32, shows the installation of the M624 fuze in the extension rod version.

On the side surface and on the bottom there are sockets for M5 or M142 fuses with M1 intermediate detonators. These fuses provide mines with non-removable

Mines are packed in boxes of 1 pc. (gross weight 18 kg.) not fully equipped (without fuse and fuse).

A mine (with an M603 fuse) is triggered when it hits a pressure cover. In the figure, the fuse sensor is conventionally highlighted in red. The fuse is switched to combat (armed), intermediate (danger) and safe (safe) position by turning the knob with an arrow drawn on it so that the arrow points to one of these words.

If the mine is used with the M624 fuse, which is screwed into the main nest instead of a plug with a rotary handle, then the mine is triggered when the tank caterpillar tilts the fuse directly or by tilting the rod.

M5 or M142 fuses are triggered when trying to remove the mine from the installation site. The M5 fuse is unloading, and the M142 is a tension action.

3. Anti-tank mine M21

(Anti-tank mine M21)

Anti-tank anti-bottom / anti-track mine. Designed to disable enemy tracked and wheeled vehicles. The defeat of enemy vehicles, when the mine is used as an anti-bottom mine, is inflicted by penetrating the bottom of the vehicle with a cumulative jet during the explosion of the mine charge at the moment when the vehicle deviates the pin sensor of the target from the vertical position by 10-12 degrees.

The defeat of enemy vehicles, when a mine is used as an anti-track mine, is caused by the destruction of 1-3 tracks of the caterpillar and damage to the machine's roller by a cumulative jet when the mine charge explodes at the moment when the caterpillar presses on the fuse with a force of at least 130.5 kg.

Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1980

The mine is installed in the ground, in the snow, under water manually.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator, elements of recovery and non-decontamination.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Anti-bottom / anti-track.

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………7.8 kg.

Mass of explosive (type "H6")...….4.5 kg

Diameter……………………………....…….....23 cm.

Body height………………………….......11.5 cm.

Target Sensor Height (Pin) ...................... 51.1 cm.

Sensitivity (with pin)………….....20 degrees from vertical with a force of 1.7 kg. or more.

Sensitivity pressure .............................. 130.5 kg.

Temperature range of application…..-30 --+50 degrees.

Fuze mechanical M-607. It can be used as a pressure fuse (option A). In this case, the pin is not screwed into the fuse. It can also be used as a fuse of inclined action (option B). In this case, a pin 51.1 cm long is screwed in. In the picture on the left, the M607 fuse is in two versions.

The mine is installed in a hole with a depth of 22-25 cm, so that only the target sensor (pin) is above the ground surface, the height of which from the ground surface should be at least 50 cm. Before the final masking of the mine, the fuse lock ring is pulled out and the fuse is removed which is a hollow metal half-cylinder that prevents the pin from deflecting in a safe position. The fuse does not have a temporary fuse, and from the moment the fuse is removed, it is in the firing position. This is a significant drawback of the mine, because. the final masking of the mine with turf or soil should be carried out with extreme caution.

When the pin is deflected by the vehicle body by 20 degrees (applied force 1.7 kg.) Or the tank caterpillar is pressed with a force of 130.5 kg (if the fuse is without a pin), the powder expelling charge is first detonated, which throws off the cover from the mine and ejects the soil located on top of the mine. This frees up space for the formation of a cumulative jet. Then the main charge explodes and the cumulative jet pierces the bottom.

Mines are packed by 4 pieces in a box. The weight of the box is 41 kg.

4. Anti-tank mine mine M19

(Anti-tank mine M19)

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in snow, under water manually.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. On the side wall of the case there is an additional point for installing a non-removable fuse.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Anti-track.

Housing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Weight.......................………………………12.7 kg.

Mass of explosive (type "B")…..….9.5 kg

Dimensions……………………………....…….....33x33 cm.

Body height…………………………........7.6 cm.

Target sensor diameter (pressure cover)...26 cm.

Sensitivity…………………………...136 - 180 kg.

Temperature range of application…..-50 --+50 degrees.

Fuze mechanical M-606.

Mines are packed in boxes of 4 pcs. (gross weight 67 kg.) fully equipped.

The mine is triggered when it hits the pressure cover. In the figure, the fuse sensor is conventionally highlighted in red. The fuse is switched to combat (armed), intermediate (danger) and safe (safe) position by turning the knob with an arrow drawn on it so that the arrow points to one of these words.

5. Anti-tank scatter mine

BLU-91/B

(Anti-tank scatterable mine BLU-91/B)

Mine anti-tank anti-bottom. Designed to disable enemy tracked and wheeled vehicles. The defeat of enemy vehicles is inflicted by penetrating the bottom of the vehicle with a cumulative jet. Defeat is inflicted by splashes of molten armor from the bottom of the vehicle, fragments of exploding tank ammunition. According to the classification of striking properties, a mine belongs to the K-Kill type. (Destruction of a tank and crew). Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1979.

It is installed only in a sketch on the surface.

It is part of the VOLCANO remote mining system. The M87 cassette holds 5 BLU-91/B mines and 1 BLU-92/B anti-personnel mine. The means of delivery of mines is a mine spreader (4 containers and a control unit) on a truck, M548 tracked transporter or UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopter.

It is also an integral part of the "Gator" aviation mining system. A 1000lb CBU-89/B aerial bomb holds 72 BLU-91/B mines plus 22 BLU-92/B anti-personnel mines, while a 500lb CBU-78/B aerial bomb holds 45 BLU-91/B mines plus 15 BLU-92/B anti-personnel mines.

Bombs can be suspended from A-10, F-4, F-15E, F-16, F-111, B52, A-6, A-7, F-18, AV-8B aircraft. The number of suspended cassettes depends on the type of aircraft. For example, up to 22 bombs can be suspended on the F-4. Six CBU-89/B bombs create a 650x200m minefield. The delivery distance can reach 2400 km.

The BLU-91 / B mine, when used in the Gator aviation mining system, is placed in a lightweight metal casing, which ensures a uniform distribution of mines over the area after the bomb is deployed in flight.

The explosion of a mine occurs when exposed to magnetic field fuse machines. The deceleration time is calculated so that the explosion occurs under the middle of the car body. All mines are equipped with an anti-recovery element that causes the mine to explode when you try to change its position (move, move, rotate, raise). Non-contact electromagnetic fuse, which is part of the design of the mine. Mina is indestructible.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Anti-bottom.

Dimensions of the light body………............................14.5x14.5x 8 cm.

In appearance, design and explosion-weight characteristics, the mine is no different from the mines M70, M73, M75, M78

6. Anti-personnel/anti-tank projectile mine

Volcano

(Anti-personnel/Anti-tank scatterable mine Volcano)

Actually, under the index "Volcano" there are two mines - anti-tank and anti-personnel. Both mines are identical in size and shape. There are no markings on the mines. In English-language documents and literature, these mines may be abbreviated as APM Volcano and ATM Volcano. Also, in some American sources (not literary), the author found the designation of these mines as ATM M88 and APM M88, AT Scatmine Volcano and AP Scatmine Volcano, AT Scatmine M88 and AP Scatmine M88, but in regulatory documents FM 20-32 and FM 5-102 these mines are only referred to as Volcano.

First option. Mine anti-personnel fragmentation circular defeat. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat is inflicted by fragments of the mine body during its explosion. Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1994 for the Ground Volcano mining system and in 1995 for the Air Volcano system. The appearance is no different from the BLU-92 / B anti-personnel mine, except that there are two spring-loaded brackets on the side surface of the hull, which exclude the possibility that, when falling over the ground, the mine will remain lying on the ground not with the bottom, but with the side. While the mine is in the cassette, then the brackets are pressed against the side surface, while leaving the mine cassette. staples open.

It is part of the VOLCANO remote mining system (ground and air versions). The M87 cassette holds 1 Volcano anti-personnel mine and 5 Volcano anti-tank mines. There are only 6 Volcano anti-tank mines in the M87A1 cassette. The means of delivery of mines is a mine spreader (4 containers and a control unit) on a truck, M548 tracked transporter or UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter.

The term of combat operation of the mine is fixed 4 hours, 48 hours or 15 days, after which the mine self-destructs by detonation. The term of combat work is set by the operator before the start of mining, when the mines are already loaded into the carrier. Self-destruction of mines begins:

for mines having a 4-hour period of combat work after 3 hours 12 minutes,

for mines with a 48 hour period of combat work after 38 hours,

mines with a 15-day period of combat work after 12 days 14 hours.

After falling to the ground, after two minutes, 4 weights with threads will be thrown out of the mine to the sides at a distance of up to 15 meters (actually, there are eight weights with threads, but four of them will be on the lower plane of the mine and will not work). An explosion occurs when the position of the mine changes, when an enemy soldier, clinging to a breaking thread, breaks it (breaking force 454 gr.). or move the mine from its place. The same fuse plays the role of a non-removable element. The mine is equipped with a backup seismic sensor that will cause the mine to explode when the target approaches closer than 3-4 meters. The fuses are part of the design of the mine. The mine is indestructible and unrecoverable.

The performance characteristics of the Volkano anti-personnel mine

Type of mine…………………………………...... anti-personnel fragmentation circular destruction

Interruptive action Case……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………1.44 kg.

Mass of explosive (B4)…............. 540 g

Diameter...........................…….................... .......12 cm.

Height ................…………………………........ 6 cm.

Target sensor length (one way).............15m.

Destruction radius..............................................12 m .

Sensitivity…………………………......454g.

Transfer time to firing position .............. 2 min.

Combat work time .......................................... 4 hours, 48 hours, 15 days.

Temperature range of application…......-12 --+50 hail.

Second option. Mine anti-tank anti-bottom. Designed to disable enemy tracked and wheeled vehicles. The defeat of enemy vehicles is inflicted by penetrating the bottom of the vehicle with a cumulative jet. Defeat is inflicted by splashes of molten armor from the bottom of the vehicle, fragments of exploding tank ammunition. According to the classification of striking properties, a mine belongs to the K-Kill type. (Destruction of a tank and crew). Adopted by the US Army and Marine Corps in 1994 for the Ground Volcano mining system and in 1995 for the Air Volcano system. The appearance is no different from the anti-personnel mine BLU-91 / B, except that on the side surface of the body there are two spring-loaded brackets, which exclude the possibility that, when falling over the ground, the mine will remain lying on the ground not with the bottom, but with the side. While the mine is in the cassette, the brackets are pressed against its side surface, and with the mine leaving the cassette, the brackets open.

for mines having a 4-hour period of combat work after 3 hours 12 minutes,

for mines with a 48 hour period of combat work after 38 hours,

mines with a 15-day period of combat work after 12 days 14 hours.

The explosion of a mine occurs when the magnetic field of the machine is applied to the fuse. The deceleration time is calculated so that the explosion occurs under the middle of the car body. All mines are equipped with an anti-recovery element that causes the mine to explode when you try to change its position (move, move, rotate, raise). Non-contact electromagnetic fuse, which is part of the design of the mine. The mine is indestructible and unrecoverable.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the Volkano anti-tank mine

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Anti-bottom.

Housing……………………………………........steel.

Weight.......................………………………1.7 kg.

Mass of explosive (RDX) ............... 0.585 to g.

Diameter……………………………....…….....12 cm.

Height…………………..................................6 cm.

Target sensor................................................... .......magnetic

Combat work time .......................................... 4 hours, 48 hours, 15 days.

Transfer time to combat position ...................... 2 min.

Temperature range of application…......-10 --+50 hail.

7. Anti-tank remote munitions

M70, M73

(Remote Anti-Armor Munition M 70, M73)

At their core, these are two anti-tank mines that are part of the RAAM remote mining system of the FASCAM family of scattered mines, but since they differ from traditional mines in terms of the method of delivery to the installation site, according to the nomenclature of the US Army, they are given the status not of mines, but of ammunition, more precisely, damaging elements.

Both mines are completely identical in appearance, size, design, explosive-weight characteristics and differ only in the time of combat work (self-liquidation period).

Mina M70 has a combat time of 4 hours. 9 pieces of these mines are placed in 155 mm. howitzer projectile M741.

Mina M73 has a combat time of 48 hours. 9 pieces of these mines are placed in 155 mm. howitzer projectile M718.

Mine anti-tank anti-bottom cumulative. Designed to disable the crews of tanks and other vehicles. The fuse responds to the machine's magnetic field and initiates an explosion upon reaching a predetermined threshold value of the magnetic field strength. The defeat is inflicted by molten splashes of armor resulting from penetration of the bottom by a cumulative jet and fragments of exploding shells of the tank's ammunition (according to the text of the US Army Field Manual FM 20-32). According to the classification of striking properties, a mine belongs to the K-Kill type. (Destruction of a tank and crew).

Both mines were put into service in 1975. A mine is installed only in a throw to the surface. It is delivered to the installation site in a 155mm caliber artillery shell. The dispersion of mines over the terrain from one projectile is up to 600 meters from the aiming point. Depending on the required density of the minefield, from 6 to 96 shells are fired at this place. A so-called minefield module is thus formed around the aiming point. Depending on the steepness of the projectile flight path, the resulting minefield density and projectile consumption, the size of the minefield module is determined as 200x200 meters or 400x400 meters. This module guarantees the specified density, although in reality the scattering ellipse is approximately 500x1500 meters. The minefield consists of the required number of modules. The range of the installed minefield from the positions of artillery depends on the range of howitzers and is up to 18-24 kilometers.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the M70 mine

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………1.7 kg.

Target sensor................................................... .......magnetic

Combat work time .......................................... 4 hours

Mark of the projectile .............................................. ..... M741

Tactical and technical characteristics of the M73 mine

Type of mine…………………………………......anti-tank

Anti-bottom cumulative

Housing……………………………………........metal.

Weight.......................………………………1.7 kg.

Explosive mass (RDX)…............585 g

Diameter............................……................... ......12 cm.

Height ..............…………………………........ 6 cm.

Target sensor................................................... .......magnetic

Sensitivity…………………………......100 cm normal to the plane of the mine (both sides)

Combat work time ........................................48 hours

Transfer time to combat position ............... 45-60 sec.

Mark of the projectile .............................................. ..... M718

Temperature range of application…......-20 --+50 hail.

Mines at the factory are packed in shells of 9 pieces. The transfer of fuses to the firing position occurs automatically 45 seconds-2 minutes after being thrown out of the projectile. 20% of mines (1-2 mines per projectile) have an element of non-recovery and explode when you try to move them from their place. All mines explode when exposed to the electromagnetic field of the mine detector. All mines are indestructible.

A significant drawback of the mine is the inadmissibility of falling on hard surfaces (asphalt, concrete), because. in this case, the destruction of the body of the mine or the failure of its mechanisms may occur. Self-destruction of mines begins to occur M70 after 3 hours 12 minutes, M73 after 36 hours from the moment of transfer to the combat position. Up to 15% of mines may be scattered outside the boundaries of the minefield. Due to the fact that there are two cumulative funnels (directed in opposite directions), it does not matter at all which plane the mine lies up. The slope of the mine leads to the fact that the path of the cumulative jet increases, and the reduced thickness of the armor increases. This leads to a decrease in the effectiveness of the mine. Against caterpillars, these mines are ineffective, because. just punch a hole in the track.

No markings, decals, holes, covers, screw heads, etc. mines do not have. Painted grey-green.

The bottom of the Soviet mine-clearing combat vehicle BMR-3 does not penetrate these mines.

Conclusion

The current stage of the development of mine weapons in the 20th century began in 1997, when on September 18 the clumsy brainchild of pacifist movements, the Ottawa Convention to Ban Anti-Personnel Mine, was born. Outwardly, this Convention pursued a completely good goal - to rid mankind of one of the types of deadly weapons. However, mines are not the kind of weapon with which to start a comprehensive struggle to rid people of the horrors of war. Not so many people died and are dying from mines. The initiators of the Convention slyly attributed to mines all cases of explosions of people in the post-war periods, including in this list cases from unexploded artillery shells, rockets, grenades. Real statistics show that only 10-12% of cases of explosions of civilians in the post-war period can be blamed on mines.

However, one could agree with the Convention if it were not a powerful impetus to the development of mine weapons, their transition to a qualitatively new level. The Convention itself was drafted so awkwardly and legally illiterate that it leaves many loopholes for states with sufficient finances to develop and put into service mines with much higher striking properties, much more sensitive, with the ability to competently and independently select a target and hit it at the most favorable moment, delivered to anywhere in the world as soon as possible. And various kinds of terrorists can still use old mines due to the simplicity and even primitiveness of the device. None of the articles of the Convention apply to them and no liability is envisaged for them.

One of the leading designers of mine weapons regarding the Ottawa Convention pointed out the following real results of its appearance:

1. Mines are no longer called mines. They are increasingly called "engineering ammunition", "striking element", "cassette striking segment", etc. it doesn't change the essence. Yes, a play on words. But this play on words removes a number of mines from the jurisdiction of Ottawa, leaving her only mossy, outdated samples.

2. Governments have begun to show much more attention to the development of new mine weapons, funding is growing. Mines have reached a new, higher quality level, at which the consumption of mines on the battlefield is sharply reduced, and their effectiveness is sharply increased.

3. The introduction, as a mandatory structural element, of a device for self-destruction of mines after the expiration of the period of combat work or on a signal, ensures an increase in the safety of actions of friendly troops and an increase in mine danger for the enemy. In addition, any legal liability for damages is excluded. civilians, because it becomes impossible to prove that in a given area there were mines of one side or another.

4. There was a basis for getting rid of huge stocks of physically and morally obsolete mines, which are still impossible to use.

The new age is just beginning and what it will be is hidden from us by the fog of the future. Making predictions and building prospects is a thankless and dangerous occupation. Today the prophet runs the risk of falling under the fire of criticism of optimists and the malicious shouts of those who are afraid to take a realistic look at today's day, who live not in the present, but in an imaginary world. Tomorrow the forecasts may be wrong and the prophet risks becoming a target for ridicule.

But here is what an American historian, Major of the Corps of Military Engineers of the US Army William Sneck writes: "Some of the technologies being developed for the Department of Defense within the framework of the Ballistic Missile Defense Office can be considered as orbital space mines."

That's it. Mines crawl out into space.

And further: "...explored the origin of war mines and the ingenuity of the engineers who developed these weapons. The development of this necessary but unglamorous weapon continues. Anti-aircraft, anti-helicopter mines and possibly anti-satellite "mines" will almost certainly appear in the future. So far, history has shown that any the time when new type weapons appear in the attacker's arsenal, military engineers respond with a defensive countermeasure.

With the development of civilization, the means of destroying man, the means of armed struggle, become more sophisticated, more destructive and more and more terrible.

Impossible without minefields modern warfare. An anti-personnel mine is a reliable tool for incapacitating enemy soldiers, in addition, they can be used to create areas of terrain completely impassable for infantry. For the first time they started talking about mines in the XIV-XV centuries, then they were stone-throwing land mines.

What entails the loss of a limb in the explosion of a TS50 or the death of a person if the PMN exploded. Later high-explosive mines are focused specifically on incapacitating a person. It is believed that the wounding of one person requires his delivery to a medical station, therefore, delaying the enemy and weakening his forces by 1-2 additional people.

Mines of this type are destroyed only by detonation, the extraction of anti-personnel landmines, which are quite often set to "non-recovery" is a very dangerous occupation. So, for example, the possibility of not extracting mines of the PMN type can be duplicated by the installation next to it or under it of a surprise mine of the MS type.

Characteristics of PMN, TS50 and M14

Options	PMN (USSR-Russia)	TS50 (Italy)	M14 (USA)
Weight, gr	550	200	130
Mass of explosives, gr	200	52	30
Overall dimensions, mm	53x110	90x48	40x56
Target sensor, mm	100	48	38

PMD-6

Separately, it is worth noting the Soviet anti-personnel mine PMD-6, its feature is the simplicity of the device. Mina is a wooden box, with a hinged top lid, a TNT checker weighing 200 grams is installed in it. into which a fuse of the MUV type with a T-shaped pin is screwed.

When the mass acts on the mine cover, the side wall squeezes out the T-shaped pin and the fuse is triggered. Ammunition of this type can be mass-produced in any carpentry workshop, for their complete set it is enough only fuses and standard-type TNT cartridges. The same mine, but with a sealed case, was called the IFF.

PMP

According to the principle of economy, a PMP mine was also created, which is a 7.62 mm TT pistol cartridge, in the barrel, the cartridge itself is spring-loaded, when pressure is applied to the target sensor, the hollow upper part of the cylinder cuts off the pin, the cartridge falls down under the action of the spring, onto the striker's sting, after which is fired at the enemy's foot. If necessary, the cartridge can be replaced with any other.

The peculiarity of being wounded by such a mine is that not only a bullet acts on the foot, powder gases, dirty fragments of shoes and soil also enter the wound channel.

This subsequently leads to gangrene. This reliably disables the enemy, in addition, it requires several people to deliver him to the dressing station.

PFM-1

The PFM-1 high-explosive anti-stomp mine is distributed by dropping from aircraft or dispersion from MLRS cluster shells. PFM is known as "Petal".

Liquid explosives are used as explosives, the power of the explosion is enough to concuss a limb even without a wound.

Fragmentation anti-personnel mines: device, methods of use

Fragmentation mines are activated both by direct impact on the network of stretch marks around the installed ammunition, and remotely using a radio fuse. Mines differ in their action.

POMZ-2

The simplest version of the fragmentation mine is POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M. This is a cast-iron shirt with a ready-made notch, inside of which a standard 75 gr drilling piece is inserted. In the lower part of the body there is a hole for a peg, on top there is a glass for placing a fuse of a tension action MUV with a P-shaped pin.

The principle of operation of the fuse is similar to the operation of the UZRGM fuse, but without the moderator. The ignition fires instantly. Currently, POMZ is not produced, but, like PMD, it is possible to launch the production of cases of this type of ammunition in a matter of days at any foundry.

MON

The anti-personnel mines of the USSR of the MON series are the most famous in the modern world, in fact, this is an analogue of the American Claymore, but with Soviet additions. The body is curved to direct the sheaf of fragments in the right direction, the body has simplified sights and mustache legs for its installation. Depending on the range of damage, there are:

MON-50, range 50 meters (actually 25-30);
MON-90, a heavily enlarged and awkward-to-use variant of the MON-50;
MON-100, a directional mine designed to hit at a distance of up to 100 meters. But given its weight and dimensions (basin 23 centimeters in diameter, weight 5 kg), it is not the most favorite subject of miners;
MON-200, monster in the mine kingdom, circle diameter 45 cm, weight 25 kg. How to mask such a basin during installation, probably no one, except for the designers of this masterpiece, can imagine.

Defeat due to the wreckage of the hull and ready-made submunitions placed in the hull. Two types of striking elements are used - ball-like and roller-like fragments.

Balls - 540, rollers 485 on MON-50. It is installed with a curved part towards the enemy. Mines of this series can be installed using a radio fuse, or use conventional fuses of tension action.

OZM-72 or simply "Witch"

Fragmentation mine of the barrier, this is how this abbreviation stands for. When undermined, ready-made striking elements make a noise similar to a whistle, hence the name. These ammunition were developed on the basis of German springmines or simply “frogs”.

When the fuse is triggered, the expelling charge is first detonated, the body takes off to a height of up to 1.5 meters above the ground, and only after that the main charge is triggered. A hail of shrapnel falls asleep all around, the OZM case contains 2400 ready-made submunitions. OZM-4 is no longer in production.

Characteristics of OZM-72 and OZM-4

There are also known enlarged versions of OZM-160 and OZM-152, which are used in a controlled version. As a warhead of these ammunition, a 152 mm OFZ and a 160 mm mortar mine are used.

Manual placement of anti-personnel mines of this type is extremely time-consuming, since a well of decent depth must be dug to place them.

Anti-personnel mines of the Russian army

POM-2

Cluster-mounted anti-personnel fragmentation mine, also used for manual deployment. The device is similar to OZM, there is also an expelling charge. Setting is carried out from cassettes, stabilization in flight is carried out due to perforated stabilizer shields.

Manual installation only POM-2R. The weight of the mine is 1.5 kg, the mass of explosives is 140 grams, the defeat is by fragments of a metal case and ready-made submunitions of two types. Similar to MON-50.

POB, replacement for "Witch"

To replace the OZM-72, a new anti-personnel fragmentation munition was developed, an analogue of the American M86, it seems, as it were, not a mine.

The steel of the hull was changed to plastic, striking elements in the form of flat rings with teeth stacked in a hull around the explosive charge.

The expelling charge was transferred, this achieved a vertical position of the hull when lifting above the ground. The lifting height has significantly decreased 0.4-0.6 meters. POB weight - 2.3 kg, explosive weight 510 gr.

Surprise mines type MS and ML

Mines designed specifically for catching sappers and curious people. Use fuses of all types. Contact, non-contact, vibration and electroinduction triggered mine detectors.

Mina ML-7

It is used to install sapper ammunition in the "non-removable" position. The weight is only 100 grams, with a charge mass of 40. The type of target sensor is unloading, in other words, to operate, it is enough to remove a load weighing at least 300 grams from the sensor.

Using the same surprises is quite simple, it’s enough to put a cocked ML-7 under the OZM or TM-57 case, after the long-range cocking time has elapsed, the fuse will cock and when the load is removed from the target sensor, there will be an explosion, from which, most likely, the mine being removed will also detonate .

MS-5, mine cigarette case

One of the rare booby traps that mimics a specific item. Weight 660 gr, explosive weight - 110 gr. Unloading type target sensor, reaction to opening a cigarette case or opening its lid.

ML-2 or MS-6M, sapper trap

Mines of this type have a fuse that reacts to the operation of the electromagnetic inductor of the metal detector, no further than 30 cm. The second version is MS-6Sch, with a contact target sensor. Weight 4.4 kg, with electric induction fuse 8.4 kg. The mass of explosives is 1.2 kg.

It is used for organizing mine protection of strong points and for mining anti-tank minefields of particular importance.
The only option to deal with mines of this type is one. Do not pick up anything from the ground, be it even a box of matches or empty store.

Conclusion

Mina is a defensive weapon, but extremely dangerous. Unlike bullets and shells, a mine can lie on a combat platoon for ten years, waiting in the wings. For this reason, the restriction on the development of this type of ammunition was adopted in Ottawa in December 1997.

But even this, as we saw, did not reduce the number of mines in the world. But at the same time, now mines are being improved, including with self-destruction systems, no one wants to have such dangerous enemy.

Video

Anti-personnel mines are considered inhumane means of warfare, but most states continue to actively use them. Main damaging factor of this weapon - the soldier's fear of an invisible danger - stopped the advance of entire divisions. Cheap, cheerful and effective.
Here is a selection of the most dangerous anti-personnel mines that were in service with the Soviet, and now the Russian army.

"Witch"

The fragmentation barrage mine OZM-72 was developed in the USSR in the early 70s, but is still in service. This is very insidious and dangerous weapon belonging to the class of so-called jumping mines. Structurally, it consists of a steel "glass", an expelling charge and a warhead, in which 660 grams of TNT and 2400 submunitions. The operation of the "witch" occurs after a careless soldier touches a wire stretching with his foot. The expelling charge throws a mine from the "glass" vertically upwards. Its detonation occurs at a height of 60 to 80 centimeters. The radius of continuous destruction of OZM-72 is 25 meters. To remain unharmed after its undermining is very difficult.
Mines OZM-72
The "Witch" was baptized by fire in Afghanistan, where mountain passes and gorges were mined. OZM-72 proved to be an effective and simple, but, unfortunately, illegible weapon. On April 20, 1984, during the Panjshir operation, soldiers of the 345th parachute regiment were blown up on the Witch. A single mine instantly killed 13 and injured 14 people. Later it turned out that it was installed by Soviet troops during a previous operation.

"Petal"

The anti-personnel high-explosive mine PFM-1 "Petal" is never manually installed on the ground. These small explosive devices, each weighing only 800 grams, are made of polyethylene and are scattered on the ground using remote mining equipment. In Afghanistan, they "sowed" problem areas with Soviet Su-25 attack aircraft. A brown or green silhouette 12 cm long and 6.5 cm wide can not always be seen on the ground, especially at night.

"Butterfly" high-explosive anti-personnel mine PFM-1 ("Petal")
"Petal" - a cruel mine. Guaranteed to kill a person 37 grams of explosives are not capable, the defeat is caused by injuring the lower leg. During the explosion, practically no lethal fragments are formed, with the exception of the metal parts of the mechanism in the central part of the mine. However, the foot is torn clean. A unit that has run into a minefield quickly loses its combat effectiveness. The wounded must be bandaged and taken to a safe place. It is hardly worth specifying that the demoralizing factor of the insidious "Petal" is huge.

"Monka"

The anti-personnel directional fragmentation mine MON-50 was developed in the 1960s and 1970s and still remains one of the most effective. It can be installed on the ground, in the snow, at the entrances to the premises, mounted on trees. The mine is detonated by the operator from the control panel when an enemy appears in the affected area or when the fuse tension sensor is touched. All living things in the sector along the horizon of 54 degrees and at a height of 15 centimeters to 4 meters are “mowed down” by 540 striking elements.

Anti-personnel mine MON-50
MON-50 is ideal for organizing ambushes along the route of enemy columns. Seven hundred grams of explosive and hundreds of submunitions can disable even an army truck. And in order to accurately calculate the sector of destruction, the miner can use a special sighting device at the top of the monk.

"Black Widow"

The PMN pressure anti-personnel mine has been in service with engineering and sapper units of the Russian army since 1950, as well as a number of CIS countries and far abroad. The "Black Widow", as it was nicknamed during the Vietnam War by the US military, is a fairly powerful high-explosive mine. It is not equipped with striking elements, the target is damaged by an explosive - 200 grams of TNT. The light weight of the product (550 grams) allows the sappers to pick up these mines with a margin and quickly turn a wide area of terrain into an impenetrable "swamp" for enemy infantry.

PMN-1 anti-personnel mine produced in 1978
Detonation, as the name suggests, occurs when the mine cover is pressed. Such an explosion leads to death or to very serious injuries. This mine could be found in any country affected by armed conflict in the second half of the last century. It was the PMN that deprived Shamil Basayev, one of the leaders of the Chechen gang underground, when he and his accomplices broke out of Grozny in January 2000.

"Edema"

Adopted in 1986. The anti-personnel fragmentation mine of the tension action POM-2 "Edema", like the PFM-1, is installed on the ground by remote mining. The peculiarity of this weapon is its independent "character". After the POM-2 falls to the ground, the process of bringing it into combat position begins, which lasts about a minute. First, the locks of six spring-loaded blades are opened, which, leaning back from the body, raise it to a vertical position. Then, four anchor weights are fired from the upper part of the body in different directions, pulling thin broken wires behind them. From this moment, the mine is in a combat position, and the countdown of the combat work time begins, which can range from 4 to 100 hours. After this time, the ammunition self-destructs.

POM-2
A mine explosion occurs when any of the four wires breaks. The radius of continuous damage is up to 16 meters. POM-2 provides a circular defeat of targets. At the same time, it is impossible to remove it - "Edema" is non-removable and non-neutralizing.

At the word “mine”, the imagination immediately draws an explosive device buried in the ground. First appearing in French, this word was originally associated with the land and meant “mine”, “undermining”, which were often used during siege wars. Fortified and defended cities during the conduct of hostilities were attacked with the help of trenches and approaches dug up to their walls with further laying of explosive charges filled with gunpowder. At first, a mine was called an underground horizontal mine near the walls of the enemy, later the explosive device itself began to be called this word. The word "sapper" also appeared in French. They called him a person who carried out undermining and undermining enemy fortifications.

Story

The use in many wars of explosive mechanisms filled with submunitions has proved the 100% effectiveness of their use to eliminate fortified structures, enemy infantry and military equipment. Discoveries in the field of chemistry: the appearance of xyloidin, pyroxylin, liquid nitroglycerin, TNT and saltpeter - as well as the rich experience of warfare already available to mankind, served as a good impetus for the improvement of explosive devices.

Primitive bookmarks under enemy walls with the use of a thing of the past. Their place was taken by modern products using special capsules - detonators and electric ignition systems.

Explosive mechanisms buried in the ground have always been considered very dangerous because of their secrecy. But time has shown that their effectiveness is not one hundred percent, since the mine directly eliminated only the object that came into contact with it, and left others intact. A much better result could be achieved if the mine was above the ground. But in this case, it would be visible. This shortcoming in the mine business required an immediate solution, which was the device, called OZM-72. Let's consider it in more detail.

Mina OZM-72: performance characteristics (performance characteristics)

The device by type belongs to anti-personnel fragmentation, jumping explosive mechanisms with a circular defeat.

Steel is used to make the mine body.

The total mass is 5 kg, of which 660 g is explosive.

Diameter - 10.8 cm, case height - 17.2 cm.

The OZM-72 mine is designed for a weight of 1 to 17 kg, the temperature range of application is from -60 to +60 degrees, the radius of destruction does not exceed 30 m. The term of combat operation is not limited. The mine is not equipped with self-liquidators and does not contain elements that do not allow it to be removed or rendered harmless.

Fuzes MUV and MVE-72

As a fuse, there can be a mechanical MUV or an electromechanical MVE-72. The mechanical one is very sensitive, which makes the process of clearing mines with it very dangerous.

Design features

The elements of OZM-72 are:

Guide cup. Steel is used to make it. At the bottom of the glass there is a special chamber designed for fixing a tension cable in it, connecting the glass with the percussion mechanism. The glass contains a body with an explosive charge and fragments.
Charge. TNT is used as a charge for the OZM-72 mine, which fills the internal cavity of the clip. It is located at the top of the central sleeve.
Expelling charge. Designed to push an explosive device out of the ground to a height of 1 m. For the manufacture of an expelling charge, smoke powder collected in a fabric bag is used. The charge is contained in a special tube.
Impact mechanism. It is located at the bottom of the central sleeve.
Detonating capsule. It is placed in the nest of an additional detonator and is mounted only at the moment when the OZM-72 mine is directly installed.
Carabiners and ropes. Are intended for fastening checks of the explosive mechanism with wire extensions.
Wire extensions. Wound into coils during installation, they reach a length of up to 15 m. They are intended for arranging traps-stretch marks.
Pegs made of wood and metal. Wooden stakes are used for arranging stretch marks, and metal stakes are used for fastening mines in frozen ground and mounting a cable with carabiners. For the production of metal stakes, a duralumin corner is used.

purpose

OZM-72 is intended for complete elimination or temporarily incapacitating enemy infantry. The degree of damage from fragmentation elements, which are metal balls, can be different: from the elimination of one soldier to several. This became possible due to the fact that OZM-72 anti-personnel mines are hidden in the ground and are not visible from the outside. And the expelling charge in their mechanism throws up a device that explodes already above the ground at a height of 1 m with a circular defeat of up to 30 m.

How does the OZM-72 mine work?

The principle of operation of the mine is to throw out with the help of an expelling charge from a guide glass to a meter height a bursting steel shell, consisting of metal, cylindrical pieces, capable of flying apart after an explosion within a radius of up to 30 meters. The mine is triggered by contact with a pegged tripwire connected to the fuse pin.

It may be MVE-72. In this case, it is enough to touch the electrical wire connected to the check. Also, an MUV is used as a fuse, in which not electricity is used, but mechanics. To trigger a mine, the enemy should hook on a stretched wire - a stretch wire connected at one end to the fuse. The subsequent detonation produces an ejection above the ground from the charge cup, which is represented by a steel shell filled with TNT. When explosives interact, the shell forms round and cylindrical submunitions that scatter in all directions.

Bookmark stages

How is OZM-72 laid down? Installation of the explosive mechanism is carried out manually in the ground or in the snow.

The bookmarking process consists of the following steps:

arrangement of a hole with a diameter of up to 200 mm with further placement of mines in it;
installation of a detonating capsule;
installation of a metal peg at a distance of 50 cm from the mine;
fastening of a cable with carabiners to a wire extension;
installation of one wooden peg with the wire passing through it for the entire length; the end of the stretch must be attached to the top of the second peg; it is imperative that the wire between the wooden stakes sag a little - 20-30 mm is enough;
unscrewing the protective cap covering the mine igniter;
bringing the checks of the fuse into a combat state;
connection with a carabiner of a prepared wire stretching with a fuse pin;
mine camouflage.

A metal peg should be hammered into the ground in such a way that its upper part is not conspicuous. To do this, its top with a wire threaded through it should protrude above ground level by no more than 150 mm. At the same time, you need to dig it in the direction of the enemy. This is easy to determine by the special recess in the metal peg. When installing an explosive device, it should be directed towards the mine.
It is recommended that the safety pin be pulled out of the fuse only after the reliability check has been carried out to hold the combat checks.
After hooking on the combat check of the carbine, it should not be pulled out. If this happens, it means that the metal peg is driven in poorly and shifts to the side, while lowering the tension of the wire guy.
The installation of the OST-72 anti-personnel mine is easily carried out in soft soil in summer, and in winter in frozen ground with further masking by snow. In the event that you have to work with too soft soil, which is typical for swampy areas, it is recommended to use boards no more than 15x15 cm. Their thickness should be 25 mm. The use of boards guarantees the reliability of the escape of the shell from the steel cup.

The modern development of military production makes it possible to take into account all the strengths and weaknesses of explosive devices. Thanks to this, mines are now in service in a wide variety: from the simplest products with primitive fuses and weak explosive fillers to the most complex remote-controlled mechanisms, in the development of which the latest achievements of science are used.

The first combat mines appeared almost five hundred years ago and gradually became one of the main types of weapons used in conflicts of varying degrees of locality. At first, the word "mine" denoted an underground horizontal mine under the enemy's fortifications, where a powder charge was laid. Hence, by the way, the expression “lay mines”, that is, plot intrigues. Subsequently, the charge itself began to be called a mine.

At the word "mine" many people imagine explosive ammunition buried underground. Meanwhile, it comes from the French mine - "mine", "undermining". In military affairs, as it is easy to understand, this word was fixed during siege wars, or rather, siege work during hostilities. From there, by the way, the French "sapper", from saper - "undermine", "undermine". So, sappers dug trenches and approaches, and miners dug under the walls. With the advent of gunpowder, explosive charges began to be placed in mines. Gradually, the mine began to mean explosive ammunition. In addition to high-explosive, it was also used shrapnel action- With early XVII and until the beginning of the 20th century, "stone-throwing land mines" were arranged to protect the fortifications. However, in China, different versions of powder mines, including underground ones (“Underground Thunder”), were used even earlier, sometimes creating a semblance of a minefield in which mines were blown up almost simultaneously. Black powder remained the explosive substance for several centuries. A reliable method of blasting was sought for quite a long time, but significant success was achieved in the 1830s with the development of a igniter cord by W. Bickford in England and an electric ignition system by K.A. Schilder in Russia.

From the middle of the 19th century, land mines and mine forges from the fortress war began to move into the field, and the experience of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 played a big role here. Anti-personnel mines and land mines were used in the American Civil War of 1861-1865, in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

At the same time, the history of new high explosives began: in 1832, the Frenchman A. Braconno received xyloidin, in 1846 the German H. Schönbein - pyroxylin, in 1847 the Italian A. Sobrero - liquid nitroglycerin. In Russia, based on nitroglycerin, N.N. Zinin and V.F. Petrushevsky developed explosive compositions, later called dynamites, and in 1855 A.P. Davydov discovered the phenomenon of detonation in explosives. In 1867, Alfred Nobel in Sweden proposed a detonator cap based on mercury fulminate. New explosives, discovering ways to use them industrial production, blasting caps and detonating cord caused a technical revolution in explosives. By the end of the 19th century, they find practical use dynamite, picric acid, TNT, ammonium nitrate explosives, at the beginning of the 20th century, tetryl, PETN, hexogen and others were added to them. “Field self-explosive land mines” appear - prototypes of modern mines with automatically operating fuses.

AT Russo-Japanese War In 1904-1905, factory-made anti-personnel mines were already used. During the First World War, the belligerents covered the approaches to their positions with mines, blocked passages, and brought mines under the advanced trenches of the enemy. With the advent of tanks on the battlefield, anti-tank mines begin to operate, and by the end of the war, the first experienced mine detectors and mine sweeps.

However, in the interwar period, mines were still considered an addition to non-explosive barriers and chemical "veils". Although D.M. Karbyshev wrote already in the 1930s that of all types of obstacles, “mining is the most cost-effective” and pointed out the need for mines triggered by pressure, shock, delayed action mines, automatic land mines - such mines were in service with the Red Army, but in insufficient quantity. quantity. The situation was significantly changed by the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940, which was followed by the rapid development in our country, on the one hand, of mine weapons, on the other, of the means of detecting and overcoming mine-explosive barriers.

During the Second World War, minefields played a special role. So, the Red Army and Soviet partisans used about 40 types of mines. Total number of land-based anti-personnel and anti-tank mines various types applied on Soviet-German front World War II, exceeded 200 million.

Local wars further increased the importance of various mines. So, in the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, 20% of the losses of armored vehicles fell on mine explosions. And in the Vietnam War, with its predominantly guerrilla character, only in 1970, American losses from mine explosions amounted to 70% of all losses of armored vehicles and 33% of losses in manpower. In addition to new generations of mines, the means of their mechanized installation, fundamentally new systems and mining complexes, and new means of mine action were created.

And the concept of "mine warfare" has been present in special and popular literature for a quarter of a century. Soviet army I had to deal with the conduct of such a war by dushmans in Afghanistan. If in 1982 5,118 various mines and land mines were discovered and removed there, then in 1983-1987, 8-10 thousand were removed annually. In addition to the scale of the use of these weapons, the variety of their use also grew. According to experts, explosive losses accounted for approximately 25% of all losses of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, and most of them were the result of explosions. Russian army has been dealing with mine warfare in the North Caucasus for more than a decade. In Chechnya, losses from mines, land mines and camouflaged explosive devices, according to a number of estimates, amounted to about 70% of all losses of federal forces. And in the US troops in Iraq, losses from explosions exceed 50% of all losses.

The “projectile-armor” competition usually goes with the advantage of the “projectile”, this can also be seen in mine warfare - the design and tactics of using mine-explosive barriers are ahead of the development of means and methods of mine action.

Modern mine weapons are an extraordinary variety of types, families and samples of different generations. In technical terms, the range of mine weapons is very wide - from the simplest mines and fuses, which differ from ancient crossbows only in materials and technology, to "smart" weapon systems with the ability to work in autonomous and remotely controlled versions. In local wars and military conflicts, mines for various purposes, of various brands and generations, made in Italy, China, Pakistan, Romania, the USSR, the USA, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, have been widely used, other countries have made and are making a significant contribution.

By purpose, anti-personnel, anti-tank, anti-vehicle, anti-amphibious (used in the coastal zone), special (incendiary, booby-traps, sabotage, signal) and object mines are distinguished. But "engineering nuclear land mines" were also created.

Let's start our cautious "tour" of mine weapons with anti-personnel (AP) mines. The diversity of this type of ammunition is generated both by the simultaneous existence of mines of different generations, and by the difference in technological capabilities, but above all by the variety of tasks and methods of using PP-mines. They are placed as part of anti-personnel or combined minefields, in groups and individual mines, they cover the approach to their positions and objects, the withdrawal of their units or block the paths of movement behind enemy lines, hinder his maneuver or force him to move into a "fire bag", "protect" anti-tank mines, used as traps or means of undermining land mines, and so on. Particular attention has been and is being paid not only to damaging effect mines, but also the creation of samples adapted for mechanized installation and use as part of remote mining systems (artillery, jet, aviation).

Explosion and shrapnel

Most mines consist of three main elements - an explosive charge, a fuse and a casing.

The action of any mine is based on an explosion, that is, an extremely rapid release a large number energy, accompanied by the appearance and propagation of a shock wave.

Explosive transformation propagates in the mass of conventional explosive (HE) either by heat transfer and radiation released during combustion, or by mechanical action of a shock wave propagating through the mass of explosive at supersonic speed. In the first case, the process is called combustion, in the second - detonation.

Depending on the use of explosives, they are divided into: initiating (intended to excite explosive processes), blasting, or crushing (used for destruction), propelling, pyrotechnic compositions.

In mines for various purposes, mainly blasting substances that are sensitive to detonation are used. These include products organic chemistry, as TNT, Tetryl, RDX, PETN, plastid and others, as well as cheap ammonium nitrate explosives (ammonites). Pyrotechnic compositions are used, for example, in signal and incendiary mines.

But the energy of the explosion must still be used to defeat the enemy. Mine-explosive damage is usually combined, caused by several factors at once, but two are distinguished as the main ones - fragmentation and high-explosive damage.

High-explosive action consists in hitting the target with hot high-speed explosion products - at close distances, and then with excess pressure in the front and the velocity head of the shock wave. Even a slight overpressure of 0.2-0.3 kg/cm2 can cause serious injury. Undermining a high-explosive mine is usually associated with the separation or destruction of a limb, damage internal organs, main vessels, nerve columns.

As for fragments, a fragment is considered lethal if it has a kinetic energy of about 100 J when it meets the target. This means that a steel fragment weighing only 0.13-0.15 grams can be considered lethal at its speed of 1,150-1,250 m / s . A heavy fragment of an irregular shape, of course, causes great destruction of tissues, but the concussion inflicted on the tissues of the body is less at low speed. In addition, the fragment must still hit the target, and since the explosion acts “not aimed”, it is better to “have more” fragments. If at a certain distance from the point of explosion at least half of the targets (and the target is a human figure, approximately 1.5-2 by 0.5 meters) “receive” 1-2 lethal fragments, this distance is called the radius of effective damage, if at least 70 % - continuous destruction (although in the descriptions of fragmentation mines one can find confusion in these radii). Shrapnel wounds are usually penetrating, with irregularly shaped fragments they are also torn, with severe damage to internal organs, rupture of blood vessels and nerve tissues, and bone fractures. Ready-made spherical fragments used in a number of mines leave small channels in the body, but at the same time, “ball wounds” are characterized by multiplicity. A steel ball in the tissues of the body moves along a peculiar trajectory, sharply changing directions, the wound has numerous blind channels, accompanied by ruptures of internal organs.

Order to Defeat

Let's start with the most important thing in a mine - a fuse. After all, if it didn’t work on time, the power of the charge, the shock wave or fragments, the efforts of designers and sappers would be in vain or even go to the detriment of their own. On the other hand, it is the "cunning" of the fuse that makes the mine really dangerous for the enemy.

According to the principle of operation, fuses are divided into contact, requiring direct contact with the object, and non-contact, according to the timing of operation - instant and delayed action. An instantaneous contact fuse “responds” to the impact from the target, which can be a touch on a stretched wire or thread (tension action), the application of pressure (pressure) or, conversely, the removal of pressure (unloading) from the mine cover. Pull-action and push-action mechanical fuzes are older but still the most common types. Combination fuzes like the American M3 can use a pull, push, or release action.

With all modern technologies, stretching is still widely used - a low-stretched wire or thread connected to a pin or lever of the fuse percussion mechanism. But the stretch still needs to be placed and disguised in grass, shrubs, and debris. In addition, grass and branches tend to sway. The “antennae” (short elastic rods) of the fuse or thin threads with weights scattered to the sides of the mine can serve as a target sensor. Of course, this requires a more sensitive fuse, and in order to protect the miners, it is automatically transferred to the combat position only some time after the mine is placed. For this, a long-range cocking mechanism is used. In remote mining systems, such a mechanism is especially important.

For non-contact fuses, the target sensor can be a device that responds to mechanical or electromagnetic vibrations created by the target (or the intersection of the “beam” by the target). Examples are a vibration or thermal sensor configured to operate above a given level, a paralaser emitter-receiver (to cross the beam), and so on. The fuse serves to directly initiate the detonation of the charge and can be part of the fuse or inserted into the mine separately - when it is installed.

The fuse may include, for example, an igniter cap, which is triggered by a prick by a striker and undermines the blasting cap, which in turn causes an explosion of the detonator and explosive charge. The grating fuse operates due to friction. When equipping mines with cast TNT or ammonium nitrate explosives, an additional detonator is also required.

An electric fuse, including an electric detonator, a current source, wires and a contactor, allows the use of a wide variety of contact and non-contact circuits. Let's say there might be a contact under a rocking deckboard separated by a small gap from a contact on another board. Stepping on a cover or board, the soldier will close the electrical circuit, and the fuse of the mine installed on the side of the path or flooring will work. A more modern version - a loop of optical cable is thrown across the road. It is enough to crush or tear it so that the receiving element stops receiving a signal, and a simple electronic circuit will issue a command to detonate. The signal to the electric detonator can also come from such a target sensor as a combination of a pressure rod and a piezoelectric element, a pair of LED-photodiode (crossing the beam by the target), from a light-sensitive sensor that responds to lighting with a strong flashlight, etc.

A number of mines are equipped with an additional detonator and a socket for a fuse to be set to non-removable - the fuse will react to an attempt, say, to move a mine or defuse it.

There are also mechanisms of self-destruction (self-destruction). Option - an electronic timer that starts simultaneously with bringing the mine into combat position. True, electronic mechanisms easily fail when current sources freeze, and at high temperatures their operation is unstable. And yet, such fuses are increasingly being used. They allow you to give mines a number of opportunities at once - target selectivity (person, vehicle), long-range cocking, self-destruction or self-neutralization (transfer to a safe position) after a specified time or by a coded signal, setting to non-recovery under various conditions (shift, tilt, approach of a mine detector ), the possibility of "interrogating" mines and determining their combat state.

"Many-faced" mine

High-explosive mines are designed to defeat one infantryman in army shoes, and are distinguished by their small size and weight. They are difficult to detect visually or with a probe. During the years of the Great Patriotic War Soviet troops widely used a PMD wooden high-explosive anti-personnel mine with a pressure cap. Her scheme was used after the war. In Hungary, for example, they first produced a wooden copy of the Soviet PMD-7, and later - the M62 with a plastic case. Practically according to the same scheme, but with a different (grating instead of shock) fuse, the Yugoslav mine PMA-1A was also made. High-explosive mines have long and widely used cases made of plastic, ceramics, pressed cardboard, and fabric. The use of plastics is caused by a number of factors - a decrease in mass (with the size of these mines, strength did not decrease), cost reduction, difficulty in detecting with an induction mine detector (and high-explosive PP mines are placed at a shallow depth). Non-metallic parts in the fuse also contribute to the difficulty of detection. So, in the Italian mine SB-33 there is only 0.86 grams of metal, and the fuse of the Chinese mine Type 72A has only one metal part - the firing pin.

An example of a high-explosive PP mine with a plastic body is the Soviet PMN-4. The fuse built into the design is very sensitive, therefore there is a mechanism for long-range cocking of the hydromechanical type. The pressure sensor is designed to "catch" the pressure on the rubber cap of the mine, even with slight contact with the foot. In the Yugoslav PMA-3, for the same purpose, the upper part with the combat charge under the pressure of the foot rotates relative to the lower one, causing the grating fuse to work.

They tried to further reduce the size of the PP-mines through the use of a shaped charge. So, the American M25 LC mine carries a shaped charge of only 8.5 grams and looks like a peg driven into the ground. And the Gravel mine was simply made in the form of a fabric package with a charge based on lead azide, which explodes from pressure and does not need a special fuse.

In fact, mines or charges used as anti-recovery elements also belong to high-explosive anti-personnel mines. For example, the Soviet MS-3 surprise mine with a plastic case, weighing 550 grams, a charge of 200 grams and an unloading fuse. Such a mine, placed under an anti-tank or anti-personnel mine (if they do not have their own anti-recovery devices) or a demolition charge, will work when you try to move them from their place and cause a detonation. The ML-7 booby trap weighing 100 grams is used in a similar way.

By the way, PP-mines of even more “local” action were produced - “bullet” mines that shot a soldier in the leg. Here we can recall the German Kugelmine of the Second World War, and the Soviet PMP of the early 1960s (equipped with a 7.62x25 TT pistol cartridge, triggered by pressing the cap with a force of 7-30 kgf), and various partisan homemade products different countries and peoples. However, the effectiveness of bullet mines was very low.

On the other hand, incendiary mines and land mines of circular or directed destruction were used to fight the infantry. For example, the Americans in Korea and Vietnam prepared them on the basis of barrels, canisters or cans with liquid or thickened (napalm) combustible mixtures and expelling charges. "Fire" mines could also be equipped with solid mixtures - for example, pressed thermite. Gradually, the use of "fire" PP-mines almost disappeared, but incendiary mixtures were replaced by volume-detonating and thermobaric ones. Let's say the Yugoslav guided mine UDAR contained a container fired upwards with 20 kilograms liquid fuel, which, sprayed into an aerosol cloud and detonated, defeated manpower within a radius of 40 meters.

"Circumferential Defense"

Fragmentation mines differ primarily in installation methods and in the “direction” of the action. An example of a simple and cheap mine is Soviet anti-personnel fragmentation mines like POMZ-2, developed during the Great Patriotic War, and its modification POMZ-2M. A cast-iron cylindrical body with an external notch is placed on a wooden peg somewhere in the grass, equipped with a standard 75-gram TNT block, stretch marks are pulled from 2-3 pegs to the MUV-2 mechanical fuse.

POMZ mines were widely copied around the world, and among their counterparts (not copies), the Belgian PRB-413 mine can be mentioned. The POM-2 all-round mine belongs to a completely different generation, if only because of its use in remote mining systems. They are loaded into cassettes and installed "in a throw" using the VSM-1 helicopter system, the UMP self-propelled minelayer or the PKM portable kit. This required a simple "automatic" to install and bring mines into combat position. After falling to the ground, six folding spring-loaded blades put the mine in a vertical position, then thin wires with weights are fired to the sides, serving as target sensors. In the event of an explosion, fragments of the hull hit the enemy. In the self-destruction mechanism, electronic circuits were dispensed with - just the piston gradually “presses through” the rubber gel until the striker reaches the primer. Although the system depends on the air temperature, in the end it works where the electronics can fail.

The American mine BLU-92 / B is also installed by a remote mining system on the ground, but the combat position is easier. In addition to target sensors in the form of four nylon threads with weights, it has a backup seismic sensor that is triggered when the target approaches 3-4 meters. The fuse also acts when trying to move the mine, that is, it serves as a non-removable device.

Deadly "frogs"

Explosive devices that are simply placed above the ground are easier to detect. Therefore, the appearance of "jumping" mines hidden in the ground was only a matter of time. Their prototype, in fact, was the "shrapnel landmine" of the staff captain Karasev, which was used even during the defense of Port Arthur. During the Second World War, Soviet troops widely used guided mines of the OZM type based on an ejection chamber and fragmentation shells or mortar mines, detonated by a signal through wires. However, the German "Springmine" SMi-35 with three automatic fuses, nicknamed "the frog" by our sappers, turned out to be the most effective. The explosion of a fragmentation element, equipped with 300 steel balls, occurred 1-1.5 meters above the ground, the radius of destruction reached 20 meters.

"Jumping" mines were subjected to further improvements after the war. An example is the Soviet OZM-4 and OZM72. The latter is installed in the hole, the fuse is screwed into the socket, after which the device is masked. If a mechanical MUV fuse is used, an extension mounted on pegs is brought to its check. When using the MVE-2 electromechanical fuse, it is enough for an enemy soldier to hook a wire thrown on the ground from the fuse to the mine. When the fuse is triggered, the expelling charge ejects a steel case from the guide glass with a bursting charge and ready-made fragments in the form of steel rollers laid in several rows. When the cable connecting the glass with the percussion mechanism is pulled, the drummer and the fuse are triggered, and an explosion occurs at a height of 0.6-0.9 meters, ready-made fragments and fragments of the body hit the enemy within a radius of up to 25 meters. Compare - for POM-2, exploding above the ground, the radius of destruction is not more than 16 meters.

Jumping mines have also found application in remote mining systems. Such, for example, are the American M67 and M72, which are put "in a rush" with the help of 155-mm artillery shells (ADAM system). The mine has the shape of a cylinder segment and a fuse with tension threads scattered to the sides by the force of the springs after the mine "lands". When the thread touches, the explosive element is thrown up and explodes at a height of 1-1.5 meters, giving a radius of destruction of 10-15 meters. And on the basis of the M67, a jumping PDB M86 was created, quickly installed with a simple hand throw, like a grenade.

Flying balls and rollers

Simple geometric considerations make it possible to understand that the radius of effective destruction of a mine of circular destruction is small. The lethal range, depending on the power of the charge and the mass of the fragment, can reach both 200 and 300 meters, but the number of fragments per unit area is rapidly decreasing. On the other hand, when laying mines, it is often possible to predict with a high degree of certainty from which direction the enemy will appear. So isn't it better to direct the flow of fragments to a certain sector of space? This idea also Long story- remember the same stone-throwing land mines.

In the second half of the 20th century great attention drew on the American experience in the use of mines in Vietnam directed destruction M18 "Claymore" with a plastic case and ready-made fragments. The use of ready-made fragments with a light hull allows you to create a more uniform and "predictable" fragmentation field and reduces energy losses for destroying the hull. "Claymore" began to be widely copied and refined. Its Soviet counterpart was the MON-50.

The body of the mine is a flat plastic box, curved in two planes, and due to the concavity of the front wall of the MON-50, the vertical dispersion of fragments is less than that of the American prototype, which means that the flow density of the fragments is higher. An explosive charge is placed inside the case, and a layer of fragments is located near the front wall total weight about 1 kilogram. MON-50 is installed on four folding legs or mounted on a tree, wall, metal pipe.

When installing a mine with the help of a simple "sight", it is guided along the axis of the intended sector of destruction. shock wave, of course, spreads both backwards and to the sides, so the mine is “dangerous” outside the sector, which is taken into account when it is installed. Various types of fuses can be used - electromechanical MVE-72, mechanical MUV-2 and MUV-4, electric detonator EDP-r. The latter receives a signal from the control panel, then a mine or a group of mines becomes in the hands of the operator a kind of volley fire weapon.

Mines of directional destruction are placed on the paths of enemy movement, they cover their positions, approaches to objects. They are considered very convenient for organizing booby traps. The number of fragments and the angle of their expansion are linked to the radius of a continuous lesion. For example, the French F1 (APED), containing 500 fragments, is 30 meters at an angle of 50 °, for the MON-50 (485 fragments) - 50 meters at an angle of 54 °. For comparison, the OZM-160 guided jumping mine has a radius of circular destruction of up to 40 meters, but the mine itself weighs 85 kilograms, and its fragmentation projectile - 45.

More powerful samples are also in service - say, MON-100 and MON-200. Their body in the form of a concave disk is suspended on a support. These mines are used only in a controlled version. When MON-100 explodes, 400 fragments hit targets within a radius of up to 100 meters. In addition to manpower, it can be unarmored vehicles, and car tires, so that heavy directional mines like the MON-100 or FFV model "13" can also be considered anti-vehicle. There are also "homemade" here. For example, Afghan dushmans made directional mines from shell casings, pouring pieces of metal over the gunpowder, and using an electric igniter instead of a primer.

Mines - fire!

"Guided" (exploded at the request of the miner) mines appeared before the "automatic". An example of a modern anti-personnel minefield control kit, composed of mines of the OZM type or the MON type, can be the domestic UMP-3. The operator uses a control panel, from which 4 wired control lines go to 40 actuators installed in the minefield, electric detonators are connected to the actuators min. UMP-3 allows you to control 80 mines at a distance of up to 1 kilometer, conduct their selective explosion, quickly, in 5 seconds, bring the minefield into a combat position, and transfer it to a safe one in 3 seconds. True, such a set weighs 370 kilograms. A more portable (95 kilograms) kit "Crab-IM" allows you to control only 11 mines by wire at the same range.

The non-contact explosive device NVU-P (“Hunting”), which successfully passed its baptism of fire back in Afghanistan, will be more complicated. NVU-P allows you to use a group of five mines OZM-72 or MON-50 with remote (from the MZU remote control, via wired lines) or autonomous control. In the latter case, the target sensor is a geophone (seismic vibration sensor). The signal from the geophone is processed by a logic device that singles out the steps of a person from the entire spectrum and sends a signal to the switchgear, which undermines the first mine through a pricking device mounted on the mine. If the step signal arrives again (the target is not hit or a new one has appeared), the second mine is detonated, and so on. With the detonation of the fifth mine, the device itself also self-destructs. In addition, NVU-P provides long-range cocking and self-destruction when the batteries are discharged.

Modern technologies allow to move much further in the organization and management of the minefield. For example, the Scientific Research Machine-Building Institute proposed an "engineering munition with a cluster warhead", known as the M-225. In fact, this is a cluster rocket projectile installed vertically in the ground and controlled remotely from a wired remote control PU404P (at a distance of up to 4 kilometers) or a radio remote control PU-404R (up to 10). One remote can control the work up to 100 min. Each of them is equipped with a combined target sensor, including a seismic sensor with logical selection of targets (machine or person), a magnetic one with selection by metal mass, and a thermal one with selection by the amount of heat generated. The remote control processes signals from mines with its software and hardware and gives the operator recommendations: which mine or group of mines is more expedient to detonate. According to a signal from the remote control, the cover of the mine with a layer of soil is first torn off, then the jet engine raises it to a height of 45-60 meters. Here, within a radius of 85-95 meters, 40 combat cumulative fragmentation elements with belt stabilizers are scattered. When hitting the ground or a target, the element is undermined and hits either manpower with fragments within a radius of 17 meters, or a car with a shaped charge (the thickness of the armor being penetrated is up to 30 millimeters). Taking into account the possible set of combat elements, a mine can be considered anti-personnel, anti-vehicle, and anti-tank. The control panel sets mines mode combat duty or passive waiting, self-destruction (by time or when communication with the remote control is lost), undermining (non-removable) or self-deactivation.

That is, the minefield turns into a "reconnaissance-barrage" complex - by analogy with rocket-artillery reconnaissance-strike systems.

(To be continued)