How mine works. Mine weapons - anti-personnel and anti-tank high-explosive mines

Modern warfare is unimaginable without minefields, anti-infantry traps and anti-tank mines. The brutal nature of the wounds received during mine explosions did not stop the designers-inventors, but only spurred their imagination.

Two hundred million mines

The first mines appeared more than five centuries ago. At first, they were powder charges that were laid under the enemy's fortifications. Actually, the task of the sapper was to conduct undermining and digging trenches. During the siege of a city or fortress, mines were laid under the walls. At the beginning of the 19th century, thanks to the developments of an Englishman Bickford igniter cords appeared, which expanded the possibilities of subversive craftsmen.

Anti-personnel mines appeared already in civil war in the USA and even the Russian-Turkish campaign. The discovery of new explosives like dynamite and TNT led to the appearance of the first land mines, which can be considered the prototypes of modern mines.

Factory-made mines were widely used in the Russo-Japanese War. Tanks appeared, and anti-tank mines were developed. By the way, mine detectors appeared in parallel. During the Great Patriotic War there were more than forty types of mines, and their total number exceeded two hundred million.

In the post-war years, military thought began to develop in the direction of minimizing the installed charges. At first glance, this speaks of a greater humanization of weapons as such, injuring much more often than killing. However, there is another opinion, more prosaic and cynical. A soldier with a severed foot will not return to duty. To evacuate him from the battlefield, the efforts of several soldiers and military doctors are needed at once. Yes, and in civilian life, a disabled person has little chance of finding a job, becoming a full-fledged member of society. This is just an additional burden on the budget of the country participating in the war.

PMN - pressure and sensitive

In order not to overload the reader with information, we will focus today only on anti-personnel mines. One of the most famous - PMN (anti-personnel pressure mine) - was adopted by the USSR in 1950. Perhaps the most powerful high-explosive mine in the world. Very sensitive to pressure. Because of this, disarming this mine is not recommended. From the name it is clear that the explosion occurs when you step on the lid with your foot.

In addition to the USSR, this mine was produced by a dozen more countries. Until now, it is in service with the Russian army. It was this mine that received the nickname - "black widow". Either because of the power, or because of the black cover. Experts say that this mine can be found in any country where a military conflict has taken place.

Specifications

Housing - plastic

Weight — 550 gr.

Mass of explosive (TNT) - 200 gr.

Diameter - 11 cm

Height - 5.3 cm.

Sensitivity - 8-25 kg

Kicking in the legs

PMN-2 was put into service in the late 60s of the last century. Differed from PMN by a rubber bellows. It also specialized in disabling enemy infantry. Stepping on it was almost guaranteed to lose a foot and receive severe burns. Sometimes the other leg was also seriously affected. The shock wave could deprive consciousness. Often death was due to massive blood loss or pain shock.

Specifications

Housing - plastic

Diameter - 120 mm

Height - 54 mm

Weight - 0.4 kg

Mass of explosive - 0.1 kg

Type BB - TG-40 (mixture of TNT with RDX)

Trigger force - 15−25 kg

Arming time - 30-300 s

Combat service life - up to 10 years

Non-recoverable, self-destructing

The PMN-3 differed from the PMN-2 mainly in its electronic filling, which made it possible to set a timer for self-destruction. The need for this option arose in the 70s, when the conditions of warfare changed and the mobility of troops increased. Sometimes their own minefields became an insurmountable obstacle. Therefore, it was very convenient to have mines at hand, which ceased to pose a danger to the soldiers after a certain period of time. PMN-3 could be set to self-destruct after 12 hours, a day, two, four and even eight days.

In addition, the PMN-3 had the ability to explode when trying to clear mines. This happened when the mine was tilted at an angle of more than 90 degrees.

Specifications

Type - high-explosive pressure action with self-destruction

Diameter - 122 mm

Height - 54 mm

Weight - 0.6 kg

Mass of explosive charge - 0.08 kg

The actuation force of the pressure sensor - 5.1-25.5 kg

Anti-personnel fragmentation

The POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M mines were called stretch mines. The explosion occurs when touching a wire stretching, when an enemy soldier involuntarily pulls out the combat check of the fuse.

As on many grenades, a notch is made on its outer surface for better crushing of the body. Of course, for camouflage, it is better to install such mines on terrain with vegetation - trees, shrubs, grass. At the same time, it must be remembered that a mine can work if a snowball or a heavy branch falls on the guy wire. When installing mines on the ground, small pegs are used.

Specifications POMZ-2

Type - anti-personnel fragmentation circular destruction

Body - cast iron

Diameter - 6 cm

Case height - 13 cm

Hull weight without explosives - 1.5 kg

Mass of explosive charge - 75 g

Type BB - TNT

Type of target sensor - tension

Target sensor length (one way) - 4 m

Trigger force - 1-1.7 kg

Radius of continuous destruction - 4 m

"Fury" or "evil"

Anti-personnel mine OZM-72 (fragmentation-barrage) is of the jumping type. The explosion is accompanied by an eerie sound of flying rollers or balls, of which each device contains more than two thousand. To this day, it is considered one of the most effective circular mines.

The mine is detonated at a height of about 90 centimeters above the ground. The enemy touches the wire with his foot, the expelling charge is triggered, which throws up the mine. There is no self-liquidator in the mine, it is not protected from neutralization either, but a very sensitive fuse makes it dangerous for sappers. Demining takes place with the help of "cats" (they are pulled up from cover).

Specifications

Housing - steel

Diameter - 10.8 cm

Height (without fuse) - 17.2 cm

Weight — 5 kg

Mass of explosive charge - 660 g

Charge type - cast TNT

Mine burst height - 60-90 cm above the ground

The number of striking elements - 2400 pcs.

Type of striking elements - steel balls (rollers, cylinders)

The radius of continuous destruction - 25−30 m

Heavy and obscene

The explosion of the MON-50 anti-personnel mine is carried out by the operator from the control panel when an enemy appears in the affected sector or when the enemy touches the tension sensor (wire) of the fuse. Later, a modification of the MON-90 was released. But due to a significant increase in size and weight (up to 12 kilograms), the soldiers disliked her and gave the mine an obscene nickname. Which one is not hard to guess.

Specifications

Type - anti-personnel fragmentation directional guided

Housing - plastic

Length - 22.6 cm

Height - 15.5 (with legs folded) cm

Width - 6.6 cm

Weight — 2 kg

Weight of explosive charge (PVV-5A) - 700 g

The number of damaging elements - 540 pcs.

The range of destruction of cars and trucks and manpower in it - up to 30 m

Appointment and performance characteristics anti-personnel mines (PMD-6M, PMN, PMN-2, PMN-3, PMN-4, PFM-1S (PFM-1), OZM-3)

In addition, a shock wave of a sufficiently large explosive charge deprives a person of consciousness, heat explosive gases can cause severe burns to the lower extremities.

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in the snow, manually or laid out by means of mechanization (trailed mine spreaders PMR-1, PMR-2, but in all cases the transfer of the mine to the combat position is carried out manually.

The service life of the mine is limited by the service life of the wooden hull. If it is destroyed by decay, the pressure cover may not squeeze the combat pin out of the fuse and the explosion will not occur. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. It does not have elements of non-removability and non-decontamination, however, the very high sensitivity of the MUV series fuse makes deactivation of the mine extremely dangerous. In addition, a surprise mine can be installed under a mine, which makes it impossible to remove or defuse the mine.

The mine consists of a wooden body, a TNT 200 gram TNT block, a fuse of the MUV series with a “T”-shaped pin, and an MD-2 fuse.

PMD-6M

The degree of safety of setting a mine depends on the type of fuse of the MUV series.

For example, when using fuses MUV-2, MUV-3, from the moment the safety pin is pulled out to the moment the fuse is armed, depending on the ambient temperature, it takes from 3 minutes (at +40 degrees) to 59 hours (at -40 degrees). ).

The older version of the mine under the PMD-6 index differs from the PMD-6M in that there was no leaf spring on the underside of the cover, which increases the actuation force from 1-17 kg to 6-28 kg.

At present, the PMD-6M mine is not produced, it is not listed in the supply tables of the troops, however, all its components, except for the wooden hull, are listed in the time sheets as mine-blasting property and are widely used in other mines, explosive business.

And the production of wooden hulls can be organized in a matter of days or even hours directly in the engineering battalion.

Therefore, this mine has not been removed from the armament of the army.

High-explosive pressure anti-personnel mine.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

The defeat of a person is inflicted due to the destruction of 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 completely torn off, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it can also be significantly damaged or not be damaged at all. In addition, a shock wave of a sufficiently large explosive charge deprives a person of consciousness, the high temperature of explosive gases can cause significant burns to the lower extremities.

Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid.

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in the snow, manually or laid out by means of mechanization (trailed mine spreaders PMR-1, PMR-2, trailed minelayers PMZ-4), but in all cases the transfer of the mine into a combat position is carried out manually.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. It has no elements of non-removability and non-neutralization.

The mine has a fuse, which is part of the design of the mine. Fuse type MD-9.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

Planting a mine is safe enough. From the moment the safety pin is pulled out to the moment the fuse is cocked, depending on the ambient temperature, it takes from 3 minutes to 3 minutes. (at +40 degrees) up to 59 hours (at -40 degrees).

In a combat stop, mines can be equipped with fuses and transported in a standard capping fully equipped.

Later, in order to reduce the time for transferring the mine to a combat position in winter conditions, a special device was developed called SVP, which was screwed in instead of a plug that closed the metal element.

When installing a mine in a hole, the cover of the SVP was unscrewed, it hung on a cord going to the grating fuse. It was necessary to pull this cord and the work of the pyrotechnic heater began. Then, in the usual manner, the safety pin was pulled out by the ring and the mine was masked. The heater raised the temperature in the area of ​​the metal element to 30-40 degrees, as a result of which the metal element was cut within 2-3 minutes. However, the use of SVPs was allowed only at temperatures below -10 degrees, otherwise the heating could be excessive and the transfer of the mine to the combat position could occur prematurely.

This mine has become as popular in the world as the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle, due to its simplicity and safety in handling, reliability and ability to maintain its combat qualities for many years. It is often known by the slang name "black widow" due to the fact that a person who stepped on this mine has very little chance of surviving.

High-explosive pressure anti-personnel mine.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine is completely torn off, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it can also be significantly damaged or not be damaged at all.

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in the snow, manually or laid out by means of mechanization (trailed mine spreaders PMR-1, PMR-2, PMR-3, trailed minelayers PMZ-4), but in all cases the transfer of the mine in combat position is carried out manually.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. It does not have elements of non-removability and non-decontamination, but the design features exclude the reverse transfer of the mine from combat to a safe position. Therefore, the mine belongs to the category of non-disposable.

Tactical and technical characteristics of PMN-2

Planting a mine is safe enough. From the moment the safety pin is pulled out to the moment the fuse is cocked, it takes from 2 minutes (at +40 degrees) to 10 minutes (at -40 degrees).

The use of a mixture of TNT (40%) and RDX (60%) as a charge instead of pure TNT somewhat increases the damaging effect, bringing it closer to the PMN mine (200 g of TNT), although in general the power of the PMN-2 is about one and a half times lower than at PMN.

The advantage of the PMN-2 mine over the PMN is, first of all, that the long-range cocking mechanism works on the principle of pneumatics, and not cutting the metal element with a string. This ensures high stability of the time for transferring the mine to a combat position of 2-10 minutes, i.e. almost does not depend on the ambient temperature (the time of long-range cocking of a PMN mine at low temperatures reached 59 hours, i.e. two and a half days).

The second advantage of PMN-2 is that no preliminary steps are required when preparing a mine for use (inspection, unscrewing the plug, inserting a fuse, etc.) and there are no elements that need to be completed with a mine (fuse). This provides high security and the possibility of using a mine by low-skilled soldiers.

A slightly coarsened target sensor and its modified shape (in the idea of ​​a black cross) exclude accidental triggering of the mine during short-term dynamic loads, somewhat reduce the sensitivity of the mine to explosive mine-clearing equipment (by about 8-12%).

No preparatory actions are required before using the mine. To transfer the mine to a combat position, you simply need to sharply turn the safety pin clockwise or counterclockwise to cut off the locking copper wire and pull the pin out of the sleeve. From this moment, after 2-10 minutes, the mine will be transferred to the combat position. The reverse process is not possible.

Outwardly, the PMN-3 mine is very similar to the PMN-2 mine

High-explosive pressure anti-personnel mine.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

The defeat of a person is inflicted due to the destruction of the lower part of the leg (foot) during the explosion of the mine charge at the moment the foot steps on the target sensor (black cross-shaped protrusion on the upper plane) of the mine.

Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine is completely torn off, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it can also be significantly damaged or not be damaged at all.

In addition, a shock wave of a sufficiently large explosive charge deprives a person of consciousness, the high temperature of explosive gases can cause significant burns to the lower extremities. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid.

The mine can be installed both on the ground and in the ground, in the snow, manually or laid out by means of mechanization (trailed mine spreaders PMR-1, PMR-2, PMR-3, trailed minelayers PMZ-4, helicopter mining system VSM), but in all cases, the transfer of the mine to the combat position is carried out manually.

The tightness of the mine allows it to be used in water-saturated and swampy soils. Setting mines under water (coastal strip water barriers, fords) is not allowed due to its buoyancy.

The term of combat operation of a mine, which can be preliminarily set, can be 12 hours, 1, 2, 4, 8 days, after which the mine self-destructs by detonation.

The mine is non-recoverable and non-disarmable. Neutralization is ensured by the fact that a drop in the voltage of the power source causes a mine explosion, which occurs when you try to remove the power source (battery 7-RTs 53 U), short circuit it, malfunction or when you try to violate the integrity of the electronic circuit of the mine. Non-removability is ensured by the presence of an inclined target sensor. An explosion in this case occurs when the position of the mine changes by more than 30 degrees (regardless of the position of the mine in which it was at the time of bringing it into combat position).

The mine has a fuse and a fuse, which are part of the design of the mine.

Tactical and technical characteristics of PMN-3

Planting a mine is safe enough. From the moment the safety pin is pulled out to the moment the fuse is cocked, 7-10 minutes pass.

Before using the mine, it is necessary to check the health of the current source, install it in its regular place and set the time of the mine's combat operation by unscrewing the top cover of the mine.

The long-range cocking mechanism does not work on the principle of pneumatics, as it was with the PMN-2 mine, but due to the operation of the electronic circuit. This ensures high stability of the time of bringing into combat position, regardless of external factors.

However, due to the need to set the time of combat work in advance, the PMN-3 mine lost the advantage that the PMN-2 mine had, namely, that the old mine did not require any preliminary actions in preparation for use (inspection, unscrewing the plug, inserting a fuse, etc.) and there are no elements that are required to complete the mine (fuse, power source). This provided high security and the possibility of using a mine by low-skilled soldiers.

The PMN-3 mine requires a higher qualification from the miner, but its advantage is that subsequent demining of the area is not required and it is possible to establish operational minefields, which then do not interfere with the maneuver of their troops.

Hence the different tactics of using mines PMN-2 and PMN-3. Although outwardly they are very similar in appearance, these mines are completely different.

A slightly coarsened target sensor and its modified one exclude accidental triggering of the mine during short-term dynamic loads, somewhat reduce the sensitivity of the mine to explosive mine-clearing equipment (by about 8-12%).

High-explosive pressure anti-personnel mine.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

The defeat of a person is inflicted due to the destruction of the lower part of the leg (foot) during the explosion of the mine charge at the moment the foot steps on the target sensor (the entire upper plane of the mine).

Usually, when a mine explodes, the foot of the foot with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine is almost completely destroyed, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it may also be damaged or not be damaged at all. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid.

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

The tightness of the mine allows it to be used in water-saturated and swampy soils. The installation of mines under water (coastal strip of water barriers, fords) is not allowed due to its buoyancy.

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited.

The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator. It does not have elements of non-removability and non-decontamination, but the design features exclude the reverse transfer of the mine from combat to a safe position. Therefore, the mine belongs to the category of non-disposable.

The mine has a fuse and a fuse, which are part of the design of the mine.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines PMN-4

Planting a mine is safe enough. From the moment of pulling out the safety pin until the moment the fuse is cocked, from 1 minute (at +40 degrees) to 40 minutes (at -40 degrees).

The use of a mixture of TNT (40%) and RDX (60%) as a charge instead of pure TNT somewhat increases the damaging effect, although the mine has almost four times less power than the PMN and twice as much as the PNM-2.

The PMN-4 long-range cocking mechanism is hydromechanical and works on the principle of squeezing out a thick gel (liquid rubber) through calibrated holes after the safety pin is removed along with the blocking bracket. This provides a sufficiently high stability of the time for transferring the mine to a combat position of 1-40 minutes, i.e. much less dependent on ambient temperature than the PMN mine, although somewhat more than the PMN-2 mine.

When working with the PMN-4 mine (as well as with the PMN-2 mine), no preliminary actions are required when preparing it for use (inspection, unscrewing the plug, inserting a fuse, etc.) and there are no elements that need to be completed with a mine (fuse). This provides high security and the possibility of using a mine by low-skilled soldiers.

No preparatory actions are required before using the mine. To translate the mine into a combat position, you just need to pull out the safety pin and remove the locking bracket. From this moment, the process of transferring the mine to a combat position begins. The reverse process is not possible.

High-explosive anti-personnel mine of pressure action, installed by means of remote mining.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

The defeat of a person is inflicted by injuring the foot of the foot during the explosion of a mine charge at the moment the foot steps on the target sensor, which is the entire area of ​​a semi-soft polyethylene container with a liquid explosive.

When a mine explodes, the foot with which the enemy soldier stepped on the mine receives significant injuries.

Usually, after a mine explosion, amputation of the foot is required and the soldier, becoming disabled, is completely unsuitable for military service. Death is possible due to a large loss of blood in case of untimely rendering medical care, however, the percentage of deaths is no more than 2-5% of those affected.

The so-called "mine shoes", supposedly protecting against mines of this type, are ineffective.

The anti-mine suit, quite widely known from television footage, protects the sapper quite reliably from these mines if the explosion occurred at a distance of about a meter or more from the person, for example, at the moment the mine was removed from the place with a shovel, shovel or similar tool.

When a soldier steps on the target sensor area, the liquid explosive, playing the role of hydraulic fluid, begins to be squeezed out into the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fuse of the MVDM (VGM-572) type and makes it work.

The mine can be installed on the ground only by means of remote mining such as PKM-1, VSM, UMZ, UGMZ. Options for equipping these mines with artillery shells or missiles of multiple launch rocket systems are possible. The possibility of setting mines manually is not provided.

Mina exists in two versions PFM-1 and PFM-1C. The first version of the mine does not have a self-destruction device, the second one is equipped with a device that ensures the self-destruction of the mine by detonation after 1-40 hours from the moment of installation (the self-destruction time depends on the ambient temperature). Outwardly, these two types of mines differ only in that there is a clearly distinguishable letter “C” on the wing of the PFM-1C mine.

Mines are placed in a universal cassette made of aluminum alloy. There are four types of mine cassettes:

Cassette KSF-1. Contains 72 PFM-1 type mines. Throw range of mines up to 35 meters.

Cassette KSF-1S. Contains 64 PFM-1C type mines. Throw range of mines up to 35 meters.

Cassette KSF-1S-0.5. Contains 36 PFM-1 anti-personnel high-explosive mines and 36 PFM-1S anti-personnel high-explosive mines. Ejection range min 30-35m.

KSF-1S-0.5SK. Contains 36 PFM-1 anti-personnel high-explosive mines and 36 PFM-1S anti-personnel high-explosive mines. It differs from KSF-1S-0.5 in a stabilized range of mines and a more uniform distribution in the dispersion ellipse. Ejection range min 30-35m.

All types of cassettes are absolutely identical in appearance, characteristics and differ only in markings. Cassette diameter 14 cm, length 48 cm, cassette weight 9-9.4 kg. Mines, a powder expelling charge and an EKV-30M electrocapsule sleeve are placed inside the cassette.

At present, the production of cassettes of types KSF-1, KSF-1S-0.5 and KSF-1S-0.5SK has been discontinued and their stocks are being destroyed due to the fact that Russia, in accordance with the Geneva Protocol, has undertaken to abandon the use of mines that do not have self-destruction devices .

Cassettes are placed in the appropriate carrier (PKM-1, VSM, UMZ, UGMZ). The firing of mines occurs by an electrical impulse supplied from the control panel.

Mines are scattered in an ellipse of dispersion measuring 18-20 by 8-10 meters and are distributed randomly. The mine has a wing in order to ensure uniform distribution over the area of ​​the ellipse.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines PFM-1C

The mine is non-recoverable and non-disarmable. Shelf life is 10 years, but according to some reports, liquid explosive VS-6D is characterized by increased aggressiveness and toxicity. In case of insufficient sealing, it penetrates to the parts of the fuse, causing the destruction of the latter, as a result of which the explosion of mines in the cassette is possible.

Specialists of CJSC NPO Ecodem (established Russian agency on ammunition represented by the Federal State Unitary Enterprise GNPP "Basalt", the Federal Association "Double Technologies" and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation represented by the 15th Central Research Institute named after. D.M. Karbyshev of the Ministry of Defense of Russia) developed a method for the disposal of mine clusters. This is the so-called grouting method, which consists in introducing a special composition into the free volume of the cassette, in which PFM-1 mines are placed.

Filling free cavities and hardening, the composition seals dangerous areas of leakage of liquid explosive, which is part of the charge of these mines, and protects structural elements from displacement.

Anti-personnel anti-personnel fragmentation mine of circular destruction, jumping out double action.

It can be used as a tension mine, as a controlled one, or at the same time both a tension action and a controlled one.

Designed to disable enemy personnel.

The defeat of a person (or several at the same time) is inflicted by fragments of the mine body when it is detonated at a height of 40-140 cm from the earth's surface after tossing it with a powder expelling charge, which is triggered at the moment when an enemy soldier, catching his foot on a wire extension, involuntarily pulls out the combat check of the fuse , or an electric pulse will be sent from the control panel to the expelling charge igniter.

The mine is installed manually into the ground, and if it is impossible to install it into the ground, onto the ground (in this case, the mine is tied to a peg driven into the ground).

The term of combat operation of the mine is not limited. The mine is not equipped with a self-liquidator.

It does not have elements of non-removability and non-disposal, however, the very high sensitivity of the MUV fuse (if used) makes mine disposal extremely dangerous. It can be set to be non-recoverable using the MS-3 surprise mine or homemade surprise mines.

The mine consists of a cast-iron body with an explosive charge placed in it, an expelling powder charge, a moderator and a fuse. The mine is completed with a fuse of the MUV series with a "P" - shaped check, two wooden pegs and a piece of wire 6 m long on a wooden coil.

To ensure the possibility of using a mine in a controlled version, an additional electric igniter was introduced into the expelling charge, the wires from which were brought out through a special plug.

Tactical and technical characteristics of mines

The degree of safety of setting a mine depends on the type of fuse of the MUV series. For example, when using fuses MUV-2, MUV-3, from the moment the safety pin is pulled out to the moment the fuse is armed, depending on the ambient temperature, it takes from 3 minutes (at +40 degrees) to 59 hours (at -40 degrees). ).

Currently, the OZM-3 mine is not produced, but there is a certain amount in long-term storage warehouses.

Modern warfare is impossible without minefields. 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

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 check.

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 an empty magazine.

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 a dangerous enemy in their land.

Video

Engineering training. Anti-personnel mines of the Russian army (part 1)

Armament

Brief performance characteristics, installation procedure in an unmanaged version and neutralization.

Anti-personnel mines are intended for mining the terrain against enemy manpower. According to the method of causing harm, they are divided:

• high-explosive (inflict defeat by the force of the explosion - separation of limbs, destruction of the human body, etc.)
• fragmentation (inflict damage with fragments of their hull or ready-made lethal elements (balls, rollers, arrows). Moreover, depending on the shape of the affected area, such mines are divided into mines of circular destruction and mines of directed destruction
• cumulative (inflict damage with a cumulative jet)

Anti-personnel high-explosive mines PMN, PMN-2 and PMN-3

Mines anti-personnel high-explosive pressure action. Designed to disable enemy personnel.
The defeat of a person is inflicted due to the destruction of 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 completely torn off, and, depending on the distance, the second leg from the explosion site, it can also be significantly damaged or not be damaged at all.
In addition, a shock wave of a sufficiently large explosive charge deprives a person of consciousness, the high temperature of explosive gases can cause significant burns to the lower extremities. Death can occur from pain shock, blood loss due to untimely first aid.

Mina PMN

Frame- plastic
Weight- 550 gr.
- 200 gr.
Diameter- 11 cm.
Height- 5.3 cm.
Target sensor diameter- 10cm.
Sensitivity- 8 - 25 kg.
Temperature range of application:-40 - +50 deg.

Device

The PMN mine consists of a body, an explosive charge, a pressure device, a trigger mechanism, a percussion mechanism and an MD-9 fuse.

The body of the mine is plastic, it has two channels inside: vertical and horizontal.
The explosive charge is a special TNT block fixed in the body with the help of varnish.
The pressure device (cover) of the mine consists of a rubber cap and a plastic shield. The rubber cap is put on the body and secured to it with a metal tape.
The trigger mechanism is mounted in the vertical channel of the body and consists of a plastic rod, a spring and a split ring. The stem has a window with a lugs. When the mine is triggered, a drummer passes through the window. The lugs hold the striker on the cocked position after cutting the metal element. In the assembled mine, the rod is pressed by a spring up to the split ring.

The percussion mechanism is located in the horizontal channel of the body. It is assembled in a separate unit and has a temporary fuse. The impact mechanism consists of a bushing, a striker with a cutter in the form of a loop of a steel string, fixed with an insert, a mainspring of a metal element, a safety pin with a ring, a cap with a rubber gasket, sealing the junction of the impact mechanism with the mine body.
In PMN mines manufactured before 1965, a different design of the cutter. It is made in the form of a piece of steel string, fixed in a metal frame at the end of the drummer rod.

In the assembled percussion mechanism, the mainspring is compressed, the striker rod passes through the sleeve and is held in it by a safety pin. The metal element is placed in the groove of the sleeve in the cutter loop.

The fuse MD - 9 is placed in the horizontal channel of the body from the side opposite to the percussion mechanism. The fuse consists of a plastic sleeve, a tetryl checker weighing 6.5 g and a detonator cap of the M - 1 prick action, fixed in a nest, checkers on varnish. Tetryl checker acts as a transfer charge. The fuse MD - 9 is fixed in a mine with a stopper with a rubber gasket.

Preparation and installation of PMN mines

To prepare the mine for installation, you must:

• unscrew the cap from the sleeve of the impact mechanism and check the serviceability and presence of the metal element
• screw cap back on
• unscrew the plug
• install the MD-9 fuse in the mine and screw the plug to failure

The preparation of mines can be carried out in a sheltered place immediately before leaving for mining. Prepared mines (equipped with MD-9 fuses) are transported to the installation site in duffel bags.
In summer conditions (with thawed ground), mines are placed in the ground with the cover raised by 1-2 cm above the ground surface and masked with local material (grass, leaves, soil, etc.). In winter (in the presence of loose snow cover), mines are placed in the snow with a 3-5 cm layer of snow masking.
In hard compacted snow (ice) mines are installed in the same way as in the ground.
In frozen and very hard (rocky) soil, mines are placed on the surface of the soil and masked with local materials.

To install a mine in the ground (hard snow) you must:

• dig a hole in the size of a mine with a depth of 3.5-4 cm
• install the mine in the hole and, holding it by the cap with your hand, without pressing the lid, pull out the safety pin and tighten the cap by hand
• disguise mine

The installation of mines in loose snow is carried out as follows:

• make an 8-10 cm deepening in the snow near the installation site
• pull out the safety pin without pressing the mine cover, and tighten the cap by hand
• holding the cap, place the mine under the snow, through the side wall of the recess without disturbing the layer of snow above the mine
• mask the recess in the snow through which the mine was installed, without disturbing the snow cover near the mine

Mine PMN-2

Main tactical and technical characteristics:

Weight- 0.4 kg
Mass of explosives (TG-40)- 0.1 kg
Diameter- 20 mm
Height- 54 mm
Fuse type- Mechanical built-in with a long-range cocking mechanism
Type of cocking mechanism- Pneumatic
Arming time- 30 - 300 s
Trigger force- 5 - 25 kgf
- from -40 to +50?С

Device and principle of operation

The PMN-2 mine consists of a body, a charge, a pressure sensor and a built-in fuse with a pneumatic long-range cocking mechanism.
The case is plastic, has cavities for placing the charge and the long-range cocking mechanism, one vertical and two horizontal channels for placing the fuse mechanisms. The top of the case is covered with a lid.
The charge (TG-40) has an additional detonator (tetryl) weighing 4.5 g.
The pressure sensor consists of a spring-loaded rod located in the vertical channel of the body, and a cross resting on it, closed with a rubber cap, fixed on top of the body with a union nut.

The built-in fuse of the safety type provides a break in the fire chain of the mine in the transport position, cocking into the firing position by slowing down 30-300 s and exploding the charge of the mine when it is pressed in the firing position. The fuse consists of a pneumatic long-range cocking mechanism, a spring-loaded engine with a detonator cap, and a striker with a mainspring. The long-range cocking mechanism consists of a bellows spring-loaded bushing with a diaphragm. The bushing with its tooth holds the engine in the transport position. In the transport position, the detonator cap is removed from the striker and the additional detonator, the bellows are filled with air. The sleeve is guided in the lower position, compresses the spring and is held in this position by a rod connected by a lock to a safety pin, which is fixed by a shear pin.
When the safety pin is turned, the shear pin is cut off, and when the safety pin is pulled out, the stem moves, releasing the bushing. In this case, the sleeve under the action of the spring rises. The bellows is compressed and the air is squeezed out of it through a hole in the diaphragm. After 30 - 300 s, the sleeve tooth releases the engine, which, under the action of a spring, enters the firing position and is held by the protrusion of the rod. The detonator cap is still retracted from the firing pin.

When you click on a mine, the crosspiece presses on the stock. The rod drops and releases the engine. The engine, under the action of a spring, moves forward and closes the firing target with a detonator cap - an additional detonator. The drummer, under the action of the mainspring, pierces the detonator cap, which explodes and causes an explosion of an additional detonator and a mine charge.

Installation order

PMN-2 mines are installed:

• in summer - in the ground or on the ground with camouflage with soil or vegetation
• in winter - on the surface of the ground or in the snow with snow masking

In hard compacted snow, mines are installed in the same way as in the ground.
To install a mine into the ground manually, you must:

• dig a hole along the diameter of the mine with a depth of 3-4 cm
• plant a mine in a hole
• turn the safety pin and pull it out of the mine
• disguise mine

In winter, with a snow cover of up to 10 cm, a mine is placed on the surface of the soil. With a snow cover of more than 10 cm, the mine is placed in the snow. Through a hole pressed into the snow with a foot, after removing the safety pin, the mine is slipped under the snow so that the camouflage layer of snow above the mine is no more than 5 cm. The hole is masked with loose snow.

Mina PMN-3

The PMN-3 mine is intended for the installation of anti-personnel barriers that self-destruct at a given time, as well as for the installation of booby traps and delayed action mines.

Main performance characteristics

mine type- anti-personnel high-explosive pressure action with self-destruction
Type of long-range cocking and self-destruction mechanisms- electronic
Long range cocking time- 8.5 ±1.5 min.
Time of self-destruction- adjustable: 0.5; one; 2; four; 8, days
Unrecoverable element- triggered when the mine is tilted at an angle of more than 90 °
Force of operation of the pressure sensor of the target- from 50 to 250 N
Temperature range of application- from -30 to +50 С
Weight,
mines- 0.6 kg.
explosive charge- 0.08 kg.

The basic device of a mine

Mina PMN - 3 consists of a housing with a built-in electromechanical fuse, an explosive charge and a current source.
The body of the mine is plastic. It has a socket (4) for a current source (15) and a compartment with a removable cover (20) for an explosive charge (28).

The cover 20 is removed from the compartment using a green nylon tape. A light indicator is located on the side surface of the housing. Next to the handle of the self-destruction time switch, the self-destruction time of the mine is marked, and on the side of the base of the mine there is a circuit of the current source with the signs “+” and “-”.
The built-in electromechanical fuse consists of an activation unit with a safety pin, a pressure target sensor closed with a rubber cap, a non-removable element (an inclined target sensor), an electronic unit with a light indicator of the time switch, self-destruction and a safety-actuator (PIM).

The switching unit consists of a spring-loaded rod with a plate and contacts. In the transport position of the mine, the rod is held by a safety pin installed in the slot of the rod. For convenience of removal of the check it is supplied with a kapron ribbon of red color.
The pressure target sensor consists of a spring-loaded cross with a screw and a contact. A rubber cap covering the crosspiece is fixed on top of the mine body with a cap and a union nut.
The tilted target sensor (ball contactor) ensures that the mine is triggered when it is tilted at an angle of more than 90 °.

The electronic unit is a printed circuit board with radio elements placed on it and performs the functions of a long-range cocking mechanism, an indication unit, a non-destructive device, an actuator and a self-destruction mechanism. It provides the time for long-range cocking and the transfer of the mine to the firing position, as well as its operation when the current source is removed or after the set time for self-destruction.

The light indicator with intermittent glow for 4.5 ± 1.5 minutes after the removal of the safety check indicates the connection of the power source and the serviceability of the electronic unit.

The self-destruction time switch allows you to turn the knob to set one of the five positions of the self-destruction time of the mine (0.5; 1; 2; 4; 8 days).
Safety - actuating mechanism double ignition safety type electric igniters (EV-1) and (EV-2) type NH-PCH-A, engine, contacts, drummer and detonator cap 21 (MG-8T). In the transport position of the mine, the engine, keeping from moving with a shear pin, provides a break in the firing chain of the mine. When the EV-1 electric igniter is triggered, the engine moves, cuts off the pin and closes the contacts of the EV-2 electric igniter actuation circuit. The EV-2 electric igniter fires, the striker pierces the MG-8T detonator cap, which explodes and transfers the detonation to an additional detonator and a mine explosive charge.

The charge is made of compressed A-1X-1 explosive and has an additional detonator made of PETN explosive with a mass of 1.1 g.
The current source is placed in a special socket, which is closed with a plug.

The principle of operation of the PMN-3 mine

When the safety check of the switching unit is removed, the current source is connected to the indication unit and the long-range cocking mechanism, the indicator light starts to glow intermittently and glows for 4.5 ± 1.5 minutes, and then goes out. At the end of the long-range cocking time (8.5 ± 1.5 min after the removal of the safety pin, checks), the current source is connected to the self-destruct mechanism, the actuator and the non-neutralization device. Mina goes into combat position.

When exposed to a pressure target sensor (when stepping on a mine) or an inclined target sensor (when the mine is tilted at an angle of more than 90 °), the actuator, the safety actuator and the mine charge explode. A mine explosion also occurs when the non-disposal device is triggered when an attempt is made to defuse the mine by removing the current source or the self-destruct mechanism is triggered after the set self-destruct time has elapsed.

The procedure for installing mines PMN-3

Mines PMN-3 are installed manually:

• in summer - into the ground with a layer of soil up to 2 cm thick or on the ground with vegetation
• in winter - on the surface of the ground or in the snow with snow masking. In hard compacted snow, mines are installed in the same way as in the ground

Before installation, you must:

• open the package
• inspect the mine and make sure that there is a safety check, check if there are any mechanical damages on the body of the mine
• set the self-destruction time switch to the required position
• check and install in a mine source, current

To check and install the current source, you must:

• connect a 1.6 kΩ resistor and a voltmeter in parallel to the current source, while the voltage indicated by the device must be at least 8.75 V
• if the voltage is less than 8.75 V, short-circuit the positive and negative terminals of the current source once or twice for a short time (no more than 1 s)
• check the battery voltage again, if it is less than 8.75 V, replace the battery
• unscrew the plug of the socket under the power source
• insert a current source into the socket, as shown on the base of the mine body
• screw in the plug

Place a mine in the ground for what:

• dig a hole along the diameter of the mine with a depth of 3 - 4 cm
• remove the cover from the charge compartment with a green tape
• holding the mine with one hand and directing it with the charge compartment away from you, remove the safety pin
• by the intermittent glow of the indicator light, make sure that the mine is in good condition
• install a charge in a mine and close the compartment with a lid
• install the mine in the hole with the pressure sensor up
• disguise the mine and no later than 3 minutes after removing the safety checks, leave the place where the mine was installed

In winter, with a snow cover of up to 10 cm, the mine is placed on the ground surface. With a snow cover of more than 10 cm, the mine is placed in the snow so that the camouflage layer of snow over the mine is no more than 5 cm. The safety check after the installation of the mine is handed over to the commander.

Anti-personnel fragmentation mines POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M

Mine anti-personnel fragmentation tension action. Designed to disable enemy personnel. The defeat of a person (or several at the same time) is inflicted by fragments of the mine body when it is detonated at the moment when an enemy soldier, catching his foot on a wire extension, involuntarily pulls out the fuse's combat pin.

Main tactical and technical characteristics:

Frame– cast iron
Hull weight (without explosives)- 1.5 kg.
Mass of explosive (TNT)- 75 gr.
Diameter- 6 cm.
Case height- 13 cm.
Target sensor length (one way)- 4 m.
Sensitivity- 1 - 17 kg.
Radius of continuous damage- 4m.
Temperature range of application- from -60 to +60 degrees.

Installation order

Mines POMZ-2M and POMZ-2 are recommended to be installed on terrain with vegetation (grass, small shrubs, etc.), which provides good camouflage. When laying mines in the forest and tall grass, it should be borne in mind that mines can be triggered by falling branches and snow clods from trees onto a wire extension. Therefore, the location for the installation of mines should be chosen so that, if possible, the operation of the mine from falling branches, snow and grass lodging should be excluded.
When laying mines in forests and shrubs, it is not recommended to tie wire tripwires to small trees and shrubs, as they sway in the wind, which can lead to mines being triggered.
Mina POMZ-2 (POMZ-2M) can be installed with one or two branches of the wire brace.

Installation of a mine with one branch of a wire stretcher

To install a mine with one branch of wire stretching, you must:

• drive a peg into the ground so that its height above the ground is 12-15 cm
• fasten the end of the guy wire to the peg
• stretch the guy wire towards the location of the mine
• on the site of the installation of the mine, hammer in the installation peg so that its height above the ground is 5-7 cm (the distance between the extension peg and the installation peg should be no more than 5 m)
• push a paper wrapper with a pointed wire against the ignition socket in a 75-g TNT checker
• put a TNT block into the mine body with an ignition socket towards the fuse hole
• put the body of the mine on the mounting peg driven into the ground until the bottom end of the mine stops in the widened part of the peg
measure the length of the wire guy with a carabiner and a short wire and tie the carabiner at the required length to the guy wire, the excess length of the guy wire is broken off or bitten off with wire cutters
• connect the body of the fuse MUV-2 (MUV-3 or MUV) with the appropriate fuse (when the mine is equipped with a fuse MUV, it is used with a safety pin or a pin in the upper hole of the rod, and the old MUV fuse is equipped with a safety tube additionally put on the rod)
• screw the fuse with the fuse MD - 5M into the POMZ-2M mine or insert the fuse into the POMZ-2 mine
• hook the carabiner on the ring of the P-shaped combat checks
• disguise the mine by bending down grass, branches, etc.
• after making sure that the combat pin is securely held in the fuse, pull out the safety pin from the MUV-2 (MUV-3) fuse or the pin from the MUV fuse (for an old MUV fuse, additionally remove the safety tube from the stem)

Installation of a mine with two branches of wire stretching

To install a mine with two branches of wire stretching, you must:

• hammer two stakes into the ground at a distance of about 8 m from one another
• tie the ends of the guy wire to the hammered pegs with 5-8cm slack (the guy wire should sag freely to the ground)
• against the middle of the wire stretching, stepping back from it towards the enemy 1m, hammer in the mounting peg and put on it the body of the mine with a TNT block embedded in it
• roll up a loop in the middle of the wire stretcher
• trying on the length of the piece of wire, tie the carabiner to the loop on the wire stretch
• perform all remaining operations in the same way as when installing a mine with one branch of a wire brace

When installing a mine on frozen ground without snow cover and with a thin layer of snow (up to 15 cm), holes for pegs are made in the ground with a crowbar. With a snow cover of more than 15 cm, the pegs are frozen into the packed snow. When laying mines in forests and bushes, in anticipation of snow drifts, mines can be tied to thick trees or installed on stakes at the height of a person’s chest.

Mine clearance

Mines PMN, PMN-2 and PMN-3 shall not be cleared.

Installed mines are destroyed by explosions of explosive charges weighing 0.2 kg, laid next to the mine.

Also, mines are destroyed by multiple passage through the minefield of trawls with tanks and towed rollers or tanks without trawls (caterpillars).
Reliable triggering of mines when passing tanks is ensured only on level ground.

Disposal of POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M mines installed with a fuse MUV-2 or MUV-3 is prohibited.
They are destroyed at the place of installation by trawling by cats, which are thrown onto the wire from cover.

To neutralize a POMZ-2 or POMZ-2M mine installed with an MUV fuse, you must:

• having found a mine, make sure that the combat check is securely held in the fuse (the check must be inserted all the way; if the fuse pin has moved and is held in the striker rod only by the end, it is forbidden to neutralize the mine: such a mine is destroyed by trawling with a cat)
• insert a safety pin or pin into the upper hole of the fuse rod (for an old release fuse, first put a safety tube on the rod)
• cut the guy wire or unhook the carabiner from the checks
• remove the fuse from the mine, unscrew the fuse and put it in a pencil case (miner's bag)
Engineering training. Anti-personnel mines of the Russian army (part 2).

Brief performance characteristics, installation procedure in unmanaged and managed versions and neutralization.

Flexible sticks measuredly described wide semicircles in the air, and from time to time one of the Red Navy men knelt and carefully raked the white fluffy veil of snow with their hands. A minute later, a small copper pipe gleamed in his hands. It was the fuse of a mine, now defused, and then a round metal box was pulled out from under the snow, in which death was preserved.

L. S. Sobolev, "Baby"

The Second World War enriched military affairs with such experience in the use of mines and the fight against them, which was not accumulated in the entire previous history of mines. The territories on which hostilities took place were huge, the length of the fronts reached ten thousand kilometers. In one operation, military formations moved hundreds of kilometers. On the other hand, there were very long periods of positional confrontation, during which the warring parties set up many kilometers of minefields.

Thus, during the war, mine weapons became an essential part of any effective defense, and the means of operational demining began to develop rapidly. However, by the time the hostilities ended, the mines had not completely left the category of auxiliary weapons.

This time we will get acquainted with the post-war development of mine weapons, modern mines and promising developments in the near future.

Mines are different

In the "History of mine weapons" we got acquainted with the evolution of the concept of "mine" from non-explosive engineering structures through a powder charge laid in a tunnel, and to fully developed mines of the two world wars. It seemed that this term was finally fixed for a manually installed explosive charge, structurally combined with blasting devices and intended to inflict damage on enemy personnel, equipment and installations. After the advent of naval mines (and especially torpedoes), “delivered to the target not by artillery” was added to the definition instead of “manually installed”.

These are the real mines. It is absolutely impossible to confuse them with mortars.

However, in the first third of the twentieth century, a very remarkable ramification took place. A mine began to be called a feathered artillery projectile fired from a specific weapon - a mortar. There is no fundamental difference between this mine and a conventional high-explosive fragmentation projectile, if you do not go into purely ballistic subtleties.

Why a subsonic feathered projectile began to be called a "mine" is not known for certain. According to some experts, the reason was the appearance of the so-called "pillar mines" used during the Russo-Japanese War. The captain of the Russian army, L. N. Gobyato, suggested firing an explosive charge in a tin case, attached to a pole of the appropriate caliber, from a 47-mm cannon. In this case, the gun was loaded with a blank charge, and the barrel was raised to the maximum angle. Initially, this weapon was called a "bomb thrower", but then the concept of "bomb" completely moved to the aviation and navy, and the design of Gobyato was called a mortar. Shells for him, respectively, began to be called mortar mines, which have nothing to do with engineering mines.

AT modern conditions the definition of a mine formulated above is hopelessly outdated, since the methods of delivering mines include artillery. Under engineering mine now it is necessary to understand an explosive charge, structurally combined with blasting means, designed to inflict damage on enemy personnel, equipment and installations, activated when an object of destruction acts on blasting means or with the help of a remote command of a certain type.

However, the development of mine weapons is so intensive that this definition is gradually becoming non-functional.

A little about the classification

Before starting to talk about modern mines, you should understand a little about what these mines are. I want to note right away that a comprehensive, unified and harmonious classification of mines does not exist to this day. The reason for this phenomenon is quite understandable - mines have many characteristics, and some of them may not be used in the manuals and instructions of certain armies. The classification that I will give below is a compilation from many sources, both general-arms and military engineering.

Directional anti-personnel mine.

Purpose- the main characteristic of mines, which determines the type of target being hit. Most often, mines are divided into anti-tank, anti-personnel and special (object, anti-vehicle, anti-amphibious, signal). All further classification of mines is based on this basis. Sometimes special mines are trying to be divided into independent categories. But such a division is redundant - any soldier of the ground forces should be able to install anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, and only specialists work with special mines.

Method of harm is of great importance for anti-tank mines, since it largely determines their installation method. Anti-track mines destroy tracks and track rollers, immobilizing the tank. Anti-aircraft mines pierce the side of the tank with an explosive effect, causing a fire, detonation of the ammunition load, engine failure, and injuring the crew. Anti-bottom mines operate in much the same way as anti-aircraft mines, but differ significantly in power and design.

As for anti-personnel mines, two main groups can be distinguished here - fragmentation and high-explosive. High-explosive, as a rule, are effective at close range, and the distance of destruction of fragmentation can reach hundreds of meters.

Controllability- this is the possibility of remote setting a mine into a combat position or its direct detonation by the operator. The difference here is that the moment of detonation of an anti-tank mine, at which the maximum destruction of the target will be inflicted, is almost impossible for the operator to determine. Therefore, a command from the remote control cocks the fuse or activates the target sensors. There are no such strict requirements for the maximum effect on the target of guided anti-personnel mines - most mines of this kind have a fairly large radius of destruction. Therefore, they are most often undermined by an electrical impulse or a radio signal.

Push-pull anti-tank mine.

The principle of operation of the target sensor determines what kind of impact from the target object will cause the detonation of the warhead. For sensors of anti-tank mines, such influences can be a certain mass, magnetic properties of the steel case, thermal radiation of the engine or exhaust, clearance (clearance) of the tank, vibration-seismic effect of a moving tank on the ground. There are also optical sensors for transmission and reflection, which react to the intersection of the infrared beam by the tank.

It is interesting: the so-called "smart mines", which we will talk about separately, can determine the desired target along its contour using a video camera and a recognition system.

Modern mines often use a combination of sensors. So, for example, in the domestic anti-aircraft mine TM-83, two sensors are used - seismic and optical. The seismic sensor, when the tank enters the sensitivity zone, turns on the infrared sensor, and when the tank crosses the beam, the combat charge is detonated.

Anti-personnel mines use the same sensors as anti-tank mines, but adjusted for sensitivity and placement. Shaking of the soil with steps, the mass of a person, tension or breakage of the stretch, thermal radiation of the body, the intersection of the infrared beam can be recorded. There are even mines that react to magnetic properties. small arms. Such a mine will let an unarmed person through without hindrance, and destroy an armed person.

Characteristics of the affected area very important when laying anti-personnel mines. Circular mines, as a rule, are installed in open areas, and directional mines are more often used to block narrow passages (paths, clearings, ravines, corridors and doors in buildings). Quite often, directional mines are used by snipers to protect the rear.

A seismic sensor that detects the approach of armored vehicles.

Installation method determines the design features of the mine - the ability not to be damaged when falling from a height, invisibility in vegetation, automatic cocking of the fuse into a firing position. Mines can be installed manually, by means of mechanization (minelayers), by means of remote mining (aviation, rocket and artillery systems).

Neutralization and recoverability- characteristics are extremely important. Neutralization is a design feature of the fuse that allows you to transfer it from a combat platoon to a transport position, and retrievability is determined by the presence of additional sensors that are triggered by an attempt to remove a mine buried in the ground or move a mine lying on the ground. In some cases, the function of undermining the charge when trying to defuse or remove a mine is provided for in its design. But sometimes a powerful mine being retrieved can be protected by a low-power mine-trap with a discharge sensor, which is triggered at the moment the main mine is removed from its top cover.

Some of the mechanisms self-destruction is provided for in almost all modern mines - too many civilians paid with their lives for the "finds" lying in the ground after numerous military conflicts with the use of mines. And the possibility of promptly neutralizing a minefield during a counterattack is very attractive.

As an example of a detailed classification, let's take a US-made M74 mine. This is a fragmentation anti-personnel mine of circular destruction, which provides for installation by scattering with a mine spreader of the FASCAM family. Intermittent target sensors. The mine is non-decontaminable and non-removable, equipped with a self-destruction module by timer and battery discharge. The time for cocking a mine into a combat position is 45 minutes from the moment it was placed.

Mines of the 20th century

Speaking of the 20th century, I mean precisely that post-war half-century period when world science and technology literally seethed with bursts of discovery and innovation. With regard to mine weapons, it is necessary to clearly define the date of the beginning of its formation. Perhaps, I am unlikely to sin against the truth if I mention Winston Churchill's world-famous Fulton speech of March 5, 1946 as a starting point.

Winston Churchill is a man who had a huge impact on the post-war development of mine weapons. The word politics is often decisive in weapon evolution.

The Second World War is over, there are no more reasons to unite ideologically hostile forces, it is time to name new allies and new enemies. And they were named.

On the other side of the imaginary line were all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities, as well as the settlements around them, are in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and everything is subordinated, in one form or another, not only Soviet influence, but very strong and, in many cases, extremely strong control of Moscow.

Winston Churchill

Naturally, such frankness of the British minister, whose words had enormous weight at that time, led to the fact that on both sides of the Iron Curtain they did not neglect any weapon of the upcoming hypothetical conflict. Including mines. The West was quite rightly afraid of the growing power of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union was no less justified in its fear of military aggression by the combined forces of the West.

Just three years later, Churchill's words were embodied in the North Atlantic Treaty, and six years later, in NATO's military-political antagonist, the Warsaw Pact Organization.

The development of mine weapons in the post-war period of the 20th century can be divided into periods in different ways - there are many different interpretations and interpretations of such a division. However, the first signs of a new approach were the mention of mine actions and counter-actions in the combat manuals of the armies of the world. Mine engineering units took a permanent place in battle formations. The next word was technology.

Mines of manual installation

This form of antitank
kovy mines has already become a classic.

During the first post-war decade, no one even thought about the current pace of movement of military units. That is why the significant attention of the developers was given to manual mines.

One of the key prototypes of anti-tank mines was the German Tellermine 42. Its design was so successful that in different time the same design was used by the USSR, USA, UK, France and China.

No less promising was the SMI-35/44 anti-personnel bouncing mine of circular destruction, also developed in the Third Reich. Its design became the basis of the Soviet OZM and American M16 anti-personnel mines. Among the producers of such mines are also Italy, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Vietnam and China.

It is interesting: Soviet jumping mines, unlike their foreign counterparts, were blown up after shooting with a steel wire connecting the safety pin of the fuse and the bottom of the container glass. If for some reason the mine did not jump to the desired height, it did not explode.

France began developing a directional anti-personnel mine back in 1947, but US engineers brought it to mind. In 1953, she received the name M18 Claymore and was widely used in the Vietnam War, and then in many local conflicts. Subsequently, mines of a similar design appeared in the USSR - first MON-50, which has a destruction sector of about 60 degrees, and then a more powerful MON-90. In addition, the MON-100 was in service with the Soviet Army, creating a very narrow stream of submunitions, lethal at a distance of over a hundred meters.

There was no interest in high-explosive anti-personnel mines during this period, although during the war the German Schumine 42 proved to be very good. Of the notable samples, one can perhaps recall only the Soviet PMN with a pressure sensor, which appeared in 1949, and the same type of American M14, which entered service with the US Army in 1955. It is noteworthy that it was these mines that became the first-born of the new direction of “mines of individual destruction”. The PMN mine subsequently gave rise to a whole family of Soviet high-explosive mines, and the M14 was widely used in Vietnam, where fragmentation mines of circular destruction showed low efficiency at a significant cost.

It is interesting: M14 mines were withdrawn from service with the US Army in 1974, but India, Vietnam and Burma still produce them today.

In the postwar years, various special mines (objective, anti-vehicle, anti-amphibious) were intensively developed. Worked out effective methods their use, fault-tolerant delayed-action fuses (both clock and chemical) were created. A series of Soviet fuses ChMV provided deceleration periods from 16 to 120 days, and chemical moderators were used for delays from several minutes to several days. Active research was carried out on seismic and magnetic sensors for anti-vehicle mines.

The internal structure of the M14 mine. As you can see, nothing complicated.

By the early 1960s, it became clear that hand-laying mines turned out to be a dead end branch of development - the tactics of combined arms units were increasingly based on high mobility. First of all, it concerned tank troops capable of making a breakthrough for a thousand kilometers in a day.

The Second World War convincingly showed that minefields, promptly installed during the battle, are much more effective than those prepared in advance. In the first case, the enemy suffers tangible losses, and in the second case, he has the opportunity to prepare for mine action or determine ways to bypass minefields. In addition, operational mining made it possible to use mines more economically, placing them not in all dangerous directions, but in accordance with the specific situation. Manual installation of mines at any level of organization could not ensure the fulfillment of tasks for operational mining.

Military engineering mechanization

The aerial mining experiments carried out by the Third Reich during the war were premature, and that is why they did not show the proper effectiveness. The design of the mines of that time was not sufficiently reliable, and the lost air supremacy did not allow the active use of this method of setting minefields. It is no wonder that the post-war development of mine weapons did not immediately come to the means of mechanization.

Soviet minelayer of the third generation UMP.

The stage of mechanization of the installation of mines began only by the beginning of the 1960s. The initial approach, somehow tested during the war, was to some extent a blind copying of naval methods - the so-called mine spreaders were created. The simplest spreaders were wooden trays clinging to the back of the car (the Soviet PMR-2 differed only in that it was metal). Mines laid out on the ground were manually equipped with fuses, transferred to a combat position and masked.

The trailed minelayer PMR-3 already provided for the automatic layout of mines with a given mining step, their transfer to a combat position and even camouflage with soil. For this minelayer, a new TM-57 anti-tank mine was developed, equipped with the same new MVZ-57 fuse. The automation of mining was achieved due to the fact that immediately before placing the mine on the ground, the minelayer mechanism pressed the button that started the fuse's clock mechanism. A few minutes after installation, the mine was transferred to a combat position.

Three PMR-3 minelayers, each of which contained 200 mines, set up a three-row minefield of about 800 meters along the front, spending less than an hour on it.

The next step was the GMZ caterpillar minelayer designed by G.S. Efimov, created on the basis of the self-propelled guns SU-100P (aka “Object 118”). He was able to lay a kilometer-long minefield in 10-15 minutes. Such a result was already a very serious achievement.

A cassette for a VMR helicopter mine spreader equipped with PFM-1 mines.

It is interesting: the GMZ minelayer of later modifications had additional weapons - six grenade launchers of the 902V Tucha smoke screen, designed to fire 81-mm smoke grenades.

In the matter of mechanization of the laying of minefields, the Soviet Union was ahead of its potential enemy for a good ten years. Similar machines enter service with the US Army only in 1972. Great Britain acquired minelayers a little earlier - in 1969, and France - only in 1977. Such a temporary oversight on the part of a potential adversary looks inexplicable and somewhat strange, given that the official military doctrine The USSR of that time largely relied on the rapid movement of armored forces.

The United States made a significant breakthrough in operational anti-tank mining technology in 1973, when the first full-fledged helicopter system entered service, which included a UH-1H helicopter with two bomb cassettes suspended from it. One cassette contained 80 M56 anti-track mines.

On board and on the bottom

The side of a Lao road. American sappers neutralize and prepare for destruction
mines that were installed on the cunning, calculated
those who avoid the road.

Anti-bottom mine M21 with an inclined fuse. It is enough to deflect the pin by 10 degrees - and in a second and a half there will be an explosion.

The rapid development of armored vehicles in the 60s of the twentieth century caused an equally intensive development of anti-tank mines. And the improvement of mine countermeasures prompted mine designers to widely use non-magnetic structural materials. In addition, many mines began to be equipped with special sensors that are triggered by a mine detector's magnetic field.

Anti-track mines, despite the simplicity of their design and low cost of production, were not economical enough when setting up obstacles - after all, the area of ​​contact of the tank tracks is several times smaller than its vertical projection. Yes, and a tank that was blown up by such a mine, firstly, remained capable of firing, and secondly, it could be repaired within a few hours by the crew.

Both the USSR and the USA almost simultaneously developed cumulative anti-bottom mines. The Soviet TMK-2 and the American M21 were initially equipped with tilt fuses with a moderator that detonated a mine under the middle of the bottom of the tank. These mines were very likely to destroy a tank with a crew. With the hatches open, part of the crew had the opportunity to survive, but the tank could not be repaired.

The Soviet anti-bottom mine TM-72 was equipped with a non-contact magnetic fuse, which very noticeably reduced its visibility.

The first attempts to create anti-aircraft mines, hitting a tank from the flank, were undertaken by Germany and the USSR during the war. Soldiers of the Wehrmacht and the Red Army made improvised mines from Panzerfaust HEAT grenades, placing a grenade launcher on the side of the road and stretching a wire stretching-descent through the roadbed. The first post-war developments of the USSR and the USA in this direction, begun in the 1960s, were essentially the same rocket-propelled grenade launchers adapted for installation away from the road. On the basis of the M72A1 grenade launcher in 1965, the United States developed the M24 and M66 anti-aircraft mines. And in 1973, a similar TM-73 mine based on the RPG-18 Mukha grenade launcher appeared in the Soviet Union. The difference between the Soviet and American approaches was that the M24 was equipped with a pull fuse, while the TM-73 was equipped with a break fuse.

Anti-aircraft mine TM-83. The universal
ny attachment point.

It is interesting: despite the glaring obviousness of the principle and the wide popularity of foreign analogues, the TM-73 mine remained classified until the beginning of the 21st century. The Soviet habit of classifying everything in a row worked flawlessly.

Anti-aircraft mines based on anti-tank grenade launchers were very cheap and easy to manufacture, but were not very effective. When installing them, it was impossible to take into account the wind, speed and dimensions of the target, and a reliable defeat of armored vehicles with a cumulative grenade is possible only with accurate aiming.

The impact core effect has been known since the war, but was first used in the French anti-aircraft mine MAH mod.F.1, developed in 1969. Such a mine did not require very precise aiming, since its penetration properties weakly depended on the angle between the direction of impact and the plane of the armor. Dynamic protection was also ineffective - a compact metal pestle is much more difficult to reflect than a narrow cumulative jet.

The Soviet Union developed the TM-83 anti-aircraft mine with an impact core much later - it entered service only in 1984.

Mines with an impact core turned out to be quite effective, but the possibility of their use is limited - too close a distance to armored vehicles does not allow the impact core to form, and at a distance of more than fifty to a hundred meters, the impact core loses its damaging properties. It is advisable to use such mines in narrow passages in order to stop the convoy by defeating the first vehicle and make it a good target for attack aircraft and helicopters.

impact core

Cumulative action ammunition is known to almost everyone. But the fact that there is a certain kind of such ammunition, but acting not close to the armor, but at a distance of tens and even hundreds of meters, is known to a few.

A powerful long-range anti-aircraft mine with an impact core.

The difference between the cumulative effect and the Mizhney-Shardin effect in visual representation.

The term "impact core" (in the English literature EFP, that is, explosively formed penetrator) appeared relatively recently - about twenty years ago. But the phenomenon itself was discovered back in 1939. An employee of the Institute of Ballistics of the Technical Academy of the Luftwaffe, Hubert Shardin, studied cumulative explosive processes using X-ray pulse methods and revealed fundamental differences in the detonation of profiled charges with a conical and spherical lining. The spherical recess did not produce a cumulative jet, but during the explosion, the lining turned outward and formed a drop-shaped pestle with a speed of about 5000 m / s. This phenomenon is known abroad as the Mizhnei-Shardin effect. Sometimes the "shock core" is considered something like a cumulative effect, but this is fundamentally wrong, since here the striking element acts like a normal kinetic ammunition.

The impact core effect is used in anti-aircraft mines and anti-tank cluster bombs. There are also anti-helicopter mines with a damaging factor "shock core".

Thunderstorm infantry

Until the mid-1960s, the development of anti-personnel mines in the United States and Western Europe followed the path of a slight improvement in existing developments. This lack of interest was due to the fact that the operational-tactical schemes of that time assumed the use of tanks as the main strike force of future wars. Anti-personnel mines were seen as a way to protect anti-tank mines from enemy sappers, and not as independent barriers.

After the German frog mine for a long time couldn't come up with anything new.

It is interesting: To date, in the US mine warfare tactics, there is no division of minefields into anti-tank and anti-personnel. They contain both those and other mines at the same time. Only in the Indochinese theater of operations were purely anti-personnel minefields used.

Vietnam War prompted the United States to develop anti-personnel mines, since it turned out that the lack of tanks and heavy weapons could be quite successfully compensated for by the active use of infantry and guerrilla warfare. An additional argument was military operations in the jungle, in which the US army systematically lost control over large areas of South Vietnam.

Since the second half of the 1960s, the development of new anti-personnel mines has gone simultaneously in two directions - size minimization and creation of means of remote mining. The combination of these two directions eventually led to the appearance of mine weapons, highly effective against infantry.

Minimizing the size of anti-personnel mines, accompanied by an inevitable decrease in the mass of the charge and, as a result, the radius of destruction, is usually presented as a kind of concept of a “humane weapon” that does not kill enemy soldiers, but only deprives them of their combat capability. In reality, however, much more pragmatic considerations certainly dominated.

Italian anti-tank mines are distinguished by a rather high body. To disguise them, the sapper will need much more effort. But it is extremely difficult to detect their plastic cases.

Soviet miniature high-explosive anti-personnel mine. Without a foot will leave a guarantee
flat, but looks like a socket.

First of all, one should take into account the significant reduction in the cost of anti-personnel mines. Considering that no more than two or three enemy soldiers usually fall within the range of action of a powerful and expensive fragmentation mine of circular destruction, the guaranteed incapacitation of one soldier with one cheap mine looks economically attractive. This should also include the profitability of transportation - a larger number of mines per unit of transported weight.

Cheap mines allow you to create high-density minefields, increasing the likelihood of hitting the enemy. In addition, the integral reliability in this case becomes higher, since the failure of one cheap short-range mine will not lead to a significant decrease in the barrage properties of the minefield.

Small-sized mines in plastic cases are extremely difficult to quickly search for and clear mines. It is enough to make 10-15% of the mines indestructible in order to create very serious difficulties for the enemy sappers. And in terms of costs, it will come out relatively inexpensively.

The wounding of a soldier creates a lot of problems for his evacuation from the battlefield, treatment and transportation to the rear. All this diverts a large number of qualified military personnel and requires serious training of the medical service.

Why kill an enemy when you can just crush his leg? British anti-personnel mine 5Mk1.

German miniature bombs, when falling, sometimes entered the ground up to the very stabilizer. Such cases brought sappers a lot of problems.

A soldier struck by an anti-personnel mine, as a rule, remains disabled, incapable of either further military service or employment in the rear. Thus, the state budget is overloaded with irreplaceable expenses for its further treatment and social security, and a large number of war victims negatively affects the patriotic moods of the population.

In addition to all of the above, the miniaturization of anti-personnel mines solves many problems of mechanization and methods of remote mining.

The first samples of miniature NATO anti-personnel mines (British 5Mk1 and American M14) were designed for manual installation, and most of the further developments focused on remote mining.

The development of remote mining systems went almost in parallel with miniaturization, determining in many respects the desired size of mines. The German Splitterbomben system, developed during World War II and using miniature mine bombs SD-1 and SD-2, was used by the US Army as early as the 1950s, during the Korean War. At the same time, by the way, the first Douglas Model 31 airborne anti-tank mine was used. But the cost and effectiveness of Splitterbomben did not satisfy the military.

Ultimately, requirements were developed for miniature mines suitable for remote mining. The mine should be such that it does not require a specialist to install it - all the processes of bringing into combat position should occur automatically. The mine must be delivered to the mining site faster than the enemy appears there. The mine should be installed when it is required, and without the direct participation of a person. The mine should disappear as soon as it is no longer needed. The main task of the mine is to stop the enemy or slow down his movement, and not cause him significant losses.

American anti-personnel
mine BLU-43/B official
alno was never in service with the US Army. But fought pretty well.

The Soviet equivalent of the BLU-43/B, poetically named "Petal", also saw a lot of fighting.

The first results of design research looked somewhat comical, but contained fresh and interesting ideas. One of the remote mining systems - Graval - provided for the scattering of plastic envelopes smaller than a cigarette pack filled with mercury fulminate. These "mines" were stored in bomb cassettes, being filled with liquid nitrogen or dimethyl ether. While the mercury fulminate was in a wetted state, it did not detonate, and after falling to the ground, the envelope dried out and the explosive restored its high sensitivity. If stepped on, the envelope detonated, injuring the foot.

Another solution, no less innovative, was used in the XM-61 Fragmacord mine, which is a piece of detonating cord with metal rings strung on it.

However, the efficiency and reliability of the described systems turned out to be low, despite their exceptional low cost. The first more or less successful development suitable for remote mining should be considered the American BLU43 / B Dragontooth pressure-action anti-personnel mine, equipped with a chemical self-destruction system.

Its code name came from the original form, which allows the mine to glide to the ground without a parachute on the "maple seed" principle.

It is interesting: The anti-personnel mine PFM-1 "Petal" developed in the USSR, almost completely copied from the BLU43 / B, was widely used in afghan war. Thanks to anti-Soviet propaganda, the local population believed that the shape of the mine was dictated by the desire to attract the attention of children, and not by the requirements of aerodynamics.

artillery shell ADAM remote mining systems.

120 mines are placed in one cassette, and up to eighty cassettes can be hung on a helicopter. The long-range cocking time of the BLU43/B is a few minutes.

By 1975, the United States was developing several remote mining systems, later combined into the FASCAM family. This family has become an integral part of the weapons systems of any air-ground operation.

According to the new concept, mine weapons are assigned a very significant role in deterring an advancing enemy. On the distant approaches (over 25 km) he is met by mines. established aviation system Gato mining and AirVolcano helicopter system. At a distance of 18-24 km from the front line, ADAM and RAAM artillery mining systems begin to set up minefields. Directly in front of the cutting edge, ground-based remote mining systems GroundVolcano and GEMSS are connected to the case. Finally, with the help of the M131 MOPMS system, the defending soldiers fire mines directly at the feet of the attackers.

Mina wagon

One of the mines created in the USA is worth mentioning separately - it combines all three main classes for its intended purpose. it M2/M4 SLAM(Selectable Lightweight Attack Munition).

The mine can be used as an anti-tank, anti-personnel and object mine. At its core, it is a reduced model of an anti-tank anti-aircraft mine such as the Soviet TM-83 or Swedish Type 14. The target is hit by 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.

In games, SLAM is used everywhere. But this is a very serious and extremely dangerous mine.

The mine can be used as an anti-tank anti-bottom mine by a signal from a magnetic sensor, as an anti-tank anti-aircraft mine by a signal from a passive IR sensor, as an object mine activated by a delayed action fuse, and also to destroy accumulations of enemy manpower by command from the remote control management.

The mine is equipped with a self-destruction device, which is set for 4, 10 and 24 hours of combat work. After the expiration of the combat work, the M2 becomes safe, and the M4 is undermined.

In the "anti-aircraft" and "anti-bottom" modes, the SLAM is a mine that cannot be cleared. The explosion occurs when you try 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, since the infrared sensor can react to the heat of the human body at a short distance.

It is interesting: in the Splinter Cell series of games, the protagonist Sam Fisher has repeatedly had to defuse SLAM mines installed on the wall in "anti-aircraft" mode. As you can see, in reality this is impossible.

On the sidelines

For two decades, the command of the armed forces of the USSR believed that the advantages in mine weapons achieved in the 1960s were quite enough to ensure success in future military conflicts. However, it was not long to rest on our laurels. Soviet minelayers and helicopter remote mining systems were simple devices for the mechanized laying of anti-tank mines. Literally ten years later, they ceased to meet the requirements of a mine war, and no further development was observed.

The desire to catch up with the United States, traceable in many areas, has led to direct borrowing, and often complete copying of foreign technologies. Since the management demanded quick results from engineers and designers, the first and far from the most successful samples were thoughtlessly copied. Among them are the previously mentioned PFM-1 anti-personnel mine, and the PTM-1 anti-tank mine, and the PKM Wind portable mining kit (tracing paper from the prototype of the American M131 MOPMS system), and many other mine weapon systems.

The backlog of Soviet mine weapons became clearly visible in the first half of the 1980s. And the stagnation of the economy in the second half of the 1980s led to a reduction in spending on advanced military research. The development of mine weapons not only slowed down - it froze.

But the point here is not even the imperfection of technology, design ideas and the range of mines. Mine weapons have become an integral element of the tactics and operational art of the NATO armies; they have been developed purposefully and comprehensively. And in the USSR, a single concept for the use of mine weapons linked to other means of combat did not appear.

Fog of the 21st century

Modern stage the development of mine weapons, paradoxically, is directly related to Ottawa Convention on the Ban of Anti-Personnel Mines from 1997. This seemingly good undertaking turned into such a clumsy and illiterate legal document that it gave rise to a number of promising directions in the development of new types of mine weapons. The analogy with antibiotics involuntarily suggests itself, reckless and mass application which led to the emergence of not only resistant varieties of infection, but also its new forms.

Yugoslav anti-tank mine TMRP-6. She can use
be called also as an anti-caterpillar
naya, and as an anti-bottom - it all depends on the fuse.

The Convention itself is certainly a necessary thing. Even if we do not take seriously those stunning data on the death of civilians from mines, which were cited by the initiators of the Convention, then the very fact of such losses fully justifies any prohibitions. But, unfortunately, the lawyers who created the wording of this document left a lot of loopholes and ambiguities. Moreover, these loopholes can be used just by those to whom the Convention is primarily aimed - rich states that have enough funds for new developments of engineering weapons with higher damaging properties, much more sensitive, capable of independently choosing a target and hitting it at the most favorable moment. , delivered to anywhere in the world in as soon as possible. At the same time, various partisan formations and terrorist organizations, as before, use outdated anti-personnel mines of all conceivable designs and do not bear any responsibility for this.

Mine experts describe the effects of the Ottawa Convention as follows. More and more often, mines are called engineering ammunition, submunitions, cluster submunitions, which does not change the essence of the matter, but removes a number of modern mines from the jurisdiction of the Convention. Allocations for the development of new mine weapons have increased sharply. The introduction of self-destruct devices as a mandatory element of mines made mine weapons safer for friendly troops and much more dangerous for enemy forces. In a number of cases, it is now simply impossible to prove on whose mines a civilian was blown up - after all, self-destruction by a timer or by radio signal can occur even after his death. In addition to all of the above, there was an incentive to get rid of the accumulated stocks of obsolete mine weapons, which make no sense to use in any case, but it is quite possible to sell them to those who are not affected by the prohibitions of the Convention.

Russian engineering ammunition M225. It looks like a boiler, but is as effective as four dozen minutes.

Soviet jumping mines were equipped with a "leash", which gave maximum detonation reliability. But if you cover the mine with something heavy in time, it will not explode at all.

However, it makes no sense to talk about the effectiveness of the Convention, if only because it has not been ratified by the largest manufacturers and suppliers of mine weapons - the United States, Russia, India and China.

Today it is often difficult to determine whether a particular munition is a mine. For example, the Russian engineering munition with the M225 cluster warhead, which is not covered by the Convention, is designed for multi-purpose use - both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel.

The M225 is equipped with a combined target sensor that includes seismic, magnetic and thermal sensors. If the mine is on alert, then when a target enters the detection zone (radius 150-250 m), the sensors inform the control panel about the nature of the object, the number of targets, the speed and direction of movement, and the distance to the affected zone. The control panel processes the incoming signals and gives the operator recommendations: is it expedient to detonate mines, which of the mines on alert it is advisable to detonate, how many mines that are in passive mode, it is advisable to transfer to combat duty. If the targets are simultaneously in the affected areas of several mines, then recommendations are given on which one of them should be blown up. When a command is issued from the control panel for an explosion, a squib is triggered, dropping the mine cover and a camouflage layer of soil, then the rocket engine of the cluster warhead is started, which takes off to a height of 45-60 meters. Upon reaching this height, the cassette scatters four dozen striking elements within a radius of 8-95 meters. The reduced area of ​​destruction is 25 thousand square meters, which any anti-personnel mine can envy.

The American development of the PDB M86 (Pursuit-Deternet Munition) translates as "ammunition that deters pursuit." At its core, it is an anti-personnel omnidirectional fragmentation bouncing mine adopted by SOF and USMC in 1999. Its tactical purpose is the operational mining of escape routes when pursued by the enemy. Such a purpose, together with the absence of the word "mine" in the title, removes the M86 from the jurisdiction of the Convention. And there are more and more such developments every year.

It is difficult to predict how mine weapons will develop further. Only one thing is clear - the role of mines is expanding to the extent of a universal weapon. The mines of the future will not need to be physically activated by the victim, the electronics will itself find the target, recognize it and, perhaps, even be able to approach. That is, the mine will turn, in fact, into a combat robot-suicide bomber, capable of sitting in ambush for as long as it takes. And the ingenuity of the human mind alone will limit the possibilities of the mines of the future.