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the points where wheels touch the ground–where any detonations are likely to centre. Another way to protect a vehicle from mines was to attach wooden planks to the sides of armored vehicles to prevent enemy soldiers from attaching magnetic mines. In the close combat on Iwo Jima, for example, some tanks were protected in this manner. A Japanese soldier running up from a concealed foxhole would not be able to stick a magnetic mine on the side of a tank encased in wood. A simple, and highly effective, technique to protect the occupants of a wheeled vehicle is to fill the tires with water. This will have the effect of absorbing and deflecting the mine's blast energy. Steel plates between the cabin and the wheels can absorb the energy and their effectiveness is enhanced if they can be angled to deflect it away from the cabin. Increasing the distance between the wheels and passenger cabin, as is done on the South
African
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212:, a thin rod standing approximately two feet up from the center of the charge and nearly impossible to see after the mine had been buried. As a tank passed over the mine, the rod was pushed forward, causing the charge to detonate directly beneath it. The blast often killed the crew and sometimes exploded onboard ammunition. Now that tank crews were directly at risk, they were less likely to plow through a minefield."
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specially designed plow attached to the front end of a heavily armored tank is used to push aside the earth and any mines embedded in it, clearing a path as wide as the pushing tank. In pressure-forced detonation, a heavily armored tank pushes a heavy spherical or cylindrical solid metal roller ahead of it, causing mines to detonate.
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armoured fighting vehicle. They employed v-shaped hulls that deflected the blast force away from occupants. In most cases occupants survived anti-tank mine detonations with only minor injuries. The vehicles themselves could often be repaired by replacing the wheels or some drive train components that
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There are also several ways of making vehicles resistant to the effects of a mine detonation to reduce the chance of crew injury. In case of a mine's blast effect, this can be done by absorbing the blast energy, deflecting it away from the vehicle hull or increasing the distance between the crew and
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or be artillery fired. Cluster bombs contain several mines each, which could be a mixture of anti-personnel mines. When the cluster bomb reaches a preset altitude it disperses the mines over a wide area. Some anti-tank mines are designed to be fired by artillery, and arm themselves once they impact
510:
Furthermore, mobile detachments were tasked with laying more mines directly in the path of advancing enemy tanks. According to one source: "... Each artillery battalion and, in some cases, each artillery battery, had a mobile reserve of 5 to 8 combat engineers equipped with 4 to 5 mines each.
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Steel plates on the floor and sides and armoured glass will protect the occupants from fragments. Mounting seats from the sides or roof of the vehicle, rather than the floor, will help protect occupants from shocks transmitted through the structure of the vehicle and a four-point seat harness will
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was a purpose-built anti-tank mine developed during the period between the first and second world wars, the first model being introduced in 1929. Some variants were of a rectangular shape, but in all cases the outer casing served only as container for the explosives and fuze, without being used to
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Plofadder 160 AT, involve laying explosives across a minefield, either by propelling the charges across the field with rockets, or by dropping them from aircraft, and then detonating the explosive, clearing a path. Mechanical methods include plowing and pressure-forced detonation. In plowing, a
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vehicle uses a wedge-shaped passenger cabin, with the thin edge of the wedge downwards, to divert blast energy away from occupants. Improvised measures such as sandbags in the vehicle floor or bulletproof vests placed on the floor may offer a small measure of protection against tiny mines.
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Mines were often laid in complex arrangements. One tactic was to lay multiple mines on top of each other to increase the blast effect. Another common tactic was to link together several mines placed within a few metres of each other, so that all would detonate when any one was triggered.
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As one source has it: "Since they were pressure-detonated, these early anti-tank mines typically did most of their damage to a tank's treads, leaving its crew unharmed and its guns still operational but immobilised and vulnerable to aircraft and enemy anti-tank weapons ... During
518:, having planted six million mines of all types in Northern France alone. Mines were usually laid in staggered rows about 500 yards (460 meters) deep. Along with the anti-personnel types, there were various model of Tellermines, Topfmines, and Riegel mines. On the
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between the Soviet Union and
Finland also saw widespread use of anti-tank mines. Finnish forces, facing a general shortage of anti-tank weapons, could exploit the predictable movements of motorized units imposed by difficult terrain and weather conditions.
134:. The mine, which was developed by Yegorov and Zelinskiy, had a 1 kg charge, which was enough to break the tracks of contemporary tanks. Meanwhile, in Germany, defeat spurred the development of anti-tank mines, with the first truly modern mine, the
610:, it was easy for small groups to infiltrate and lay their mines on roads before escaping again often undetected. The anti-tank mines were most often placed on public roads used by civilian and military vehicles and had a great psychological effect.
200:(among others). Because of its rather high operating pressure, a vehicle would need to pass directly over top of the mine to set it off. But since the tracks represent only about 20% of a tank's width, the pressure fuse had a limited area of effect.
102:, which was simply a wooden box packed with explosives and triggered either remotely or by a pressure fuze. By the end of the war, the Germans had developed row mining techniques, and mines accounted for 15% of U.S. tank casualties during the
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Off-route mines are designed to be effective when detonated next to a vehicle instead of underneath the vehicle. They are useful in cases where the ground or surface is not suitable for burying or concealing a mine. They normally employ a
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The term "off-route mine" refers to purpose-designed and manufactured anti-tank mines. Explosively Formed
Projectiles (EFPs) are one type of IED that was used in Iraq, but most "home made" IEDs are not employed in this manner.
538:
During the
Vietnam War, both 'regular' NVA and Viet Cong forces used AT mines. These were of Soviet, Chinese or local manufacture. Anti-tank mines were also used extensively in Cambodia and along the Thai border, planted by
522:, anti-tank mines were responsible for 20-22% of Allied tank losses. Since the majority of these mines were equipped with pressure fuzes (rather than tilt-rods), tanks were more often crippled than destroyed outright.
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Their function was to mine unguarded tank approaches after the direction of the enemy attack had been definitely ascertained. These mines proved highly effective in stopping and even in destroying many enemy tanks."
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Most modern mine bodies or casings are made of plastic material to avoid easy detection. They feature combinations of pressure or magnetically activated detonators to ensure that they are only triggered by vehicles.
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minimise the chance of injury if the vehicle is flung onto its side or its roof–a mine may throw a vehicle 5 – 10 m from the detonation point. Police and military can use a robot to remove mines from an area.
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More modern anti-tank mines are usually more advanced than simple containers full of explosives detonated by remote or the vehicles pressure. The biggest advances were made in the following areas:
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was a
British anti-tank device that could be employed as a mine laid on the road surface for a tank to run over setting off a crush fuze or thrown at the tank in which case a timer fuze was used.
269:. These were long mines designed to increase the probability of a vehicle triggering it, the B2 consisted of multiple small shaped-charge explosive charges along its length designed to ensure a
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It was because of this threat that some of the first successful mine protected vehicles were developed by South
African military and police forces. Chief amongst these were the
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were also developed by
Germany later in the war, although these did not see widespread use. The most advanced German anti-tank mine of the war was their minimal metal
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There are several systems for dispersing mines to quickly cover wide areas, as opposed to a soldier laying each one individually. These system can take the form of
83:
571:. What makes these conflicts significant to the study of anti-tank mines is that they featured the widespread use of these mines in situations other than
503:, combat engineers laid a staggering 503,663 AT mines, for a density of 1500 mines per kilometer. This was four times greater than what was seen in the
150:. Notably, Republican forces lifted mines placed by Nationalist forces and used them against the Nationalists. This spurred the development of
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are more rarely encountered, though the
British/French/German ARGES mine with a tandem warhead is an example of one of the more successful.
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547:. Millions of these mines remain in the area, despite clearing efforts. It is estimated that they cause hundreds of deaths annually.
499:, where they were used in huge quantities by Soviet troops. The most common included the TM-41, TM-44, TMSB, YAM-5, and AKS. In the
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personnel carrier, is an effective technique, although there are mobility and ease of driving problems with such a vehicle. A
196:). Tellermine was the prototypical anti-tank mine, with many elements of its design emulated in the Pignone P-1, NR 25, and
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and bombs designed to magnetically adhere to tanks were developed, they do not fall within the category of
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against enemy vehicles by destroying their tracks. This form of mine was the inspiration for the
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RG-31 Mine
Protected Armored Personnel Carrier (MP APC) in service with the US Army in Iraq in 2006
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principle has been used for some French and Soviet off route mines and has earned infamy as an
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Anti-tank mines have played an important role in most wars fought since they were first used.
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began developing mines in the early 1920s, and in 1924 produced its first anti-tank mine, the
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more sophisticated fuzes (e.g. triggered by magnetic and seismic effects, which make a mine
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more effective explosive payloads (different explosive compounds and shaped charge effects)
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Leckie, Robert, The Battle for Iwo Jima, Random House, New York, copyright 1967, page 142.
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towards the end of the war. Initially they were nothing more than a buried high-explosive
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Several advances have been made in the development of modern anti-tank mines, including:
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1042:"On Allied Tank Casualties in the ETO and German AT Weapons | For the Record"
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913:. Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. 2004. Archived from
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peace keeping missions deploy modern developments of these vehicles like the
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was developed in 1935. Anti-tank mines were used by both sides during the
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shaped charge to fire a penetrating slug through the target armour. This
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were designed to be modular and replaceable for exactly this reason.
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The most effective countermeasure deployed against mine fields is
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as they are not buried and detonated remotely or by pressure. The
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upright. Later, purpose-built mines were developed, including the
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Conflict in southern Africa since the 1960s have often involved
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as a countermeasure against the first tanks introduced by the
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new methods of deployment (from aircraft or with artillery)
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use of non-ferrous materials making them harder to detect
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designed to be triggered by vehicles or, in some cases,
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a WWII munition that was used as a mine, not a grenade.
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that covered vast sparsely populated area of southern
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M23 and M15 landmines have broadly similar mechanisms.
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The humanitarian landmine clearance project MASAM in
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The first anti-tank mines were improvised during the
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are littered with such devices to this day (as with
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42:designed to damage or destroy vehicles including
1063:"Humanitarian | Thomson Reuters Foundation News"
904:"A Study of Mechanical Application in Demining"
679:(provides extensive details of different types)
392:(IED) technique in Israel and especially Iraq.
208:they (the Wehrmacht) began using a mine with a
964:"Soviet Defensive Tactics at Kursk, July 1943"
939:"Uran-6 Mine-Clearing Robot - Army Technology"
342:More advanced or specific detonation triggers.
8:
867:Barrett Hazeltine; Christopher Bull (2003).
326:Power of the explosives (explosives such as
495:Anti-tank mines played a major role on the
16:Type of land mine designed to destroy tanks
399:How to use an American M-24 antitank mine
257:mines such as the German Tellermine were
990:"RUSSIAN ANTITANK TACTICS, January 1943"
38:(abbreviated to "AT mine") is a type of
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336:to increase the armour piercing effect.
289:Anti-tank mine used by the Indian Army
870:Field Guide to Appropriate Technology
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1016:. Rosen Publishing Group. pp.
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672:Swiss Foundation for Mine Action
633:armoured personnel carriers and
215:Although other measures such as
873:. Academic Press. p. 853.
754:United Kingdom, France, Germany
234:Shaped charge devices like the
65:or by tampering with the mine.
742:, an off route mine using the
567:armies or fighters engaged in
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1013:The Allied Invasion Of Europe
1116:Tank casualties during WWII
1095:German mines of World War 2
694:Examples of Anti-tank mines
641:Most countries involved in
390:improvised explosive device
339:Advanced dispersal systems.
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407:off-route mines using the
25:TM-46 anti-tank blast mine
992:. Lone Sentry. 2007-05-10
449:Casspir Personnel Carrier
192:destructive effect (e.g.
108:Third Battle of the Aisne
48:armored fighting vehicles
962:David M. Glantz (1986).
600:South African Border War
943:www.army-technology.com
386:self forging projectile
116:Meuse-Argonne Offensive
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738:Soviet Union, Russia
688:Anti-handling device
683:Blast resistant mine
667:Mines Advisory Group
651:United Arab Emirates
573:conventional warfare
55:anti-personnel mines
1136:Area denial weapons
841:Volcano mine system
559:, United States or
261:such as the German
253:In contrast to the
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880:978-0-12-335185-2
829:GATOR mine system
817:GEMSS mine system
677:List of landmines
596:Angolan Civil War
569:guerrilla warfare
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351:Dispersal systems
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761:FFV 028 mine
727:World War II
721:Nazi Germany
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128:Soviet Union
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100:Flachmine 17
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53:Compared to
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1112:2009-10-25)
785:VS-HCT mine
575:(or static
545:Khmer Rouge
526:Vietnam War
435:Giant Viper
275:L9 bar mine
187:The German
1125:Categories
1072:2021-09-01
1048:2021-09-01
996:2015-10-23
948:2021-09-01
924:2007-07-23
854:References
749:ARGES mine
733:TM-83 mine
712:Tellermine
657:(Sweden).
585:Mozambique
577:minefields
563:supported
471:Combat use
225:land mines
189:Tellermine
182:Sevastopol
178:TM-35 mine
159:Winter War
23:A Russian
976:320412485
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649:(Canada,
565:irregular
259:bar mines
40:land mine
1110:Archived
716:Topfmine
661:See also
589:Cambodia
437:and the
425:Demining
374:MPB mine
267:B-2 mine
240:Topfmine
194:shrapnel
63:remotely
778:Austria
700:Type 72
631:Casspir
608:Namibia
594:In the
541:Pol Pot
456:Casspir
372:Polish
198:M6 mine
132:EZ mine
84:British
69:History
1024:
974:
877:
766:Sweden
627:Buffel
604:Angola
581:Angola
557:Soviet
483:, 2022
460:V-hull
318:Design
281:Modern
175:Soviet
92:mortar
918:(PDF)
907:(PDF)
790:Italy
705:China
655:RG-32
647:RG-31
635:Ratel
481:Yemen
88:shell
44:tanks
34:, an
1022:ISBN
972:OCLC
875:ISBN
714:and
629:and
583:and
439:SADF
157:The
126:The
114:and
96:fuze
59:fuze
46:and
1018:8–9
598:or
591:).
328:RDX
90:or
30:In
1127::
1065:.
1020:.
966:.
941:.
909:.
725:({
507:.
330:).
277:.
242:.
219:,
118:.
110:,
106:,
50:.
1108:(
1097:.
1075:.
1051:.
1030:.
999:.
978:.
951:.
927:.
883:.
848:)
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707:)
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