Landmines
What is a landmine?
A landmine is an explosive device, designed to wound, kill or otherwise incapacitate personnel; or designed to destroy or damage vehicles.
What different types of landmines are there?
We know there are two main groups of landmines, anti personnel and anti tank mines. All landmines have specific characteristics and are designed to operate in specific ways; they are blast, fragmentation and bounding.
Blast mines: The blast effect of the mine exploding is the main cause of injury to the victim. The PMN anti-personnel mine is a blast mine.
Fragmentation mines: The mine has a metal case, which breaks into metal fragments as the mine explodes. The small fragments of metal are forced out by the explosive force of the mine and cause injury to the victims.
Bounding mines:The mine, similar to the fragmentation, has a small charge that throws the mine out of the ground into the air normally at about head height. Then the main charge explodes and small fragments of metal are forced . A tripwire usually activates these landmines.
What actually makes the mine explode?
Landmines are usually initiated by pressure or trip wire.
Pressure:Direct downward pressure on the landmine will initiate the landmine.
Tripwire: A tripwire is attached to the fuse. When pressure is applied to the tripwire, a pin is normally pulled out of the fuse initiating the landmine. Some landmines maybe set up with more than one tripwire.
How is a landmine laid?
Landmines can be deployed in a number of different ways: By hand, where a landmine is usually buried in the ground. By mechanical deployment, specially designed vehicles are able to lay landmines. By remote deployment, many modern landmines can be deployed by remote methods such as by aircraft, helicopter, artillery or rocket. Landmines deployed by this manor will usually be surface laid. Scatterable deployment, these mines are designed to spread of as large an area as possible. The Soviet PFM-1 'Butterfly' is one such example.
What is a minefield?
A minefield is an area of land containing or believed to contain landmines.
