Kapitel 2, Ausländische Minenausrüstung
GERMAN MINE WARFARE EQUIPMENT
PART ONE – INTRODUCTION TO FOREIGN MINE WARFARE EQUIPMENT
CHAPTER 1 - GENERAL

1. Scope and Purpose

a. This manual is the third in a series of manuals containing detailed technical information on foreign mine warfare equipment. This manual covers mine warfare equipment used by the German Army in Word War II. The various types of fuzes; mines; antilifting devices; booby traps; mine laying, marking, and recording equipment and supplies; and mine de-tecting and clearing equipment are described and illustrated. TM 5-223A, Soviet Mine Warfare Equipment, and TM 5-223B, Oriental and European (Except British, French, Ger-man, Italian, and Soviet) Mine Warfare Equipment, are the first two manuals in this se-ries.

b. The series of manuals on foreign mine warfare equipment is a basic guide to be used in the identification and employment of foreign mine warfare equipment and for the neutrali-sation of foreign mines and fuzes.

c. Information on foreign mine warfare policies and tactics is contained in FM 5-32.

2. Development of Mine Warfare

Originally mine warfare consisted of tunneling beneath the enemy and using explosives to destroy otherwise impenetrable positions. This type of mine warfare continued through World War I. During the later part of World War I, when tanks made their appearance, both the Germans and the Allies began to use land mines constructed of artillery shells. The importance of mine warfare was not definitely established until World War II. Large mine fields placed in key locations helped the British hold back the Germans in North Afri-ka. Extensive use of mines by the Soviet Army contributed materially to delaying the German advance into the Soviet Union. Mines were also extensively used in the fighting in Italy and during campaings in France and Germany. In Korea mines have been employ-ed extensively.

3. Mine Terminology

a. A mine is an encased charge of explosive placed under water, laid on the ground, or buried. To detonate the mine, it is necessary to provide one or more detonation devices. The elements of a mine are shown in figure 1. The types of mines used in foreign mine warfare are discussed in paragraph 5.

b. A fuze is a mechanical, chemical, or electrical device which starts the firing chain of a mine (par. 4). Fuzes are classified according to use (instantaneous or delayed-action), the type of initiating action required to start the fuze functio-ning (par. 4a), and the in-ternal action which produces the flame or spark (par. 4b).

c. Installing the fuze is the insertion of the detonator and fuze assemblies into a mine.

d. Arming is the removal of all safety devices so the mine is ready to function (fig. 2).

e. Neutralizing is rendering a mine ineffective.

Figure 1. Elements of a mine.

f. An activated mine has a secondary fuze which will cause detonation when the mine is moved. The device can be attached either to the mine itself or to a second mine or auxi-liary charge beneath or beside the mine (fig. 3).

g. Sympathetic detonation is the detonation of one or more charges induced by the ex-plosion of another charge (fig. 4).

h. The effective casualty radius of a mine is that radius within which 50 per cent of all personnel will become casualties when a mine is detonated. It is expressed in yards.

i. The danger area of a mine is that area within which fragments of a mine may produce casualties; however, personnel in this area, but outside the effective casualty radius, are relatively safe.

4. Firing Chain of a Mine (fig. 5)

a. Initiating Action. Personnel or vehicles, including tanks, initiate the action in the fuze by one of the following methods (fig. 6):

(1)

Pressure on the fuze (fig. 6).

(2)

Pull on a pin or pull ring attached to the fuze by means of a trip wire (fig. 6).

(3)

Pressure release by removing an object from a compressed spring-actuated lever or plunger (fig. 6).

Figure 2. Arming a mine

Figure 3. Activated mine.

Figure 4. Sympathetic detonation of mines.

(4)

Tension release by cutting a taut wire tied to a compressed spring-actuated striker (fig. 6).

(5)

Setting delayed-action mechanism to actuate a fuze. This is normally accomplished by setting a clock-mechanism for a desired time delay in the actuation of a fuze (fig. 7). Sometimes this delayed-action mechanism consists of a vial containing a chemical which upon being released corrodes a striker-retaining pin or wire. Another way of obtaining a delayed action is to provide a chemical vial within the fuze. An appli cation of any of the previously mentioned initiating actions will results in the chemical vial being broken. The desired time delay is the time required for the che-mical to eat through the striker-retaining pin or wire.

(6)

Vibrations induced by movement in water, air, ground, or structure, where a vibra-tion-contact fuze is laid (fig. 8).

(7)

Frequency induction by:

(a)

Operating an electric mine detector over a pick-up coil of an induction fuze.

(b)

Sending radio signals on the same frequency as that of the induction fuze (fig. 9).

(8)

Magnetic induction by moving a metallic mass over a magnetic type fuze (fig. 10).

(9)

Breaking a light beam or otherwise completing an electric circuit (fig. 11).

b. Fuze. The initiatin action causes the fuze to function. The fuze, in turn, ignites the detonator by one of the following means:

(1)

Mechanical. A percussion cap within the fuze is fired by a mechanically released striker (fig. 6). The percussion cap in turn ignites a detonator. Ignition by friction, as shown in figure 6, is another mechanical method.

(2)

Chemical. A small vial containing acid is broken. The chemical reaction of the acid with the explosive generates heat which sets off explosiv (fig. 6).

Figure 5. Firing chain of a mine.

Figure 6. Various initiating actions and fuzes.

Figure 7. Clockwork delay mechanism.

Figure 8. Vibration-contact fuze closes an electrical circuit.

Figure 9. Radio receives signal from transmitter and relays impulse to detonator.

(3)

Electrical. The closing of a circuit fires an electric detonator (figs. 6 and 12).

(4)

Chemical-electric. A chemical reaction causes an electric circuit to close.

(5)

Mechanical-chemical. A chemical is used to corrode a pin holding a spring-loaded striker. When the pin is sufficiently corroded to break, it releases the spring-loaded striker.

c. Detonator. The detonator, a highly sensitive explosive, is set off by the flame or con-cussion of the fuze (fig. 5).

d. Booster Charge. The booster charge consists of a less sensitive but more powerfull explosive than that in the detonator and produces an intermediate explosion (fig. 5). A booster charge is not necessary in some mines.

e. Main Charge. The main charge, a relatively insensitive explosive surrounding and deto-nating by the booster charge or detonator, provides the destructive power of the mine (fig. 5).

Figure 10. A metallic mass swings a magentized lever  to close a circuit.

Figure 11. Electric circuit is completed when light beam is broken.

Figure 12. Ignition by electrical meane.

Kapitel 2, Ausländische Minenausrüstung