Anti-tank mines
Modified on 2009/07/23 08:44 by Ole Losvik — Categorized as: Mines
Anti-tank mines are also anti-personnel mines (mines which kill people). They are deliberately placed to destroy civilian vehicles. If they are placed in wartime, they are seldom cleared and continue to kill when the war is over. In some wars (Bosnia, Mozambique, Angola) there was an excess of anti-tank mines, so they were placed in fields and on paths and used as blast mines to kill people. Anti-tank mines are normally booby-trapped: Anti-personnel blast mines are placed around the anti-tank mine to kill any mine clearers.
There are two classes of anti-tank mines:
The light anti-tank mines like the Italian VS2.2 and TC2.4. They contain 2 kg of high explosive. This is not enough to destroy a tank, but enough to destroy a bus. The release pressure is 180 kg, but this can be adjusted down to 50 kg. Like other Italian mines, they cannot be detonated on-site by mine clearers, and have to be disarmed by hand. The Italians do heavy marketing and these mines are found everywhere in the Middle East.
The heavy anti-tank mines contain 6-8 kg of high explosive. That is enough to throw a bus 10 meters off the road. The most common brands are the Type 72 made in Japan and the TMN46 which is manufactured in many countries. Both can be boobytrapped, both work well under snow and underwater. The Type 72 is the most common anti-tank mine in Kurdistan.
Injuries by anti-tank mines
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Injuries by anti-tank mines are terrible. Accidents involve mass casualties:
Severely injured victims have to be left aside to die – those with less severe injuries have priority.
Crush injuries and blunt injuries are common.
The wreck is set on fire, so burns are common.
Victims are trapped inside or under the wreck.
Stones, pieces of the mine case, and parts of the vehicle cause fragment injuries.