How are minefields laid?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Since ancient times, in any military conflict, the main task was to inflict maximum damage on the enemy, expressed in the destruction of manpower and equipment. In the past, when there was no gunpowder, in order to minimize their losses, various structures and devices were used, for example, camouflaged ditches with sharp stakes fixed in them or grass filled with resin, etc. With the invention of gunpowder, the situation was simplified, as firearms, artillery and mortars appeared. Ammunition for the latter are mines, of which there are many types.

Main species

Mina is an explosive placed in a metal case, combined with a fuse and a drive device, which ensure the detonation of the ammunition. To destroy enemy tanks and other armored vehicles, anti-tank mines (TM and TMK series) are used. Anti-personnel mines are designed to destroy enemy ground forces (MON-50, 90, 100, 200 series, PMN, POMZ).

Anti-landing mines (PDM and YARM series) and other special projectiles are also used. Their variety is great: from banal traps and tripwires to magnetic, directional, under-ice and other specifically designed charges.

Types of minefields

Minefieldsdepending on the purpose, by analogy with the appointment of mines, there are:

1. Anti-personnel (designed to destroy enemy ground forces).
2. Anti-tank (designed to destroy enemy armored vehicles).
3. Anti-amphibious (prevent enemy landing).
4. Mixed (needed to destroy enemy manpower and armored vehicles).

According to the type and method of management, minefields are divided into:

• unmanaged;
• managed;
• combat;
• false.

Laying a minefield is a specific process that requires certain skills. It is necessary to follow a clear sequence of actions to be performed. Mixed minefields are laid with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.

Shells are laid either in rows, alternating anti-personnel and anti-tank, or in groups of two or three. Also, usually access to the anti-tank field is covered by an anti-personnel minefield located at a distance of up to 20 meters from the anti-tank one.

In order to delay the advance of the enemy, the installation of false minefields is practiced. The role of shells in this case is performed by various metal objects or cans. The device of such fields is carried out with the raising of the sod layer of the earth with the formation of small mounds.

Key Features

The main characteristics in the construction of minefields are:

• density (characterizes the frequency of laying mines);
• depth (maybevary, depending on the type of mines laid);
• length of installation (depending on the specific situation on the front line and in general on the course of hostilities).

Density and depth of mine laying are also directly dependent on the purpose of the minefield, the characteristics of the terrain (flat or rugged, dry or marshy), the general situation on the line of contact.

When mining, it is important that the explosion of a shell does not damage your troops with fragments or a shock wave, and for this, the distance to the positions of the troops should be at least 50-70 meters. The density of charges for anti-tank barriers should be from 600 to 1000 mines per 1 kilometer of the front line.

Minefield requirements

Properly placed minefields must meet the following requirements:

1. It should be as difficult as possible for the enemy to detect a mine and make a passage in a minefield. This can be achieved through high camouflage and a variety of mining patterns, the formation of false minefields and the installation of booby traps.
2. Have a high cast efficiency, characterized by dealing maximum damage to the enemy.
3. Ensure resistance to external factors (explosions from neighboring charges, demining charges), which is achieved through the use of blast-resistant mines, the correct installation scheme.
4. It should be possible to quickly detect and clear minefields by your militarydivisions. To do this, when installing mines, they are carefully fixed.

Manual installation

With the manual method of mining, charges can be placed both on the ground and with penetration into the ground to a depth not exceeding 10 centimeters, which makes it possible to additionally disguise.

The process of placing shells is as follows: a hole is dug in the ground no larger than the charge itself, into which it is placed. The handle of the fuse mechanism should be switched from the transport position to the combat position. After that, having removed the pin and the cover of the remote mechanism, pull out its thread to a distance of approximately 1 meter.

Mina carefully disguises herself. The place of mining must be left, holding the cover of the remote mechanism in your hands, pulling the thread to its full length, which is about five meters. After 20 seconds have elapsed since the thread was pulled, the mine enters a state of alert.

Installation of minefields by hand is carried out strictly according to the regulations. The sapper platoon that mines the obstacles consists of three squads, two of which directly carry out the laying of mines, and the third produces a tray of pre-prepared charges to the starting position.

Mine line mining

The installation of a minefield along a mine cord is carried out by a detachment of a sapper platoon. It is divided into so-called calculations, consisting of two people. The mining step in this case is from 8 to 11meters. When constructing minefields in this way, a special landmark is used, having a length of up to 5-6 meters.

The process of setting charges in this way is as follows: first, the squad leader advances to a predetermined place, and one person from the calculation (usually the first number), carrying two charges and a mine cord attached to his belt, moves behind him. The movement is limited by the length of the cord. The first number fixes the cord to the ground and lays the first charge at a distance of 50 centimeters from the edge of the cord, disguises it and puts it on alert.

The commander sets a landmark at a distance of up to 11 meters to the side, and the first number of the next two begins to advance to this sign. The subsequent movement is carried out by the first numbers of pairs of twos. Having installed the first charge and brought it to combat readiness, the sapper steps back to the mark on the cord, indicated by one ring, and lays the second charge on the left side, then, stepping back 4 meters from the cord, moves back.

While the first number is busy setting his charges, the second of the two, having two charges with him, moves up to three rings on the cord. There, leaving one charge, he moves on to two rings, where he lays one charge on the right side of the cord at a distance of 3-4 meters, but without putting it on alert. Immediately after the return of the first sapper, the second puts his charge on alert and moves to the abandoned charge,installs it on the right side of the cord at a distance of 8 meters, puts it on alert and returns.

Setting minefields with minelayers

When mining anti-tank minefields with the help of minelayers, charges can be placed both on the ground and in a small hole. The calculation of the minelayer PMZ-4 includes five people, and its main task is to install anti-tank minefields.

The calculation operator, the first number, is located directly on the minelayer and determines the mining step, monitors the movement of charges on the conveyor belt and controls the plow. Three people remove mines from a container in the back of a car and place them on a conveyor belt. The fifth person is the driver of the tractor. The mining step in this way varies from 4 to 5.5 meters.

The installation of anti-personnel minefields is carried out by minelayers PMZ-4, a prerequisite for this should be equipment with special trays, and either high-explosive or fragmentation charges are used as mines.

Planting minefields with a helicopter

Minefields can be laid by the MI-8T helicopter on the surface of the ground or snow cover. The flight altitude must be no more than 50 meters, the speed is in the range from 10 to 20 km/h, the helicopter must be equipped with a special device - a VMP-2 cassette. The charges in this device at the time of takeoff must be prepared and equipped with a launcher.mechanism in the fuse.