GB979479A - Land mines adapted to be thrown or dropped onto the ground - Google Patents

Abstract

979,479. Land mines. ALSETEX SOC. ALSACIENNE D'ETUDES ET D'EXPLOITATION. Oct. 9, 1962 [Oct. 25, 1961], No. 38225/62. Heading F3A. A land mine which is to be thrown or dropped from a vehicle comprises an explosive charge 5 and a pressure-sensitive device (1, 2, 3, 4), the device being so arranged in the mine that, on impact with the ground, the force to which it is subjected is a function of its weight alone. The device as shown in Fig. 1 comprises two plates 1, 2 separated by a firing means 3 and a detonation relay 4 and is freely slidable in an axial passage 7 through the mine casing 6, the plates 1, 2 being of larger diameter than the passage and the overall height of the device being greater than the length of the passage. On impact with the ground, the device slides along the passage to take up the position shown in Fig. 1, with the plate 1 ready to receive a blow on its upper surface. In a second embodiment, Fig. 2, the mine casing is in two parts 11, 12, the part 12 being supported on the charge 13 by an elastic cushion 14, which takes up the shock of impact when the mine is dropped, to protect the sensitive device 10. In another arrangement the casing is closed and made of flexible material, the sensitive device comprising two pressure plates as in Fig. 1 and being slidable within the charge, a flexible shock-absorbing cushion being provided between one plate and the charge.