How to install minefields?

Since ancient times, in any military conflict, the main task was to inflict maximum damage to the enemy, expressed in the destruction of manpower and equipment. In the past, when there was no gunpowder, in order to minimize its losses, various structures and devices were used, for example, camouflaged moats with sharp stakes fixed in them or filled with tar-soaked grass, etc. With the invention of gunpowder, the situation became simpler, as firearms, artillery and mortars appeared. The ammunition for the latter is mines, of which there are many species.

Basic views

Mine is an explosive placed in a metal case, combined with a fuze and a drive device, which ensure the explosion of the ammunition. To destroy tanks and other enemy 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, PMN, POMZ).

Also anti-landing mines (PDM and YARM series) and other special shells are used. Their variety is great: from banal traps and stretch marks to magnetic, directed, subglacial and other specifically arranged charges.

Types of minefields

Mine fields, depending on the purpose, by analogy with the purpose of mines, are:

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

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

• Uncontrollable;
• Manageable;
• Fighting;
• False.

The installation of the minefield is a process specific, requiring certain skills. It is necessary to follow a clear sequence of actions. Mixed minefields are installed with anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.

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

To delay the advance of the enemy, the practice of installing false minefields is practiced. The role of shells in this case is performed by various metal objects or cans. The construction of such fields is performed with the raising of the turf of the earth with the formation of small hills.

Main characteristics

The main characteristics of minefields are:

• Density (characterizes the frequency of laying mines);
• Depth (may vary, depending on the type of mines being installed);
• Length of the facility (depends on the specific situation on the front line and, in general, on the course of combat operations).

The density and depth of the mine are also directly dependent on the purpose of the minefield, terrain characteristics (flat or crossed, dry or swamped), the general situation on the contact line.

When mining, it is important that during the explosion of the projectile, there is no destruction of its troops by splinters or a shock wave, and for this purpose the distance to the positions of troops must be at least 50-70 meters. The density of the installation of charges for an antitank barrier should be from 600 to 1000 min per kilometer of the front line.

Requirements for minefields

Correctly established minefields must meet the following requirements:

1. It should be as difficult 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 schemes, the formation of false minefields and the installation of booby traps.
2. Have a high efficiency of application, characterized by causing maximum damage to the enemy.
3. Ensure stability against the effects of external factors (explosions from neighboring charges, demining charges), which is achieved through the use of explosion-proof mines, the correct installation scheme.
4. It should be possible to promptly detect and neutralize minefields by its military units. For this, when fixing the 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 gives the possibility of additional camouflage.

The process of installing the shells is as follows: in the ground a cavity is digged up 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 firing position. After that, having removed the check and the cover of the remote mechanism, pull out its thread for a distance of approximately 1 meter.

Mina carefully disguises herself. The place of mining should be left, holding the lid of the remote mechanism in the hands, pulling the thread to its full length, which is about five meters. After 20 seconds have elapsed from the moment the thread is drawn, the mine passes into a state of alertness.

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

Mining on the mine cord

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

The process of installing charges in this way is as follows: first the squad leader comes to a predetermined place, and one person from the calculation (usually the first number), carrying two charges and a mine cord attached to the belt, moves behind it. Movement is limited by the length of the cord. The first number makes fastening of the cord to the ground and carries out the laying of the first charge at a distance of 50 centimeters from the edge of the cord, makes it a mask and leads into combat readiness.

The commander establishes a reference point for a distance of 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 pair-twos. After installing the first charge and bringing it into combat readiness, the sapper moves back to the mark on the cord, indicated by one ring, and makes a bookmark of the second charge on the left side, then, departing from the cord 4 meters, moves back.

At the time when the first number is occupied by installing its charges, the second of the two, carrying two charges, moves to three rings on the cord. There, leaving one charge, he moves on to two rings, where he makes a bookmark of one charge on the right side of the cord at a distance of 3-4 meters, but not bringing it into combat readiness. Immediately after the return of the first sapper, the second brings his charge into combat readiness and moves to the left charge, carries out his installation on the right side of the cord at a distance of 8 meters, leads him into combat readiness and returns.

Mounting minefields with mine barriers

When carrying out mine clearance of anti-tank minefields with the help of barriers, charges can be placed on the ground and in a small hole. The calculation of the PMZ-4 blocker includes five people, and its main task is the installation of anti-tank minefields.

The calculation operator, the first number, is located directly on the barrier and determines the step of mining, observes the movement of charges on the conveyor belt, and manages the plow. Three people extract mines from the container in the car's body and place them on the conveyor belt. The fifth person is the driver of the tractor. The step of mining in this way varies from 4 to 5.5 meters.

The installation of antipersonnel mine fields is carried out by PMZ-4 minelayers, an obligatory condition is that equipment should be equipped with special trays, and either high-explosive or fragmentation charges are used as mines.

Mounting mine fields with a helicopter

The laying of mine fields by the MI-8T helicopter can be carried out on the surface of the ground or snow cover. The flight altitude should not be more than 50 meters, the speed is in the range of 10 to 20 km / h, the helicopter should be equipped with a special device - the BMR-2 cassette. Charges in this device at the time of takeoff must be prepared and equipped with a trigger mechanism in the fuze.