PMN mine

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PFM-1
lying on it) antitank mines.

The PMN (Russian: противопехотная мина нажимная, romanized: protivopekhotnaya mina nazhimnaya, lit. 'anti-personnel pressure mine') series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations. They are sometimes nicknamed "black widow" because of their dark casings.[1]

PMN-1

The design of the PMN-1 mine dates from the late 1950s. It is particularly deadly because it contains an unusually large

gait
. However, the amount of explosive inside a PMN-1 mine is so large that the risk of victims dying is significantly greater and, assuming that they survive their injuries, the degree of disability inflicted is much more severe.

These mines are palm sized and cylindrical in shape. The PMN-1 has a

TNT
explosive.

The PMN-1 mine is armed by removing a steel ring-pull at the end of the horizontal fuze. When in position, the pin on the end of the ring-pull holds a

TNT explosive filling. It is not a blast resistant mine
.

  • Two PMN-1 mines: the first example is complete, the other shows the appearance of a PMN-1 after it has detonated
    Two PMN-1 mines: the first example is complete, the other shows the appearance of a PMN-1 after it has detonated
  • The striker assembly from a PMN-1 showing the lead-shear arming delay. This assembly would be located under the round knurled cap on the right in the picture above
    The striker assembly from a PMN-1 showing the lead-shear arming delay. This assembly would be located under the round knurled cap on the right in the picture above

PMN-2

PMN-1 and PMN-2 mines. Both have arming pins in place, which means the fuze mechanisms are not armed
PMN-2 mine with its arming pin in situ. This mine has not been armed

The PMN-2 mine casing is made from injection-molded plastic. In general, the color is leaf-green, but occasionally brown examples may be encountered. The top of the mine has a black rubber X-shaped pressure plate. The filling is an

TNT based explosive that is quite similar to Composition B
. As with the PMN-1, the PMN-2 has an unusually large explosive filling when compared to many other anti-personnel landmines.

One significant difference between the PMN-1 and PMN-2 is that the PMN-2 (a mid-1970s design) contains a more modern

detonate mines. It can therefore be regarded as a blast resistant mine
. In contrast, the PMN-1 (a 1950s design) can successfully be cleared by such methods.

The PMN-2 fuze features an arming delay of approximately 60 seconds. When the arming key is rotated and removed from the mine, the arming pin is sheared. This allows the air-bellows inside the mine to be inflated by the compression spring, which in turn lifts a “safety” bar from the path of the slide, unblocking its travel. The arming delay on a PMN-2 is significantly shorter than that of a PMN-1.[2]

  • Height: 53 mm
  • Diameter: 120 mm
  • Main charge weight: 100 g TG-40 (
    TNT
    )
  • Total weight: 420 g
  • Fuze: MD-9 (stab-sensitive)

PMN-4

A pair of PMN-4 mines

The PMN-4 is a delay-armed, pressure-fired blast-mine. The pressure-plate is black and the body is reddish-brown or khaki. The black rubber pressure-plate has a plastic pressure "spider" concealed underneath, shaped like flower-petals. The diameter of the mine is 95mm and the height is 46mm. The explosive charge weight is 55 grams. This comprises 52 grams of 'TG-40' (a 40/60 TNT/RDX mixture) plus a 3 gram pentolite booster. The total weight of the mine is 300 grams. PMN-4 mines contain a significant amount of metal components, so they are readily detectable with a mine detector. Details of the fuze mechanism are scarce, though given that the PMN-4 was designed during the early 1980s, it is logical to assume that the fuze is more sophisticated and/or reliable than the fuze in the PMN-2 (a mid-1970s design) to compensate for having a smaller explosive filling with significantly reduced destructive power. Similarly, the PMN-4 is almost certainly a blast resistant mine due to the design of the flower-shaped pressure "spider" under the pressure-plate.[3] Cross-sectional diagrams of the PMN-4 showing its components support the view that the PMN-4 is a more sophisticated design than the PMN-2.[4] Examples of the PMN-4 have been encountered in Ukraine and Southern Syria.[5]

  • Height: 42 mm
  • Diameter: 95 mm
  • Main charge weight: 50 g TG-40 (
    TNT
    )
  • Total weight: 300 g
  • Actuation force: 5–15 kg[6]

Render-safe procedure

It is considered extremely dangerous to disarm PMN mines by removing the

deminers. In any case it is very easy to boobytrap a standard PMN mine by attaching a pull-fuze to it, or by placing an ML-7 pressure-release antihandling device underneath.[7] Therefore, the standard render-safe procedure for PMN mines is to destroy them in situ
using a small explosive charge.

  • PMN-1 type mines found in Iraq (2003)
    PMN-1 type mines found in Iraq (2003)
  • U.S. Army soldier with various PMN-1 mines near Fallujah, Iraq.
    U.S. Army soldier with various PMN-1 mines near Fallujah, Iraq.

Variants

See also

References

  1. OCLC 474490190
    .
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-18. Retrieved 2011-01-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "OrData - Data Details". Archived from the original on 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2011-03-23.
  4. ^ "Противопехотные мины армии РФ: ПМН, ПМН-2, ПМН-3, ПМН-4, ПОМЗ-2, ПОМЗ-2М, ОЗМ-72, МОН-50, ПОМ-2Р".
  5. ^ "Russian PMN-4 anti-personnel landmines in Syria - Armament Research Services (ARES)". October 2015.
  6. ^ "Инженерные боеприпасы (ПМН-4) - PMN-4.HTML".
  7. ^ "Инженерные боеприпасы (МЛ-7) - ml-7.HTML". Archived from the original on 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  8. ^ "Type 58 (AP Blast) Landmine". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  9. ^ "MM-2 Landmine". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  10. ^ "GYATA-64 Landmine". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  11. ^ "PM-79 Landmine". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  12. ^ "MS-3 Firing Device". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  13. ^ "PMN-3 Landmine". CAT-UXO. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
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