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The History, Development, and Use of the PMN Mine |
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The History, Development, and Use of the PMN Mine |
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This section has very detailed information about the PMN anti-personnel land mine, many of which have never been seen before in unclassified Western sources. This section will describe the appearance, operation, use, and disarming of the mine. In the near future the history of the mine will be covered in detail. | |
The PMN is made of a circular bakelite body with a rubber plate on the top. The rubber plate is secured to the mine body by a thin metal band. The detonator/booster well is placed on the side of the mine body, opposite of the fuze assembly well. The booster housing is made of plastic and the detonator is fitted into the booster. A plastic plug is screwed into the detonator/booster well to close it. The fuze assembly is screwed into the well on the opposite side of the detonator/booster well. The fuze is secured with a safety pin to prevent the striker from moving forward. The fuze is delay armed. A thin metal wire is attached to the back part of the striker and is enclosing a lead strip. The delay arming time is from 15 to 20 min. depending on the temperature.
Dig a small hole where the mine is to be placed, allowing an extra 2-4 cm so that it can be concealed when buried. Remove the detonator plug and install MD-9 detonator, then replace the plug. Place the mine in the prepared hole and partially cover. Remove the safety pin. Cover and camouflage the mine being careful not to exert any pressure on the pressure plate. The mine will armed 15-20 minutes after the safety pin is removed.
When the safety pin is removed, the spring loaded striker is released and pressed forwards, causing a steel wire to start cutting through the lead delay strip. After the delay strip is cut, the striker is allowed to move forward until it stops on a step in the actuating plunger. The mine is now armed. A pressure on the rubber plate will depress the actuating plunger until the striker is released. The striker fires the detonator and the booster which in turn detonates the main charge. Though rather small, the extremely sensitive PMN is capable of causing a crippling injury to a foot or leg if stepped on.
The mine cannot be neutralized because of the forward motion of the strike when the safety pin is removed. This prevents the safety pin being replaced. To disarm the mine you must hold the mine by the bakelite sides only. Unscrew and remove the detonating plug. Then remove the detonator and booster from the mine. After disarming the mine, the striker can be removed by depressing the pressure plate to fire the striker out through the hole for the detonator plug. The United States Army initially described the PMN as impossible for the average soldier to disarm, due to its extreme sensitivity. Many international mine clearing groups have shown that this is not the case, however, no one should attempt to disarm ANY mine without proper training.
Here you can see what weapons the PMN anti-personnel mine replaced and what weapons eventually replaced it. You can find out more about each weapon by clicking on the links below.
| The PMN replaced... | PMN Anti-Personnel Mine | The PMN was replaced by... |
| PMK-40 Anti-Personnel Mine | PMN-2 Anti-Personnel Mine |
Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you. We hope you can find them as useful as we have.
FM-100-2-3 The Soviet Army: Troops, Organization, and Equipment, Washington D.C.: Department of the Army, 1991. Print.
Banks, Eddie. Brassey's Essential Guide to Anti-Personnel Landmines, London: Brassey's Inc, 1997. Print.
King, Colin. Jane's Mines and Mine Clearence 1999-2000, London: Jane's Information Group, 1999. Print.