Claymore mine
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Claymore_mine_af.jpg
The M18 Claymore antipersonnel weapon is a weapon often used by many countries around the world, named after the large Scottish sword. The Claymore is designed to fire steel balls (shrapnel) out to about 100 meters across a 60° arc in front of the device, which stands just off the ground. It is designed primarily to be used in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry, however it is also of some use against soft-skinned vehicles.
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Nomenclature
When first invented, the Claymore was a new weapon which did not fit into any obvious category, and so was sometimes called a "mine" simply for lack of any better name. However the Claymore does not meet the definition of a landmine (neither the military, Ottawa Treaty, nor ordinary dictionary definitions), and has never been subject to the particular restrictions governing the use of landmines. As such it is now usually referred to as the "M18A1 Claymore" or simply the "Claymore".
Operation and Effect
The Claymore is normally fired on command using a hand held electrical initiator provided with the weapon. However because of its simple design, it could also be fired in a variety of other ways, including electric detonator, detonating cord, or even converted into a landmine or booby trap by adding a booby trap switch and trip wire. (This latter procedure is illegal in many countries.)
When detonated, the M18A1 Claymore delivers spherical steel fragments over a 60° fan-shaped pattern that is two meters high and 50 meters wide at a range of 50 meters. These fragments are moderately effective up to a range of 100 meters and can travel up to 250 meters forward of the weapon. The optimum effective range (the range at which the optimal balance is achieved between lethality and area coverage) is 50 meters.
Theory: Misznay-Schardin effect
The M18 is based on the Misznay-Schardin effect, the behaviour of sheets of explosive that was independently discovered in WWII by Misznay, a Hungarian, and Schardin, a German. When the explosive detonates in contact with a metal object, the explosion is primarily directed away from the metal. Schardin spent some time developing the device as a side-attack anti-tank weapon, but development was incomplete at the end of the war.
M18
Following the massed Chinese attacks during the Korean War, the US Army developed the German design into an anti-personnel weapon that would fire hundreds of small ball-bearings in one shot. The rear of the device was a steel sheet covered with the explosive, and in front was an air space packed with the shot. When the explosive detonates the majority of the force is directed forward, sending the balls out the front at high velocity. Claymores were not buried like mines but were placed above ground pointed towards the likely location of the enemy.
M18A1
The M18A1 was standardized in 1960 for the Vietnam War, and replaced the M18 antipersonnel weapon. Both weapons are similar in appearance and functioning. The M18A1 has an olive coloured plastic casing with the words "Front Toward Enemy" on it. It is 21.5 cm (eight inches) long, 8 cm (three inches) high, and 3.5 cm (inch and a half) deep with two sets of adjustable legs. Inside is 650 grams of plastic explosive and 700 steel ball-bearings. It is equipped with a fixed plastic slit-type sight (knife-edge sight on later model), and two detonator wells. The weapon and all its accessories are carried in the M7 bandoleer. An instruction sheet for the M18A1 is attached to the inside cover of the bandoleer.
External links
- GlobalSecurity.org - M18 Claymore (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/m18-claymore.htm)