Tools of War: M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine

Now here we have a big BOOM (and a whole lotta death) in a very small package.

It's been in use for over 45 years now for one simple reason - it works.

Though no longer legally in use as a traditional, uncontrolled, "victim-initiated" mine, it is still in widespread use as a command-initiated force multiplier.

The Claymore mine consists of a sheet of C4 plastic explosive formed against a curved, flat piece of steel backing. In front of that sheet of C4 are about 700 soft-steel spherical pellets, which are set in a matrix of resin. All this is surrounded by the plastic case that you see here, into which two fuse wells are incorporated at the top of the mine.

When the mine is detonated, beautiful things happen. Those 700 pellets (about the size of #4 birdshot) are explosively formed into the rough shape of a .22LR rounds. Individually, not exactly daunting....but we are talking about 700 of these puppies reaching out in a 60 degree arc. These little hornets of death fly out in a fan shaped pattern, clearing a swath 2 meters high and 50 meters wide at the optimum range of 50 meters. They continue on to about 250 meters, but the maximum range that they are effective is about 100 meters or so.

But my-oh-my, how effective they are up until that 100 meters. Mathematically, you are looking at roughly 12 pellets/degree, which pretty much means that, unless he is behind some cover, the enemy is getting hit by at least one. An adult human is about two feet wide, so you would have roughly 8.5 pellets per target at optimum killing range (50m arc=164ft; 164ft/2ft torso=82 theoretical targets standing side-by-side out at 50m; 700 pellets/82 targets=8.5 pellets/target).

What that boils down to is a portable, one shot cannon of grapeshot from days of old. It only weighs 3.5 pounds and is durable and stable as hell. It is nearly idiot-proof to employ (even has "Front toward Enemy" written on the front), and it causes devastating effects. They can also be "daisy-chained" so that one initiation causes multiple mines to go off.

Again, per the 1996 Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, it can no longer be legally used in a "trip-wire" configuration, but it still has a strong place in any defensive or ambush plan.

Here's your moment of zen...


By: Steve