Description
The Soviet TMD-B antitank mine is 12 1/4 inches long, 11 inches wide, and 6 1/4 inches high. It consists of a wooden box weighing about 14 pounds, including two 5.5 pound blocks of waterproofed paper-wrapped explosive and a 200-gram booster charge. The dimensions and weight may vary according to the wood used. A centrally located fuze well is accessible through a square or round hole cut in the top of the box. Some mines have a booby-trapping fuze well in one corner of the top of the mine. A square or cylindrical pressure block is nailed to the bottom of the hinged pressure board and fits into the fuze hole in the top of the mine when the pressure board is closed. Two other boards of similar size are nailed to the top of the box and act to hold the hinged pressure board in place. These boards are grooved at one end to receive a wooden shear strip, which may or may not be used depending upon the force desired to function the mine. The mine, which is normally olive drab or grey in color, is painted white in winter. A carrying handle of leather or rope is located at one end of the mine.
The service mines employ an MV-5/MV-5K pressure-operated fuze.
This mine is normally laid as an antitank mine in mine fields and in roads. It may be set to function under the weight of a man by placing a thicker wood block under the booster charge to raise the height of the fuze, when emplaced. In this case, the hinged pressure board rests on top of the pressure cap of the fuze and the weight of a man will easily detonate the mine.
Functioning
With shear strip in place - Pressure of about 300 pounds on the pressure board breaks the board and the shear strip, forcing the pressure block down on the MV-5 fuze, actuating it and exploding the mine.
Without shear strip - Pressure of less than 50 pounds on the pressure board depresses the fuze cap and fires the mine.
Hazardous Components
Filler - Pressed Amatol; dynammonite; cast TNT; or powdered picric acid, 11 - 15 lbs. (5 - 6.8 kg)
Booster - TNT, 7 oz. (196 grams)
Physical Data
Length - 12.25 in. (311 mm)
Height - 6.25 in. (159 mm)
Width - 11 in. (279 mm)
See Also
Source(s)
Afghanistan Ordnance ID Guide, Volume 1 (2004)
TM 5-280, Foreign Mine Warfare Equipment (chg 1, 1971)
TM 5-280, Foreign Mine Warfare Equipment (1963)
TM 5-223A, Soviet Mine Warfare Equipment (1951)
