M18 Claymore
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Revision as of 18:25, 5 March 2009
The M18A1 Claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine used by the U.S. military. It was named after the large Scottish sword by its inventor, Norman A. MacLeod. The Claymore fires shrapnel, in the form of steel balls, out to about 100 meters across a 60° arc in front of the device. It is used primarily in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry. It is also of some use against soft-skinned vehicles.
Deployment modes
The Claymore mine is typically deployed in one of three modes: Controlled, Uncontrolled, or Time-delayed.
- Controlled Mode (also known as Command Detonation)
- The mine is detonated by the operator as the forward edge of the enemy approaches a point within the killing zone (20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 ft)) where maximum casualties can be inflicted. Controlled detonation may be accomplished by use of either an electrical or nonelectrical detonator|firing system. When mines are employed in the controlled role, they are treated the same as individual weapons and are reported for inclusion in the unit fire plan. They are not reported as mines; however, the emplacing unit must ensure that the mines are removed, detonated, or turned over to a relieving unit. The M57 Firing Device (colloquially referred to as the "clacker") is included with the M18A1 Claymore Mine so that it can be used in the controlled mode. When Claymore Mines are daisy chained together, one M57 firing device can initiate several claymore mines.
- Uncontrolled Mode (also known as Victim Initiated Detonation)
- Uncontrolled firing is accomplished when the mine is installed in such a manner as to cause an unsuspecting enemy to detonate the mine. Mines employed in this manner must be reported and recorded as land mines. There are many mechanisms that can be used to initiate the M18A1 in uncontrolled mode, including the M142 Multipurpose Firing Device, M5 Pressure Release Device (mousetrap), tripwires, strikers, infrared sensors, acoustic & vibration sensors.
- Time-delayed Mode
- Time-delayed firing involves the fitting of a short timed fuse and a fuse igniter to allow the mine to be used as a pursuit deterrent. This, anecdotally, may be combined with a CS grenade or bag containing the irritant contained in a CS grenade. The mine is emplaced, quickly oriented on the direction pursuers are most likely to take, and the fuse is ignited before the position is abandoned.
Personal experiences
In the Finnish Defence Forces the Claymore is known as either Viuhkapanos 84 (VP 84) or Viuhkapanos 88 (VP 88). I myself received training on how to correctly arm a VP 88, which is the smaller version of the mine with less weight, and thus includes less explosive material in it. I would imagine, though, that arming a VP 84 isn't much harder than arming it's little brother - and the whole concept of arming one has been made very simple, indeed. Even a child could do it - and probably has, too.
If someone would throw me a VP-mine right here and now, I bet you good money I could arm it right there and then even after only receiving only a few hours of training with it. That's how simple of a thing it is.
