Anti tank mines used by the Viet Cong & NVA

Anti tank & anti vehicle mines used by the Viet Cong & NVA

Mines employed by the enemy against wheeled and tracked vehicles vary from conventional antitank mines of foreign manufacture to rigged duds and locally produced explosive devices. All the industrially produced mines are of the type fused for detonation at from 150 to 400 pounds of pressure. They are buried slightly beneath the surface of the ground. The enemy generally employs these mines as designed but has varied fusing and positioning so that there is no definite pattern.

Designed to avoid detection by a mine detector, this mine is constructed of black or brown tar-impregnated cardboard, It is gauged for activation by a force of 350 pounds of pressure. Further, it can be waterproofed by use of wood and plastic sheeting, without losing its non-detection characteristic. It contains 11 pounds of explosive and has an overall weight of 15.4 pounds.

Intended for employment against both vehicles and personnel, this mine incorporates a double-acting fuse that will detonate the mine under either of two circumstances: The first, when a load of 300 pounds of pressure is applied to the pressure spider; the second, when a pull of 10 pounds is exerted on a tripwire fastened to the fuse's striker-retainer pin. Constructed of creosoted metal, it carries 4 pounds of explosive and has an overall weight of about 10 pounds.

This mine is constructed of explosive encased in a cylindrically shaped concrete shell with a flat side for stable emplacement. A 2-inch-diameter pipe on one end of the mine serves as a carrying handle and detonator housing. The two swivels on top of the mine are used to tie it to an object. Usually employed as a command detonating mine, it is equipped with an electrical firing device.

Produced in North Vietnam, this egg shaped mine is made of cast iron with serrations on its outer surface. Designed for command detonation, the mine is fused with an electrical detonator and weighs 12 pounds.

Manufactured locally in VC mine factories, this mine contains an iron-pipe detonator encased in concrete. Another command-detonating mine, it is fused e I electrically and weighs 13 pounds.

Produced locally in VC mine factories, this mine is a prototype of numerous other VC-manufactured explosive devices. Constructed of sheet metal, with welded seams it generally weighs about 15 pounds, of which 13 pounds are explosive. Command detonated, it is fused electrically and employs two detonators, one in each end o! the mine. The same principle of construction is applied to salvaged artillery shell casings, expended LAAW launchers, and most other devices using metal containers.

The VC box mine is constructed of wood utilizing discarded ammunition boxes or any scrap material. Mine detectors will not locate these devices. They can be waterproofed with plastic sheeting. Box mines are produced in various sizes but the most common contains about 40 pounds of explosive. The mine can be fused for command detonation or self-detonation by the use of various devices. The explosive charge is usually made up of standard Soviet or Chinese Communist 1-pound demolition blocks.

A length of bamboo is emplaced at an angle of 45 degrees along the shoulder of a road. A B-40 rocket is then placed in the bamboo tube and fired electrically by command detonation as the tank or vehicle crosses the line of fire.

Constructed of blued steel, sometimes painted olive drab or white, the TM-41 carries an explosive charge of 8 pounds and has a total weight of 12 pounds. A force of 350 pounds of pressure on the lid will activate the firing device. With very little additional waterproofing it can remain operational indefinitely.

Manufactured in Communist China, this mine is similar to and often mistaken for a U.S. pre-World War II mine. Made of metal, it is painted olive drab with the yellow markings "MINE M1A1-TNT". It is activated by 200 pounds of pressure on the pressure plate. This mine contains 4 pounds of explosive and weighs 11.5 pounds.