A mine-clearing line charge (abbreviated MCLC and pronounced "mick lick") is used to create a breach in minefields under combat conditions. While there are many types, the basic design is for many explosive charges connected on a line to be projected onto the minefield. The charges explode, detonating any buried mines, thus clearing a path for infantrymen to cross. The system may either be man-portable, or vehicle-mounted. The systems do not guarantee clearance of all types of mines.[1]
History[]
The British and Commonwealth developed their systems during the Second World War. The Canadians developed "Snake", an oversized application of the Bangalore Torpedo in 1941 to 1942.[2] A more flexible development was "Conger", developed in 1944, a tube that could be fired across the minefield and then filled with explosive before detonation.[3]
Conger was a 2-inch woven pipe launched by a five-inch rocket. The tube and rocket were mounted in a Universal Carrier which had been stripped out to reduce it down to an armoured tracked trailer that could be towed by a tank, often a Churchill AVRE. The rocket was fired, trailing the hose across the area to be cleared. Compressed air was then used to pump the high explosive - just over a ton of 822C - into the hose before it was detonated. Conger was used in Normandy where there were instances of premature detonation.[4]
In the postwar period the British introduced Giant Viper.
Current use[]
Systems in current use include the British Python, which can clear a 7.3 m wide by 180–200 m long path, and the American M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge, which can clear an 8 m wide by 100 m long path.[5] Both are large, heavy systems that are deployed in a vehicle–towed trailer. The US Army also uses the Antipersonnel Obstacle Breaching System, which clears a path 0.6 to 1.0 meters by 45 meters, and is light enough to be carried by two soldiers.
Some modern mines, such as the Italian SB-33 mine, have a fuze mechanism that detonates the mine if subject to gradual, steady pressure, but locks the fuze if subject to a sudden shock. This can defeat the use of mine-clearing line charges to clear such mines.
Examples[]
- Charge Line Mine Clearing (Vehicle)-Indian
- UR-77 (УР-77) Meteorit Mineclearing System (rocket launched explosive hose),[6] replacement of the UR-67 system based on the BTR-50PK chassis.[7]
See also[]
References[]
- Notes
- ↑ уБРЕТ-5(ETEL) пЗМБЧМЕОЙЕ ТБЪДЕМБ -ЙОЦЕОЕТОБС ФЕИОЙЛБ. index-texnica.html
- ↑ Swettenham 1968, p. 217.
- ↑ http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/docs/981100-schneck.htm
- ↑ Fletcher, The Universal Tank 1993 HMSO 0 11 290534 X p94
- ↑ M58 MICLIC. FAS.org. Retrieved 16 June 2013.
- ↑ Мiнiстэрства абароны РБ - Устаноўка размініравання Ур-77
- ↑ http://www.popmech.ru/part/print.php?rubricid=7&articleid=1965 Yuri Veremeyev, Zmei Gorinich and URka, Popular Muchanics, May 2007
- Bibliography
- Swettenham, John (1968). McNaughton. Volume 2 (1939-1943). Ryerson Press. ISBN 978-0770002381.
External links[]
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