The Hohl-Sprung Mine 4672 or Hohlladungs-Spring-Mine 4672 (HL.Sp.Mi. 4672) ("hollow-charge jump mine") was a German

anti-tank mine An anti-tank or AT mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuze desi ...

, together with the Panzer stab 43. Developed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was the first landmine to combine a

shaped charge A shaped charge, commonly also hollow charge if shaped with a cavity, is an explosive charge shaped to focus the effect of the explosive's energy. Different types of shaped charges are used for various purposes such as cutting and forming metal, ...

anti-tank warhead with a tilt rod fuze. The

Panzerfaust The (, or , plural: ) was a development family of single-shot man-portable anti-tank systems developed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapons were the first single-use light anti-tank weapons based on a pre-loaded disposable laun ...

warhead was mounted in a metal holder on a wooden panel buried in the ground with a Ki.Z.43 fuze protruding above the ground. When a vehicle passes over the mine, the rod is forced sideways triggering a black powder charge at the base of the projectile, launching the projectile out of the ground and into the belly of the vehicles. The large shaped charge was capable of penetrating over 100 mm of belly armour, significantly more than tanks of the era had. Tests conducted by the Germans suggested the mine was capable of completely destroying (rather than merely disabling) 85% of the tanks it attacked, making it impossible to redeploy repaired vehicles and crew. Deliveries to the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

began in October 1944 but the mine was not issued to combat troops until January 1945 due to manufacturing faults. Only 59,000 were built because it was felt that the warheads were better employed with the proven Panzerfaust technology.

Specifications

* Weight: * Explosive content: shaped charge * Diameter: * Height:

External links

Page about the mine at tewton.narod.ru
Anti-tank mines World War II weapons of Germany Land mines of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1944 {{Landmine-stub