The M1, M1A1 and M4 are circular steel cased United States anti-tank blast mines with a distinctive cross shaped pressure spider. The mine was used 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 ...

and a copy produced in Argentina was used during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

. Another copy is produced in China, there designated as the No. 4 mine. Variants of the mine have also been deployed in

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. Downward pressure on the spider presses down on the head of the

fuze In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates its function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fu ...

, breaks a shear pin, and inverts a belleville spring, flipping the striker downwards into a stab sensitive

detonator A detonator is a device used to make an explosive or explosive device explode. Detonators come in a variety of types, depending on how they are initiated (chemically, mechanically, or electrically) and details of their inner working, which of ...

, triggering the mine. The M4 version of the mine has two secondary fuze wells so that

anti-handling device An anti-handling device is an attachment to or an integral part of a landmine or other munition such as some fuze types found in general-purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering or disabling, ...

s can be fitted.

Variants

* M1 – the mine has two filler plugs on the top surface. * M1A1 – the mine has a single filler plug on the top surface. * M4 – as the M1A1 but with two secondary fuze wells, one on the side and one in the bottom.

Specifications

*Weight: 4.80 kg *Explosive content: 2.70 kg of

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

*Height: 102 mm *Diameter: 203 mm *Operating pressure: 120 kg to 250 kg

References

Anti-tank mines Land mines of the United States World War II infantry weapons of the United States Military equipment introduced from 1940 to 1944 {{Landmine-stub