An anti-tank mine is designed to disable or destroy armored vehicles, primarily tanks, by using pressure to trigger a powerful explosive charge.
These mines are essentially much larger versions of anti-personnel blast mines. While both are pressure-activated, anti-tank mines require significantly more force to detonate. Their primary goal is to cause maximum damage to the tank itself.
Activation Mechanism
Unlike anti-personnel mines that trigger under human weight, anti-tank mines are engineered with a robust fuzing system that only responds to the heavy pressure exerted by a vehicle's tracks or hull passing over them.
According to Howstuffworks, these mines typically require a much greater force to be triggered, ranging from about 348.33 pounds to 745.16 pounds. This high threshold prevents accidental detonation by infantry or light vehicles.
Damaging Tanks
When a sufficient force activates the mine, it triggers the main explosive charge. The effects are devastating to armored vehicles:
- Destroying Tracks: The blast is powerful enough to break the metal tracks of a tank, immobilizing the vehicle.
- Piercing Armor: The explosive force, especially in specifically designed mines (like shaped charge variants, though the reference doesn't specify type, it mentions piercing armor), can pierce the thick underside or side armor of a tank, causing internal damage and casualties.
Essentially, the mine waits for the immense weight of a tank, triggers its large explosive, and uses the resulting blast to break the tank's movement system and damage its protective shell.
