Anti-personnel mine POM-1

16
At the final stage of the Vietnam War, American forces began to use the latest BLU-42 / B anti-personnel mines. it weapon made it possible to carry out remote mining of the terrain using appropriate aviation systems and thereby hinder the movement of the enemy. Despite all the technical tricks of the developers, these mines eventually became trophies of the North Vietnamese troops, who soon handed them over to Soviet specialists. A few years later, a similar ammunition appeared in the arsenals of the Soviet engineering troops, intended for use for similar purposes.

The creation of a new Soviet mine involved the Scientific Research Engineering Institute. This organization for several decades has developed a number of types of mines of various classes and continues to deal with this topic until now. The project, which started in the seventies, received the designation POM-1 - "Anti-personnel fragmentation mine, the first." In this project, it was planned to apply some ideas, peeped in the project BLU-42 / B, as well as to develop them and introduce new proposals. The result was the emergence of domestic mines with relatively high efficiency.

Mina POM-1 received an original and non-standard construction for its time. Its main elements are two hemispherical halves of the body, inside and outside of which there are various parts, including the blasting system and target sensors. At the base of the hemispheres there is a slight thickening, with the help of which they are joined during assembly. In this case, the hemispheres are applied to each other, and the thickening is tightened with a metal tape. In addition, several curved protrusions are provided on the outer surface of the housing. There are also several holes: for target sensors, fuses and other parts.

Anti-personnel mine POM-1
Mina POM-1 in transport position. In the foreground is a spider holding anchors. Photo Russianarms.ru


The assembled POM-1 product has a maximum diameter of 80,4 mm and weighs on the order of 750 g. Such small dimensions make it possible to lay such mines tightly in existing remote mining containers and thereby increase the number of simultaneously installed ammunition.

When assembling, a special electrical equipment block is installed inside the body, made in the form of a cylindrical body with several protruding tubes. These tubes are installed in the corresponding holes in the housing and ensure the operation of various parts and mechanisms. The space between the cylindrical block and the spherical body is filled with explosive. POM-1 mines charge consists of TNT 100.

A pyrotechnic retarder, a hydromechanical long-distance cocking mechanism, a centrifugal fuse, a fuse, etc. are located inside the cylindrical body of the fuse device and its tubes. All this equipment ensures the proper operation of the mine after it is ejected from the cassette and after it falls to the ground.

Each of the corpus hemispheres has four holes used by the target sensor. As the latter, eight kapron threads of length 6 m are used, laid in compact skeins. One end of the thread is fixed in the case, at the second end special anchors are attached — weights of a cylindrical form with a plate of complex shape on the outer end. Anchors are located inside small tubular shafts with springs for ejection. In the transport position, the anchors are held by special curved X-shaped crosses, in the center of which the rod is attached. The latter, in turn, enters the central opening of the body hemisphere.


The scheme of mines. Figure A-popov.livejournal.com


Of particular consideration is the fuse, responsible for determining the impact on the mine and the undermining of the main charge. Mina POM-1 has no exhaust checks or other parts that are commonly used with a target tension sensor. On the contrary, it was proposed to carry out an explosion with a significant change in the position of the mine, caused by the tension of the thread.

The basis of the sensor of the target, installed inside the mine, is a dielectric plastic case, inside which there are two rings connected to the electrical system of the mine. Between the rings is a metal ball, which is put on another ring. Changing the position of the ball is perceived by the “brain” of the mine as a sign of the presence of the enemy. This produces an explosion.

Shortly after the basic POM-1, a modified POM-1С appeared, characterized by the presence of a self-liquidator. The latter, when the mines start, starts the countdown and undermines the charge after a specified period of time. The running time can be set from 1 to 40 hours.

POM-1 anti-personnel mines can only be installed using remote mining systems. Manual installation is not provided, which is associated with some features of the operation of the mechanisms of mines in the process of cocking and preparation for work. Mines POM-1 are installed using unified cassettes KCO-1, etc. products. Eight minutes are placed in such a cassette, after which it can be dropped from aircraft mining equipment or charged into ground launchers.


Mina in the cut. Photo Russianarms.ru


The number of mines ready for installation depends on the type of mining system used. For example, the BCM-1 helicopter mining complex incorporates an 4 container with 29 launchers for KSO-1 cassettes. Thus, one helicopter per flight can set up to 928 mines POM-1. The order of mining, the size of sites, etc. features of the helicopter are determined in accordance with the existing situation.

According to some reports, POM-1 mines can also be placed in aviation cargo containers. The KMGU product accommodates such mines as 192 and can be dropped by various types of aircraft. This method of mining was developed and possibly used in practice, but not in the governing documents.

During the installation of a minefield using mines POM-1, a helicopter or a land mining system throws mines into a predetermined section of the mine. At a certain height, the cassettes are opened, after which the mines freely fall to the ground, and their fusing devices are also cocked.

When the mine leaves the cassette, a special cord pulls a check from it. After that, the ammunition falls to the ground, rotating around its axis. The rotation is facilitated by curved protrusions on the outer surface of the housing. After removing the checks, the centrifugal fuse is unlocked and the pyrotechnic moderator is ignited. The retarder, burning out, frees the centrifugal fuse, which further does not allow the fuse to work and ensures the preparation of the mine to work.


Scheme of ammunition in the cut. Figure A-popov.livejournal.com


Releasing the centrifugal fuse unlocks the crosses, which fly to the sides and release eight target sensor anchors. With the help of springs and centrifugal force, the anchors fly apart and unwind the threads to their full length. In this form, the mine falls to the ground and stops rotating. Because the mine stops, the centrifugal fuse closes the contacts of the fuse circuit, after which the mine is ready to work. The complete process of preparing POM-1 mines for work takes no more than 90 s.

When dumped in KSO-1 cassettes, eight min POM-1 lie within a site up to 20 m long and 10 m wide. The length of the sensor threads of the target, the component 6 m, ensures complete overlap of this section and some nearby area. The complex random interweaving of a large number of threads (64 threads in the case of 8 mines from one cassette) ensures reliable overlapping of the mining zone and ensures that the enemy’s manpower that has fallen into it is defeated.

When the fuse is closed, the mine “remembers” the position of the rings and the fuse ball, and monitors its change. When exposed to one of the strands, the mine changes its position, as a result of which the ball shifts and the chains are closed or opened. When this is done undermining.

Mines POM-1 and POM-1С had a relatively small explosive charge - just 100 g. Targets are hit using a shock wave (at minimum distances) and a large number of hull fragments. The radius of a continuous lesion is 4 m. With increasing distances, the slaughter effect of the fragments can be reduced.

Anti-personnel mines of the POM-1 family have a limited service life. The operation of the electrical systems of the ammunition is provided by a small electric battery mounted in an explosive device. The battery charge is enough to work for 15 days. In the case of POM-1C mine, the maximum operating time is set by the self-liquidator and does not exceed 40 hours. Thus, the self-destruction of mines occurs a few days before the development of battery power.


Fuse position sensor circuit. In the background, the initial position, in the front - before the explosion. Figure Popmech.ru


POM-1 products are not equipped with special devices that impede their removal or neutralization. In addition, their design does not provide for the possibility of such procedures. It should also be noted that such anti-personnel mines are a great danger during mine clearance. The mines scattered by the system of remote mining are distributed over a relatively large area, and also cover it with their own threads. As a result, the search and destruction of mines is becoming very difficult.

Detection of mines with the use of metal detectors or probes is almost impossible due to the filaments ejected by them, hooking which can cause the detonation of one or several ammunition. Other methods of neutralization also can not provide the required efficiency and safety. Passages in the fields with POM-1 mines can be made using elongated charges or by passing armored vehicles with a sufficient level of protection.

The full-scale production of POM-1 and POM-1C mines started in the second half of the seventies and lasted until about the mid-eighties. During testing and operation of these munitions showed interesting characteristics, but not without problems. Mines POM-1 had a number of characteristic flaws, which eventually led to the rejection of their use.

The main problem of the POM-1 product was a relatively small explosive charge. Mina, equipped with 100 g of TNT, has efficiency at the level of hand grenades and is seriously inferior to other products of this class. It should be noted that this disadvantage can be compensated for by the high density of mining and the theoretical possibility of simultaneous undermining of several minutes when grazing their threads with overlapping affected areas.


Reset crosses, throwing anchors and threads. Figure Popmech.ru


The second problem is insufficient life and high requirements for storage conditions. To preserve the required characteristics, POM-1 mines should not be kept cold, which may require heated warehouses. Even under ideal conditions, over time, batteries are self-discharging, the replacement of which is not foreseen. Because of this, the storage period of anti-personnel mines does not exceed 5 years, but in practice it can be much less.

Another disadvantage of POM-1 mines is associated with the applied sensor with a closed circuit and a set of threads. On their threads, mines can hang on trees, shrubs, or tall grass and in this position go into a firing position. In this case, the wind, swinging branches or grass, can displace the mine too much and provoke its detonation. Loose snow was also not the best surface for the installation of anti-personnel mines. Driving under the weight of the ammunition, snow can cause it to explode.

The creation of POM-1 and POM-1C mines made it possible to quickly equip engineering troops with new anti-personnel ammunition with acceptable combat characteristics. At the same time, however, these mines could not be called perfect, because they had a number of characteristic shortcomings that hampered storage and operation. However, these shortcomings could not close the way for the mines to the troops, and these products went into series.

Serial production of POM-1 mines continued until the mid-eighties, after which it was stopped. For some reason, the production of such ammunition was smaller in comparison with other anti-personnel mines. The shutdown of production, as well as the technical features of electrical systems eventually led to the fact that a large number of POM-1 and POM-1С mines, which are unserviceable due to the discharge of batteries, can still be stored in warehouses. Their use, for obvious reasons, is not possible.


On the materials of the sites:
http://saper.etel.ru/
http://eragun.org/
http://saperka.ru/
http://oaoniii.ru/
http://lexpev.nl/
http://a-popov.livejournal.com/
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16 comments
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  1. -5
    26 November 2015 06: 50
    Yeah, democratizers were not shy about the most savage ways ... Bright ideals justify any atrocity :(
    1. +6
      26 November 2015 07: 14
      Well, actually this is a Soviet mine.
      1. +2
        26 November 2015 16: 46
        Quote: Wedmak
        Well, actually this is a Soviet mine.

        Copy of american.
  2. +2
    26 November 2015 07: 16
    Yeah .. and now there is POM-3. The trick is increased by an order of magnitude, as is the ease of use. Pull out the check, throw it to the ground. Then she will do everything herself.
    1. 0
      26 November 2015 19: 31
      Are they really set up like that? After reading about the undermining at any change of position,
      it’s scary to even think about how to pull out a check.
    2. 0
      27 November 2015 13: 47
      There is such a "thing" - "medallion" is also called.
      Innovative ammunition combines all the advantages of its predecessors and is free from their shortcomings.
      The mine received the name “medallion” because of the shape of the damaging elements. They are similar to the Japanese "star" shuriken or gear ring, the teeth of which, after triggering, fly apart in different directions, while rotating around the center of mass, which ensures a more effective defeat of the enemy. At the same time, the level of scattering of elements outside the zone (for example, at POM-1, most of the fragments went into the ground) is minimized.
      POM-3 does not need any extensions or wires. The new mine, like the previous samples, is equipped with a proximity fuse triggered by a seismic sensor. The latter shoots into the ground under ammunition so as not to create unmasking signs. The mine is designed for remote installation, that is, you can not place it manually, but only using special equipment.
      The most important feature of the "Medallion" is the microchip responsible for all the work - the electronic "brain". It is he who provides protection against false alarms (for example, in the widely used method with animals in Afghanistan), and also prevents unauthorized disposal. "
    3. The comment was deleted.
  3. +2
    26 November 2015 07: 54
    A terrible thing, but effective.
  4. 0
    26 November 2015 08: 16
    The first time I heard about such an original solution. If we use a current source activated at the moment of setting (a simplified analogue used in needles), then there will be no storage problems.
    1. +6
      26 November 2015 09: 08
      There is a thermochemical element in the needles; it does not work for very long (until the melt crystallizes, it is much less than the required 40 hours), and if the enemy has a thermal imager, then all the mines in it will glow like sparklers :)

      PS: POM-3 is almost a masterpiece (we will leave the masterpiece for POM-4,5,6, etc.)
    2. 0
      26 November 2015 18: 37
      In MANPADS, as in RVV and most products from 45 to 150 kg - the "power source" is a PAD - a powder pressure accumulator working on a generator. Disguises, overheats, works very shortly. It requires a battery and a transformer in the load so as not to maintain the rocket's flight time, but an en-th time. In terms of weight - comparable, in terms of reliability - it is necessary to change the batteries :-) And terchemistry is not serious either in terms of power or time.
  5. 0
    26 November 2015 13: 08
    What is known about the combat use of this mine?
  6. +2
    26 November 2015 14: 45
    At the final stage of the Vietnam War, US troops began to use the latest anti-personnel mines BLU-42 / BThe Germans used cluster bombs with might and main. German aircraft technician prepares a cluster bomb for the Fokke-Wulf Fw 190F fighter-bomber.
  7. +3
    26 November 2015 17: 22
    Near the town of Snow, dill was scattered.
  8. 0
    26 November 2015 21: 43
    http://masterok.livejournal.com/2641929.html
    The article is completely taken from this resource!
  9. +1
    27 November 2015 06: 01
    thing! good but selective in TM I read that in vietnam people were fishing enti mines with a six meter bamboo pole. that is, a fishing rod. the zone of defeat for these infernal apples is not large.
  10. +1
    28 November 2015 06: 05
    Our defective 82mm mines were also used during World War II, collected in containers and worked worse.

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