BLU-42

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BLU-42
General Information
Designation: BLU-42
Type: Anti-personnel mine
Country of origin: United StatesUnited States United States
Development: 1970s
Technical specifications
Combat weight: 0.51 kilograms
Charge: 0.071 kilograms of Composition-B
Diameter: 60 millimeters
Detonator: Draw fuse, time fuse
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The BLU-42 is a remotely deployable anti-personnel mine from the USA .

description

The BLU-42 was introduced to the US armed forces in the early 1970s . There she also bears the name WAAPM ( W ide A rea A NTI P ersonnel M ine). BLU-42 has a circular cast iron mine body . Four aerodynamic ribs are attached to the mine body. The mine can be green, orange or brown and is triggered by tripwires. The mine has an anti-lift device. In the USSR , the BLU-42 was reverse-engineered and introduced to the Soviet armed forces under the designation POM-1 .

variants

  • BLU-42A: self-destruct after 180 hours
  • BLU-42B: self-destruct after 156 hours
  • BLU-54B: self-destruct after 1,200 hours

Use and function

54 mines each are housed in a CDU-18/19/20/21 cassette. These cassettes are packed in SUU-38 litter boxes. The mines can be moved remotely by airplanes or helicopters. After being ejected from the spreader, the mine begins to rotate due to the draft that sweeps over the aerodynamic ribs. If the mine rotates at 2700-3000 revolutions per minute , the sharpening sequence is activated by the centrifugal force . After the impact, the mine has 5–10 minutes to calm down. Then the 7.6 m long trip wires are ejected using spring springs . The eight tripwires have small weights at the ends. After a further 8-10 seconds, the mine is sharp. As soon as one of the tripwires experiences a pull, the mine detonates immediately. The splinter action circle is around 10 m. Injuries can occur up to a distance of 60 m. The mine also has anti-lift protection: if the position angle of the mine is changed by a few degrees, it detonates immediately. If the mine is not triggered by the tripwire, the igniter is activated and the mine detonates after a maximum of 1200 hours (50 days) due to the insufficient battery voltage.

Deployment systems

  • CBU-34: SUU-38A spreader with 540 BLU-42 refills
  • CBU-42: SUU-38A spreader with 540 BLU-54 refills

commitment

The US armed forces deployed large numbers of BLU-42/54 mines in Vietnam , Cambodia and Laos . There, tens of thousands of them were dropped from airplanes and helicopters. The failure-prone self-destruction mechanism proved to be disadvantageous. This often did not work properly. Many of the mines dropped in the 1970s are still a threat to the population today. From the late 1970s, the BLU-42/54 was replaced by the BLU-92 Gator mine.

See also

Web links