Mine plow
A mine plow is a mine clearance system that does not defuse or destroy land mines itself, but only push them aside. The use of the mine plow allows a quick advance through enemy mine barriers .
history
Mine plows were used for the first time towards the end of the First World War in 1918, so corresponding clearing blades were mounted on Renault FT tanks. The first documented use of mine plows was during World War II , when “Bullshorn” mine plows were attached to Churchill tanks of the 79th Armored Division ( Hobart's Funnies ) during Operation Neptune .
description
There are basically two types of mine plows:
- Two separate mine plows that only clear the lane of mines across the width of the carrier vehicle's tracks.
- Wedge-shaped mine plows, which, similar to a snow plow, have two inclined blades that are connected to one another in a wedge shape at the front.
The first concept in particular found its way into the armies of the former Warsaw Treaty. The advantages of this system are the lower acquisition costs and the fact that it can be attached to almost all tracked vehicles. The disadvantage is that following vehicles must keep exactly the lane of the clearing machine, because only the lane of the clearing vehicle itself is processed.
Mine plows do not work perfectly because some mines do not detonate and are not mechanically damaged or only slightly damaged. As a result, manual clearing is still necessary before a site is released. In addition, mines anchored in the ground or deeply buried can remain intact and consequently damage the mine plow carrier vehicle.
commitment
- KMT series: Soviet mine plow that can be attached to T-55 , T-64 , T-72 and T-80 tanks, for example.
- Ramta TWMP: Israeli mine plow used on the Australian and Danish Leopard-1 tanks and the US M1 Abrams .
gallery
M1 Abrams with mine plow
Australian Leopard AS1 with mine plow
M728 CEV with wedge-shaped mine clearance shield
T-55AM2 with mine clearance device of the type KMT
