PFM-1
| PFM-1 | |
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| General Information | |
| Designation: | PFM-1 |
| Type: | Anti-personnel mine |
| Country of origin: | Soviet Union |
| Technical specifications | |
| Combat weight: | 75 grams |
| Charge: | 37 grams of liquid explosive |
| Length: | 119 millimeters |
| Width: | 64 millimeters |
| Height: | 20 millimeters |
| Detonator: | Pressure igniter |
| Lists on the subject | |
PFM-1 ( Russian ПФМ-1 , short for противопехотная фугасная мина - anti-people stray land mine , nickname "Green Parrot") is a butterfly mine developed in the Soviet Union . The mine is an almost exact replica of the US BLU-43 / B .
The PFM-1S model has a self-destruct mechanism with an expiration time of approximately 24 hours.
The side-mounted aerodynamic surfaces slow down the fall of the mine and encourage it to spread over a large area. The explosive in liquid form is contained in one of the two wings, the detonator is in the middle.
Technical specifications
- Material: plastic with few metal parts
- Weight: 75 g
- Explosives: 37 g of liquid explosive
- Length: 119 mm
- Width: 64mm
- Height: 20mm
- Colors depending on the surface on which it is dropped: brown, green, sand-colored, white
- Detonator: cumulative pressure detonator (5 kg)
- Effect: Explosive mine, no primary fragmentation effect (parts of the shell fly up to 100 meters), mostly non-fatal (mutilating)
Release
The mines can be dropped from airplanes, helicopters (144 mines per canister , a Mil Mi-8 carries two canisters, for example), artillery rockets (312 per 220 mm rocket ) or 240 mm mortar shells (20 mines per grenade) become. They are spread in the wind over a large, unpredictable area. The leads are packed in a kidney-shaped metal container in the canisters of 20 pieces. After being dropped, this is usually found in the mined area. After being dropped, the mines sharpen themselves after a specified time or after the impact; a special construction prevents the premature explosion on impact with the ground. During the release, a safety pin is pulled that held the leads in pairs in the release container, and the arming lever moves through a viscous silicone fluid. The ignition delay is 60 to 600 seconds and ranges from being dropped to lying on the surface of the earth.
ignition
The entire body of the mine is a cumulative pressure detonator that detonates the mine at 5 kg of pressure. Cumulative here means that a single pressure (e.g. when stepping on the mine) of 5 kg or many small pressures in succession (e.g. when handling the mine), totaling 5 kg, will ignite the mine . So it is extremely dangerous to touch the mine. The detonator releases a small metal ball that releases a spring-loaded detonating needle that strikes the primer and ignites the explosive.
commitment
Areas where these mines were dropped include: Afghanistan , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Chechnya (by the Russian Army), Iraq (against the Kurds in the north) and Somalia .
Child sacrifice in Afghanistan
The PFM-1 was largely used in the Soviet-Afghan War , where it resulted in a significant number of mutilated and dead children among the civilian population. Due to its aerodynamic butterfly shape and colored paintwork, it was often mistaken for a toy, with the mine then exploding in the children's hands, often resulting in head injuries that were regularly fatal. For these reasons, among others, the PFM-1 became one of the main targets of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines .