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PMD series mines

{{Short description|Soviet Union anti-personnel mines}}

{{Infobox weapon

| name = PMD

| image = PMD-6 2 (ORDATA).jpg

| image_size = 300

| alt =

| caption = A PMD-6

| type = Anti-personnel mine

| origin = Soviet Union

| is_explosive = yes

| service =

| used_by = See users

| wars = {{plainlist|

}}

| designer =

| design_date =

| manufacturer =

| developed_from =

| developed_into =

| unit_cost =

| production_date =

| number =

| variants = See variants

| spec_label = PMD-6

| mass = {{cvt|400|g}}

| length = {{cvt|190|mm}}

| part_length =

| width = {{cvt|90|mm}}

| height = {{cvt|65|mm}}

| diameter =

| crew =

| passengers =

| filling = TNT

| filling_weight = {{cvt|200|g}}

| detonation = Pressure or tripwire

| yield =

| ref = {{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}

}}

The PMD-6, PMD-7 and PMD-57 series mines are Soviet Union blast-type anti-personnel mines that consist of a wooden box with a hinged lid with a slot cut into it. The slot presses down against a retaining pin, which holds back the striker. When sufficient pressure is applied to the lid of the box the retaining pin moves, allowing the striker to hit the detonator. The mines typically have an operating pressure of 1 to 10 kg.

Due its minimal use of metal, it was virtually indetectable by 1940s metal detectors, but by the late 1990s it could be located at a range of {{cvt|30|m}} with a Ebinger 420 or other contemporary detectors.{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=137}} As with other wooden box mines, the mine has a relatively short lifetime since the box is vulnerable to rotting and splitting, disabling the mine.{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}} In dry climates however, PMD-6s were found in operational condition up to ten years after being laid.{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=44}}

The mines are sometimes used with mortar bombs in place of the normal explosive blocks.

Variants

  • PMD-6 − original version of the mine, first used in the 1939 Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland.
  • PMD-6M − slightly larger version of the mine, with a leaf spring installed inside the box to increase operating pressure, which allows safer handling during minelaying.
  • PMD-6F − a version used extensively during the Siege of Leningrad, with an ammonium nitrate/fuel oil (ANFO) main charge.
  • PMD-7 − smaller version of the mine, using a cylindrical main charge.
  • PMD-7ts − consists of a solid wooden block hollowed out to accept the main charge and fuse.
  • PMD-57 − A later, larger box mine, using a larger warhead.
  • Type 59 − Chinese copy{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}
  • PP Mi-D − Czech copy{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}
  • PMD-1 − Yugoslav copy{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}

Due the mine simple construction and to evade the arms embargo, Rhodesia produced copies of the PMD-6 during the Rhodesian Bush War.{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=117}}

Specifications

class=wikitable

!

PMD-6PMD-6MPMD-7PMD-7tsPMD-57
Weight

| 400 g || 400 g || 400 g (approx) || 400 g ||

Explosive content

| 200 g || 200 g || 75 or 200 g || 50 or 75 g || 400 g

Length

| 198 mm || 190 mm

|colspan=2 align=center| 152 mm

| 200 mm

Width

| 85 mm || 89 mm

|colspan=2 align=center| 76 mm

| 100 mm

Height

| 65 mm || 65 mm

|colspan=2 align=center| 51 mm

| 80 mm

Operating pressure

| 1 to 10 kg || 6 kg

|colspan=2 align=center| 1 to 9 kg

|19 kg

Users

  • {{flag|Afghanistan|1980}}{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}
  • {{flaglist|Albania}} − PMD-6 produced locally until 1991. Stockpiles destroyed in 2002{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|pages=99−100}}
  • {{ALG}} − PMD-6 and PMD-6M, used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=115}}
  • {{ANG}} − PMD-6, used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=120}}
  • {{ARM}}{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=919}}
  • {{CHN}} − Produced locally as the Type 59{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|1999|page=458}}
  • {{flaglist|Congo-Kinshasa}} − PMD-6, used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=357}}
  • {{CZS}} − Produced locally as the PP Mi-D{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}
  • {{ECU}} − PMD-6M. Stockpiles destroyed in 2002{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=402}}
  • {{ERI}} − PMD-6, seized from Ethiopian depots or minefields{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|pages=421,425}}
  • {{flag|Derg|name=Ethiopia}}{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}
  • {{flag|Ba'athist Iraq|name=Iraq}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Jacobson|1991|page=36}}
  • {{GNB}} − PMD-6 {{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=478}}
  • {{PRK}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=101}}
  • {{MOZ}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=580}}
  • {{MYA}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=938}}
  • {{NAM}}{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=598}}
  • {{flaglist|Nepal}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=1078}}
  • {{NIC}} − PMD-6M. Stockpiles destroyed between 1999 and 2002{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=619}}
  • {{PER}} − PMD-6 and PMD-6M, used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=658}}
  • {{POL}} − PMD-6 produced locally until 1957, remaining stockpiles used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=907}}
  • {{flag|Rhodesia}} − Locally produced copies of the PMD-6{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=117}}
  • {{URS}} − Replaced by the PMN in the early 1960s{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=103}}
  • {{TJK}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=790}}
  • {{TKM}}{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=831}}
  • {{UGA}} − PMD-6 produced locally{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=835}}
  • {{YEM}} − PMD-6, used for training only{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=866}}
  • {{YUG}} − Produced locally as the PMD-1{{sfn|King|1998|page=227}}

=Non-state actors=

  • {{flagicon image|Bandera Resistencia Nicaragüense.png}} Contras− PMD-6{{sfn|Landmine Monitor|2004|page=488}}
  • {{flagicon image|Flag of Democratic Kampuchea.svg}} Khmer Rouge − PMD-6{{sfn|Physicians for Human Rights|1993|page=172}}
  • {{flag|Viet Cong}} − PMD-6{{sfn|Croll|1998|page=103}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

=Bibliography=

  • {{cite book |last1=Croll |first1=Mike |title=The history of landmines |date=1998 |publisher=Leo Cooper |location=Barnsley, UK |isbn=978-0-85052-628-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyoflandmin0000crol/page/116/ |url-access=registration}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Landmine Monitor |title=Landmine Monitor Report 1999: Toward a Mine-free World |date=1999 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=978-1-56432-231-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiwJHi8Pa2IC&pg=PA458 |language=en}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Landmine Monitor |title=Landmine Monitor Report |date=2004 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=978-1-56432-327-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJAsufi7pDMC&pg=PA99 |language=en}}
  • {{cite journal |last1=Jacobson |first1=Michael R. |editor1-last=Garland |editor1-first=Albert N. |title=Iraqi Infantry |journal=Infantry |date=January–February 1991 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=33–37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qjTt-i8WCeIC&pg=PA35 |access-date=21 April 2025 |publisher=U.S. Army Infantry School |location=Fort Benning, GA |language=en |issn=0019-9532}}
  • {{cite book |editor1-last=King |editor1-first=Colin |title=Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance, 1998-99 |date=1998 |publisher=Jane's Information Group |location=Coulsdon, Surrey, UK and Alexandria, VA |isbn=978-0-7106-1803-0 |edition=3rd |url=https://archive.org/details/janesminesminecl0000unse |url-access=registration}}
  • {{cite book |last1=Physicians for Human Rights |title=Landmines: A Deadly Legacy |date=1993 |publisher=Human Rights Watch |isbn=978-1-56432-113-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EqWsbzQh0g4C&pg=PA172 |language=en}}
  • Brassey's Essential Guide To Anti-Personnel Landmines, Recognizing and Disarming, Eddie Banks, {{ISBN|1-85753-228-7}}
  • Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance 2005-2006
  • TM 5-223, Foreign Mine Warfare Equipment

External links

{{commons category|PMD}}

  • {{ORDATA mines|5647|PMD-57}}
  • {{ORDATA mines|7519|PMD-6 and 7}}
  • {{ORDATA mines|6103|PMD-7ts}}

Category:Anti-personnel mines

Category:Land mines of the Soviet Union

Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1930s