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The ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung'' was an
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-185-0139-25, Russland, Panzer in Bereitstellung.jpg, Panzer III tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-216-0410-27, Krieg im Osten.jpg, Panzer III tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-218-0420-04.jpg, Captured Panzer III tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101III-Groenert-19-23A, Schlacht um Kursk, Panzer VI (Tiger I).jpg, Tiger I tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-461-0213-34, Russland, Panzer VI (Tiger I) wird aufmunitioniert.jpg, Tiger I tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-698-0038-04, Russland-Nord, Panzer VI (Tiger I) Recolored.jpg, Tiger I tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-457-0056-12, Russland-Mitte, Panzer VI (Tiger I) in Ortschaft.jpg, Tiger I tank equipped with the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung''
The ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung'' was an anti-personnel mine
Anti-personnel mines are a form of mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines; the latter may ...
launcher used to disperse S-Mine
The German S-mine (''Schrapnellmine'', ''Springmine'' or ''Splittermine'' in German), also known as the "Bouncing Betty" on the Western Front and "frog-mine" on the Eastern Front, is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding ...
s. It was typically found on German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
tanks
A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine ...
such as the Panzer III
The ''Panzerkampfwagen III'', commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany, and was used extensively in World War II. The official German ordnance designation was Sd.Kfz. 141. It was intended to fight oth ...
and Tiger I
The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
from 1942 through 1943.
Operation
The ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung'' was a simple device consisting of a smallsteel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
tube oriented at a 50 ° angle mounted to the hull roof or track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
guards of the tank. The tube contained a modified version of the infantry S-mine
The German S-mine (''Schrapnellmine'', ''Springmine'' or ''Splittermine'' in German), also known as the "Bouncing Betty" on the Western Front and "frog-mine" on the Eastern Front, is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding ...
equipped with the ''Glühzünder'' 28 fuze
In military munitions, a fuze (sometimes fuse) is the part of the device that initiates function. In some applications, such as torpedoes, a fuze may be identified by function as the exploder. The relative complexity of even the earliest fuze d ...
which allowed it to be electrically
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
fired from the inside of the vehicle using a small control panel labeled ''Minenabwurfschalter'' that was mounted on the engine firewall
Firewall may refer to:
* Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts
* Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
. The mine itself consisted of a round projectile
A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found in ...
deep by wide and contained about 360 steel balls. The projectile was fired about into the air, where it would explode
An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...
, scattering the steel balls in all directions. Starting in June 1942, up to six launchers were mounted on the track guards of an unknown number of Panzerkampfwagen III ''Ausführung'' L tanks and were issued for troop testing to the 13th Panzer Division
The 13th Panzer Division ( en, 13th Armoured Division) was a unit of the German Army during World War II, established in 1940.
The division was organized under the code name Infantry Command IV (''Infanterieführer IV'') in October 1934. On O ...
. The device was subsequently adopted as standard equipment on new production Tiger I tanks during January through October 1943. On the standard Tiger I, five launchers (four on '' Panzerbefehlswagen'') were mounted around the periphery of the hull roof, one at each corner and one halfway along the left hull side. As future plans were being made to install the 360° traversable Nahverteidigungswaffe
The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was a roof mounted, breech-loaded, single shot, multi-purpose, 360 ° rotating grenade launcher that could fire a variety of ammunition. It was typically found on German tanks such as the Panzer IV, Panther I, Ti ...
, fired from the interior of the turret, the ''Minenabwurfvorrichtung'' was discontinued in early October 1943 after only a few hundred Tiger Is had been equipped with them.Zaloga (2016), p. 33
Gallery
See also
*S-Mine
The German S-mine (''Schrapnellmine'', ''Springmine'' or ''Splittermine'' in German), also known as the "Bouncing Betty" on the Western Front and "frog-mine" on the Eastern Front, is the best-known version of a class of mines known as bounding ...
* Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung
The ''Nebelkerzenabwurfvorrichtung'' (abbreviated N.K.A.V.) was a rear mounted grenade dispenser used to disperse the Schnellnebelkerze 39 smoke grenade. It was typically found on German tanks from 1939 through 1942.
Operation
The device carrie ...
* Nebelwurfgerät
The ''Nebelwurfgerät'' was a gun turret, turret mounted grenade launcher, launcher used to disperse the ''Schnellnebelkerze'' 39 smoke grenade. It was typically found on Nazi Germany, German Tanks in the German Army, tanks from 1942 through 1943 ...
* Nahverteidigungswaffe
The ''Nahverteidigungswaffe'' was a roof mounted, breech-loaded, single shot, multi-purpose, 360 ° rotating grenade launcher that could fire a variety of ammunition. It was typically found on German tanks such as the Panzer IV, Panther I, Ti ...
Notes
References
* * * * * {{RefendExternal links
*http://tiger1.info/EN/S-mine-controls.html *http://tiger1.info/s_mines.html *http://tiger1.info/EN/RS3001-S-mines.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20091027063148/http://geocities.com/desertfox1891/NahVtdgW/artnahvtdgw-Quotations.html Anti-personnel weapons Tanks of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942