The OZM-3, OZM-4 and OZM-72 are
Soviet manufactured
bounding type
anti-personnel mines.
(fragmentation-barrier mine, in the Russian and other post-Soviet armies as informally called "frog mine" or "witch" )
They are normally painted olive green, and issued with a spool of tripwires and two green painted wooden or metal stakes for affixing the tripwires. Both OZM-3 and OZM-4 have
cast iron fragmenting bodies while the OZM-72 also contains preformed steel fragments, and all three are issued with empty
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 ...
wells, so a variety of fuzing options are possible.
Operation
The mines can be activated by a variety of
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 ...
s, including electronic fuzes or command initiation, although they are most commonly fitted with an MUV
booby trap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
switch which is activated by a
tripwire
A tripwire is a passive triggering mechanism. Typically, a wire or cord is attached to a device for detecting or reacting to physical movement.
Military applications
Such tripwires may be attached to one or more mines – especially fragme ...
.
On firing, a metal base plate remains in the ground, while the mine body is thrown up by a small lifting charge, but remains attached to a strong wire tether. When the end of the tether is reached at a height of approximately 0.5 m, the main charge explodes and scatters fragments of the casing across a wide area.
OZM mine may sometimes be laid directly on top of an
MS-3 mine. The MS-3 is an
anti-handling device which closely resembles a
PMN mine
The PMN () series of blast anti-personnel mines were designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. They are one of the most widely used and commonly found devices during demining operations. They are sometimes nicknamed "black widow" because of ...
, except that it has a "blister" on top and operates purely as a pressure-release
boobytrap
A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...
. Lifting an OZM mine (without rendering safe the MS-3 placed underneath) will trigger
detonation.
Variants
OZM-3
* Diameter: 7.6 cm
* Height: 13 cm
* weight: 3.2 kg
* Fragmentation c
TNT
OZM-4
OZM-72
Ottawa Treaty
Since the
Ottawa Treaty, a number of countries have decided to retain their OZM mines, but convert them to command detonation only by destroying all fuzes which can be indiscriminately activated – potentially by non-combatants or animals.
Belarus in particular has decided to keep 200,000 OZM-72.
See also
*
Valmara 59
The Valmara 59 is a large cylindrical Italian bounding anti-personnel mine. It is the first in the "Valmara" family of mines produced by Valsella Meccanotecnica, and was followed by the Valmara 69 and VS-JAP. The mine's body is plastic with a di ...
*
Valmara 69
Valmara 69 or V-69 is an Italian bounding anti-personnel mine manufactured by Valsella. The mine was developed from the V-59 mine, and although the mine is no longer produced in Italy, a number of copies were produced in other countries e.g. the ...
*
PROM-1
The PROM-1 is a Yugoslavian manufactured bounding anti-personnel mine. It consists of a cylindrical body with a pronged fuze inserted into the top of the mine. It is broadly similar in operation to the German S-mine.
The mine is triggered by ...
*
M16 mine
The M16 mine is a United States-made Bounding mine, bounding anti-personnel mine. It was based on captured plans of the Second World War, World War II era German S-mine and has similar performance. The mine consists of a cast iron body in a thin ...
*
Land mine
Anti-personnel mines
Land mines of the Soviet Union
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