The Schü-mine 42 (''Schützenmine 42'', "rifleman's mine model of 1942"), was a German

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 ...

used during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It consisted of a simple wooden box with a hinged lid containing a block of cast

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

and a ZZ-42 type detonator. A slot in the lid pressed down on the striker retaining pin, sufficient pressure on the lid caused the pin to move, releasing the striker which triggered the detonator. The mine was cheap to produce and deployed in large numbers. As an early example of a

minimum metal mine A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the smallest amount of metal possible in its construction. Typically, the only metal components are located inside the fuze mechanism which triggers detonation. Both minimum metal Anti-ta ...

, it was difficult to detect with early metal detectors - the only metal present was a small amount in the mine's detonator. Experience has shown that the mine detector search coil must pass very close to the mine before any reaction is obtained. Detection is still more difficult when the search is made in ground containing shrapnel. Also it is hard to locate the Schü mine by observation or probing because it is relatively small. During the

Normandy Campaign Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

the British resorted to using explosive detection dogs to find them. In his book ‘A CANLOAN Officer,’ Rex Fendick, serving with the 2nd Bn., The Middlesex Regiment, during the Normandy Campaign, mentions finding what was believed to be a German radio transmitter backpack. It transpired that the device was actually a Geiger counter used to detect Schu-Mines that had been daubed with a patch of radioactive paint.

References

Anti-personnel mines World War II weapons of Germany Land mines of Germany Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942 {{Landmine-stub

See also

References