The TM-62 is a Soviet anti-tank blast mine made in many variants. It has a central fuze and typically a explosive charge, but the variants vary greatly in detail. The mine can be laid manually or automatically from a mine laying machine including the PMR-1, PMR-2 wheeled towed mine layers, the GMZ-3 tracked mine laying vehicle and the VMR-2 helicopter mine laying system. The TM-62 can be fitted with the same

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 as the TM-72, which include MVN-72 and MVN-80 fuzes which are vibration and magnetism sensitive. In a static test, the TM-62M proved capable of penetrating the hull of a

Centurion tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

, killing the simulated crew of animals inside. The mine was used in the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

where Ukrainian civilians helped to clear the mines from roads.

Variants

* TM-62M, with a circular metal case. It is the most widely employed variant. * TM-62B, with a paper or cardboard case, basically a block of cast explosive with a fuze set into the center. * TM-62D, with a wooden case. * TM-62P, TM-62P2 and TM-62P3, with plastic cases. The TM-62P and TM-62P2 mine cases have ribbed sides, whereas the TM-62P3 has a smooth casing. * TM-62T, with a fabric and epoxy casing and a central fuze.

Fuzes

* MVZ-62 * MVCh-62, with a clockwork arming delay of 30 to 120 seconds. * MVN-62 * MVN-72, with a combination of electronics and clockwork, after an initial arming delay the magnetic influence fuze is enabled, powered by a 1.5 V battery. * MVN-80, an improved version of the MVN-72. * VM-62Z * MVP-62, with a pneumatic bellows arming delay of 20 to 300 seconds. The delay mechanism uses a minimum of metal making it difficult to detect when used with one of the minimum metal cases. * MVP-62M * ZN-97, a magnetic influence fuze made in Poland. Magnetic influence fuzes provide full-width attack, i.e. any part of the target vehicle passing over the mine will trigger detonation, not just the track or wheels. However, since magnetic fuzes are electronic, their operational life relies on battery power. Ultimately the battery will run down, after which the mine no longer functions. In contrast, a purely mechanical fuze (usually triggered via a belleville spring) gives a much longer operational life e.g. mines planted 50 years previously will still detonate if a target vehicle drives over them.

Specifications (TM-62M with MVZ-62 fuze)

* Weight: * Explosive content: of TNT (although sometimes combinations of RDX/TNT/ Aluminium or

Amatol Amatol is a highly explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate. The British name originates from the words ammonium and toluene (the precursor of TNT). Similar mixtures (one part dinitronaphthalene and seven parts ammoniu ...

mixes are used) * Diameter: * Height: * Operating pressure:

Users

* * * * * * *

References

* ''Jane's Mines and Mine Clearance 2005-2006'' {{reflist

Variants

Fuzes

Specifications (TM-62M with MVZ-62 fuze)

Users

References

See also