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The Teller mine (german: Tellermine) was a
File:USA-A-Utah-p7b.jpg, Teller mine on Utah beach. Intended to explode against landing craft at high tide.
File:Operation_%27market_Garden%27_%28the_Battle_For_Arnhem%29-_17_-_25_September_1944-_Nijmegen_and_Grave_17_-_20_September_1944_B10174.jpg, British engineers removing the charges which the Germans had set to blow the
The Teller mine (german: Tellermine) was a 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 ...
-made antitank mine
An anti-tank mine (abbreviated to "AT mine") is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles.
Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive c ...
common in World War II
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 ...
. With explosives sealed inside a sheet metal casing and fitted with a pressure-actuated 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 ...
, Teller mines had a built-in carrying handle on the side. As the name suggests (''Teller'' is the German word for dish or plate) the mines were plate-shaped.
Containing little more than 5.5 kilograms of TNT and a fuze activation pressure of approximately , the Teller mine was capable of blasting the tracks off any World War II-era tank or destroying a lightly armored vehicle. Because of its rather high operating pressure, only a vehicle or heavy object passing over the Teller mine would set it off.
Of the two types of pressure-fuze available for Teller mines, the T.Mi.Z.43 fuze was notable for featuring an integral anti-handling device as standard: when the T.Mi.Z.43 fuze is inserted and the pressure plate (or screw cap) is screwed down into place, it shears a weak arming pin inside the fuze with an audible "snap". This action arms the anti-handling device. Thereafter, any attempt to disarm the mine by unscrewing the pressure plate (or screw cap) to remove the fuze will automatically release the spring-loaded firing pin inside it, triggering detonation.
Since it is impossible to determine which fuze type has been installed, no pressure plate or screw cap can ever be safely removed from a Teller mine. The T.Mi.Z.43 fuze can be fitted to the Teller mine 35, 42 and 43 series.
To hinder demining
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contra ...
, all Teller mines featured two additional fuze wells (located on the side and underneath) to enable anti-handling devices to be attached, typically some form of pull-fuze.Models
There were four models of Teller mine made during World War II: * Teller mine 43 * Teller mine 42 * Teller mine 35 * Teller mine 29 Approximately 3,622,900 of these mines were produced byGermany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for the Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
from 1943 to 1944.
Gallery
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
bridge, September 1944
Image:Tellermine 43 MN 2007.JPG, Tellermine 43
The Tellermine 43 was a German circular steel cased anti-tank blast mine used during the Second World War. It was a simplified version of the Tellermine 42, which enabled simpler production techniques. Between March 1943 and the end of World War I ...
anti-tank mine
References
Anti-tank mines World War II infantry weapons of Germany {{Landmine-stub