The TM-46 mine is a large, circular, metal-cased

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

anti-tank 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 ...

. It uses either a pressure or tilt-rod

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 ...

, which is screwed into the top. Anti-tank mines with this type of fuze were capable of inflicting much more damage to armored vehicles, when compared to a typical AP mine. Because the TM-46 has a metal casing, it is very easy to detect with a

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

. However, mine-fields containing TM-46s may have also been sown with

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 ...

s, e.g. the PMA-2.

Combat Use

The mine was used by the

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese forces during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and is found in many countries in Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia.

Action

MVM-583 fuze

The MVM-583 is a mechanical pressure fuze. The activation pressure of this fuze is 140 kf. It comprises a striking mechanism, safety pin and the MD-6N

shock tube detonator A shock tube detonator is a non-electric explosive fuze or initiator in the form of small-diameter hollow plastic tubing used to transport an initiating signal to an explosive by means of a shock wave (also known as a percussive wave) traveling th ...

. Upon a vehicle driving over a TM-46 mine equipped with this fuze, the lid of the mine deforms along with the fuze. Upon further deformation, the tip of the fuze casing cuts through the diaphragm in the mine, releasing the striking mechanism, which activates the MD-6N detonator, and causes the explosion of the main charge of the mine.

MVSh-46 fuze

The MVSh-46 is a mechanical

tilt-rod fuze Russian TM-57 mine with a tilt-rod fuze A tilt-rod fuze is a device used to trigger anti-vehicle landmines. Typically it consists of a vertical pole, normally around a meter high, which is connected to the top of a landmine. When the track or m ...

without a safety mechanism. The activation pressure of this fuze is 120–450 kf. The required deviation of the tilt-rod from its initial composition is 25–30°. It comprises a striking mechanism and the MD-10

. Upon a vehicle driving over a TM-46 mine equipped with this fuze, the MVSh-46 deforms, activating the MD-10 detonator and causing the explosion of the main charge of the mine.

TMN-46 variant

The TMN-46 is a variant of the mine fitted with a secondary pull-action fuze ''MUV-2'' ( Rus. МУВ-2) well on the bottom (where it cannot be seen), which is slightly off-set from the centre of the mine. It is connected with a thin strip of wire to a peg inserted into the ground. The MUV-2 fuze is hooked to an ''MD-6N'' ( Rus. МД-6Н)

, which functions as an

anti-handling device An anti-handling device is an attachment to or an integral part of a landmine or other munition such as some fuze types found in general-purpose air-dropped bombs, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is designed to prevent tampering or disabling, ...

. Upon trying to move the mine, the wire pulls the fuze, and the mine detonates. Upon an attempt at dislocation of the TMN-46 mine, the wire attached between the MUV-2 fuze and the peg pulls the safety pin. The fuze actives MD-6N detonator and causes it to explode along with the main charge of the mine.

Specifications

*Diameter: 305 mm *Height **With MVM-583 fuze: 108 mm **With MVSh-46 tilt rod fuze: 260 mm *Activation pressure: 120–450 kf (21 kg tilt pressure) *Weight **Full assembly: 8.6 kg **Charge: 5.7 kg (

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 ...

)

References

Anti-tank mines Land mines of the Soviet Union Cold War weapons of the Soviet Union {{Landmine-stub