Claymore mine
anti-personnel mine
The Claymore mine is a directional anti-personnel mine developed for the United States Armed Forces, invented by Norman MacLeod. Unlike a conventional land mine, the Claymore may be command-detonated (fired by remote-control), and is directional, shooting a wide range of steel balls into a kill zone. The Claymore can also be activated by a booby-trap tripwire firing system for use in area denial operations.
The Claymore fires steel balls out to about 300 ft (100 m) within a 60° arc in front of the device. It is used primarily in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry. It is also used against unarmored vehicles.
Many countries have developed and used mines like the Claymore. Examples include models MON-50, MON-90, MON-100, and MON-200 introduced by the Soviet Union and used by its successor Russia, as well as MRUD (Serbia), MAPED F1 (France), and Mini MS-803 (South Africa).
Description
The M18A1 Claymore mine has a horizontally convex gray-green plastic case (inert training versions are light blue or green with a light blue band). The shape was developed through experimentation to deliver the optimum distribution of fragments at 160 ft (50 m) range.
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