Schü-mine 42

Schü-mine 42
A Schü-mine 42 with a ZZ 42 detonator; the components of the mine are shown to the left
Type	Anti-personnel blast mine
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
Used by	Germany
Wars	World War II
Specifications
Mass	1.1 pounds (0.50 kg)
Length	4.72 inches (120 mm)
Width	3.55 inches (90 mm)
Height	1.77 inches (45 mm)
Filling	TNT
Filling weight	200 grams (7.1 oz)
Detonation mechanism	ZZ-42 type detonator, pressure

The Schü-mine 42 (Schützenmine 42, "rifleman's mine model of 1942") was a German anti-personnel mine used during the Second World War. It consisted of a simple wooden box with a hinged lid containing a 200-gram (7.1 oz) block of cast TNT and a ZZ-42 type detonator.^[1] 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.^[2]

The mine was cheap to produce and deployed in large numbers. As an early example of a minimum metal mine, it was difficult to detect with early metal detectors – the only metal present was a small amount in the mine's detonator.^[3]

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.^[2]

During Operation Overlord, the British resorted to using explosive detection dogs to find them.^[4]

In his book A CANLOAN Officer, Rex Fendick, serving with the 2nd Battalion of 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 Schü-mines that had been daubed with a patch of radioactive paint.

See also

Similar mines

• PP Mi-D, PMD-6, PMD-7, PMD-57, Type 59, PMD-1

References

1. German Explosive Ordnance. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. 1953. p. 278.
2. Intelligence Bulletin. Military Intelligence Service, War Department. 1944. pp. 76–79. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
3. Torrey, Volta (February 1945). "The Bazooka's Grandfather". Popular Science. Vol. 146, no. 2. Bonnier Corporation. p. 71. ISSN 0161-7370. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
4. "THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORMANDY 1944". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 22 September 2014.