Unknown WWII U.S. Mine

[Dirt Detective]

Hey guys..great site, I found this years ago in the Arizona desert where Patton trained his troops in 42 and 43.
Not much is know about this style mine, was wondering if anyone here might have some info on this type..Im thinking it might of had a chemical fuze but not sure. Any help on this one??? In one pic I placed it next to a couple WWII practice mines.

[Kilroy was Here]

Hey guys..great site, I found this years ago in the Arizona desert where Patton trained his troops in 42 and 43.
Not much is know about this style mine, was wondering if anyone here might have some info on this type..Im thinking it might of had a chemical fuze but not sure. Any help on this one??? In one pic I placed it next to a couple WWII practice mines.

Hi Mike, yes I think also these mines had some type of a chemical fuze set up. I have seen these before, but never with the fuze intact.

I also would like to know this info. I think they are for sure WW2 era also.

Merry Xmas to everyone!

Regards, Steve
"Dr. Ruby"

[bombmonki]

OP 1664 makes a brief reference to the M1 practice mine. The fuze consists of a 0.32 cal blank cartridge, 100gr of red phosphorus and 60gr of black powder.

[wilson]

Hi,

The Mine is a US M1 Prac AT Mine - Attached is a copy of US M 1 B1 Anti Tank Mine which was sold by Seigfried recently.

[John D. Bartleson Jr.]

Mine, Anti-personal, Practice M81 Pate 5-11

[ame="http://www.scribd.com/doc/13463516/land-mines-army-ammunition-data-sheets-tm-43000136"]land mines army ammunition data sheets - tm 43-0001-36[/ame]

Regards,
JOhn aka Bart

[Dirt Detective]

Thanks for the reply's guys but im referring to this mine in the pic below. I know what the two blue mine's are in the above photos but This one in the pic below I cant find any info on.

I know its a WWII practice mine, I just cant find any info out about the different style top. I'm guessing instead of the standard practice fuze ( I can show pics of) That ignited magnesium and black powder..maybe there was a glass vile of some chemical that would produce the smoke.

Has anyone ever seen any info on the one below? About a dozen are known to exist but not one was ever found with a fuze that fits in the channel on top.

[ordnance]

I have owned one of these for about 10 years and have also been stumped finding any printed information on it. Just saw another one a couple weeks ago in the Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, California. Most don't seem to have a spider present but mine does and I recall it was unique to this style mine and slightly different from any other I'd seen. Will try to dig it out for a photo.

My assumption has always been these were an experimental practice mine developed to get a more acceptable signature when they functioned. The early style mines had the exit holes around the outside diameter and, once buried firmly in the ground, must have allowed a very little smoke and noise release when driven over. I think the later style with the 4 kidney shaped slots on top would allow a better upward blast signature if not covered with too much dirt. The mystery mine with the long slot would seem designed to orient the practice smoke/noise charge even higher in the mine's body to lessen the muffling effect of the dirt and tank tread above it.

A chemical firing device always seemed like a good possibility for this mine but could just as easily been a self contained, mechanically fuzed insert that would be easy to remove and replace to re-use the mine. The answer to all our questions is in the National Archives, but nobody I know has ever taken the time to research mines there as there always seems to be too many other interesting things to look for. But somewhere in the Desert Warfare Test Board reports or in a monograph on mine development, the information is hiding. Just wish I didn't live 3000 miles away.

[Dirt Detective]

Hi Ordnance,
I think were on the right track..thats the same thing Ive thought about this body. I would love to see a photo of the spyder on your mine..it would clear up some questions.
I wait with baited breath to see a pic of your mine. Do you remember where you got yours?

[ordnance]

Hi DD,

Like every other one of this type I'm aware of, mine came from somewhere in the Patton desert training area in Southern California or Arizona.

I got it from a friend who used to scrounge the area extensively. He would fly his private plane over areas and log the locations of interesting ones, going back by 4-wheel drive vehicle later and camping out for a week or more to explore the area. He still has the remnants of 60mm and 81mm mortar rounds they would shoot at to try and detonate. This would sometimes result in a spectacular detonation but usually a low order blast that would peel open the body and toss a few parts around.

Probably not the best method, but this was in the pre-GPS days so locations couldn't be precisely marked and real EOD support was about 100 miles away in any direction. He was a police officer and never felt comfortable leaving a known live item laying there for someone else to find so a bit of target practice seemed to work to eliminate the threat.

Here are a few photos of the spider and my mine. These came together as a set to me and I believe were found together as well. As you can see, the spider is constructed upside down from the normal ones and has a pointed feature to contact the fuze beneath it. From a camouflage standpoint, it is probably superior to the normal pressed design as the open U-shape would hold dirt better and be less likely to be visible on the surface after a little rain erosion. Have you encountered any of this type in your desert searching?

[Dirt Detective]

Wow Ordnance,
You just made my year...Ive been waiting a long time to see what the spyder looked like. I know this is a long shot but any chance you know where a second spyder is?

I found one body without spyder in my searches..that one I gave to a friend of mine who helped me find my true desert rat in me. he will get a kick out of your pics.

This body shown I bought from a friend who lives in Arizona without a spyder. What a great site this is..Ive been a member for about 3 days and I found out info Ive been searching years for.

Rgds, Mike