AP Mine Mk1 or Mk2 ? practise cutway?

[wz.KC]

Hi,

Find in Poland - looks like AP Mine Mk1 or Mk2 (?) practise cutway...
How old can be? when this mines mas made? long time after ww2?
Where I should find stamps on this mine?

Regards

[BMG50]

You have a WW2 British Mk2 AP shrapnel mine, unuasual to find one in Poland, The mine is similar to the German S-Mine in that it jumps out the ground. Its missing the top pistol parts, should have a mills type leaver and trip wire part. Markings should be on the outer casing under neath or on the side.

[Big Dave]

Recently arrived ,a AP Mine Mk2 cutaway [not quite complete but you dont see many about ].Quite a heavy beast compared to a S Mine .

[sudelmuk]

Quite a heavy beast compared to a S Mine .

At first glance you may be right, Dave.
But I believe the British design to be a bit wasteful, regarding the parts that remained in the soil after initial ignition.
A complete S.Mi.35 weighed about 4000gr., the outer pot 780gr. So the effective wight coming up in the air was 3.220gr.
Don't know the total weight of a Mk2, but please compare it yourself.

[BMG50]

I completely agree with Peter. Its funny comparing similar mines of different nations, British German and the Italian B4 (non jumping but similar in design without the bounding part). The British is over engineered heavy and under powered, the Italian B4 too complicated in design an manufacture and 10 times less dangerous than the others, (Jeremy Clarkson thinking) would be to have a sticky plaster handy if one went off by your ear. the winner being the German S-mine very efficient in design and the most lethal.

[Big Dave]

Well just had the scales out ,and here goes the Mk2 outer pot weighed in at 2110 gr and the inner pot even with approx one third missing weighs 2200 gr so could the British Mk2 and S mine have about the same effective weight coming out of the ground ? Though the Mk2 mortar pot weighed over twice that of a S mine

[Fragman]

Hi. I hope this is of some interest. Cheers