Fit to be Fried

The term “Claymore” was first used to describe a Scottish Broadsword commonly used to wreak bloody havoc in warfare from 1500 to 1700, a two-hand-wielded behemoth that could cleave a man in two under the force of it’s own gravity, let alone when being swung at you. The focus of this article is not, however, about this monster of a sword, or it’s sissy little brother of the same name, which was used after 1715 in Scotland, and had a basket hilt to “protect the hand while in use” (what a bunch of babies). No, this article is about the M18A1 Claymore Anti-Personnel Mine, a worthy successor to the name, for reasons I’ll now explain.

For one thing, the Claymore mine was invented by an actual Scotsman, by the name of Norman A. MacLeod. Okay, technically, the initial idea behind the Claymore was actually developed by the Germans during World War Two, utilizing the “Misznay-Schardin effect”¹.

The Canadians fielded a similar weapon known as “the Phoenix” to counter the German mines, but it was not until the Korean War that MacLeod began to develop his own utilization, and not until the Vietnam War was the M18A1 finally put into widespread use by the U.S. military.

The M18A1 is particulalrly effective against personnel (hence the name “Anti-Personnel Mine”), as it uses C-4 to fire about 700 steel ball-bearings in a 60° arc at nearly 4,000 ft (or 1,200 meters, for our friends across the pond), rendering anything fleshy directly in front of it into a fine pink mist, and leaving anything anywhere near it’s path in a condition much worse than it had previously enjoyed. It’s casing is made of a hard green plastic with the words “Front Towards Enemy”(duh.) embossed on it’s front. Below is some more info on the Claymore, for those who are interested.

from WikiPedia:

The Claymore mine is typically deployed in one of three modes: Controlled, Uncontrolled, or Time-delayed.

1. Controlled Mode (also known as Command Detonation)
   The mine is detonated by the operator as the forward edge of the enemy approaches a point within the killing zone (20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 ft)) where maximum casualties can be inflicted. Controlled detonation may be accomplished by use of either an electrical or nonelectrical firing system. When mines are employed in the controlled role, they are treated the same as individual weapons and are reported for inclusion in the unit fire plan. They are not reported as mines; however, the emplacing unit must ensure that the mines are removed, detonated, or turned over to a relieving unit. The M57 Firing Device (colloquially referred to as the “clacker”) is included with the M18A1 Claymore Mine so that it can be used in the controlled mode. When Claymore Mines are daisy chained together, one M57 firing device can initiate several claymore mines.

2. Uncontrolled Mode (also known as Victim Initiated Detonation)
   Uncontrolled firing is accomplished when the mine is installed in such a manner as to cause an unsuspecting enemy to detonate the mine. Mines employed in this manner must be reported and recorded as land mines. There are many mechanisms that can be used to initiate the M18A1 in uncontrolled mode, including the M142 Multipurpose Firing Device, M5 Pressure Release Device (mousetrap), tripwires, strikers, infrared sensors, acoustic & vibration sensors.
3. Time-delayed Mode
   Time-delayed firing involves the fitting of a short timed fuse and a fuse igniter to allow the mine to be used as a pursuit deterrent. This, anecdotally, may be combined with a CS grenade or bag containing the irritant contained in a CS grenade. The mine is emplaced, quickly oriented on the direction pursuers are most likely to take, and the fuse is ignited before the position is abandoned.

from Armystudyguide.com:

Once done installing the M18A1, how far behind the mine should the wire be secured?
1 meter

Describe the M18A1
A curved, rectangular-shaped weapon, with an olive drab molded case of fiberglass filled polystyrene (plastic). In the front portion of the case is a fragmentation face containing steel spheres embedded in a plastic matrix. The back portion of the case behind the matrix contains a layer of explosives.

What is the M18A1 primarily used for?
It was designed for use against mass infantry attacks

What is the first step in installing the M18A1?
Inspect the components

How much does the M18A1 weigh?
1.5 lbs

What color is a “training” M18A1?
Blue

How long is the wire that the M4 blasting cap is connected to?
100 ft

Name the components that are in the bandoleer of the M18A1
The M7 bandoleer has two pockets. One pocket contain the mine and the other contains:

* M40 test set
* M57 firing device
* M4 Electric Blasting cap Assembly
* Instructions

Where will you find the instructions for the employment of the M18A1?
Under the flap of the bandoleer

What color is a “live” M18A1?
Green

What is the effective frontal range of the M18A1?
When detonated, the M18A1 mine will deliver spherical steel fragments over a 60° fan-shaped pattern that is 2 meters high and 50 meters wide at a range of 50 meters

Who keeps the M57 firing device while the M18A1 is being installed?
The individual installing the mine

What Field Manual covers the M18A1?
FM 23-23

What are the two sites used on the M18A1 to aim it?
Knife-edge and slit-type peep sights

When aiming the M18A1 using the slit-type peepsight, how far above the ground do you aim?
2 and 1/2 meters above the ground

When aiming the M18A1 using the knife edge sight, how far above the ground do you aim?
You aim at ground level

What type of explosive is used in the M18A1?

1.5 lbs composition C4 (plastic explosive)

One M40 test set is included with how may M18A1 claymores?
1 in each case of 6

What is the killing zone of the M18A1?
About 20 to 30 meters

How far is the danger area to the rear of the M18A1?
16 meters (The mine firing position should be in a foxhole or covered position at least 16 meters to the rear or the side of the emplaced mine.)

semperfried76 is the last hope for humanity.
Too bad he hates you all.

Sadly, the M18A1 Claymore, along with most other landmines, is a weapon whose usefulness in war has been gutted by anti-mine treaties which severely limit it’s use to certain guidelines. Most notably of these is the use of the Claymore in uncontrolled or “tripwire” mode, which requires the most stringent guidelines, including clearly marking the area which has been mined to avoid civilian casualties².

For someone so keen on going to war with radical Islamic terrorists (and yes, that’s what we’re doing, it’s not like we’re tangling with the IRA or the KKK in the “International War on Terror”), President Bush seems to enjoy nothing better than stabbing his own troops in the back to curry favor with radical Islamists. One of our boys had been using a Koran for sniper practice, and instead of standing up for him, our esteemed Commander in Chief has promised that this soldier will be punished. For shooting a BOOK and offending the muslim community. He didn’t hurt any civillians, the incident is unrelated to any raid, and has nothing to do with anything that could be perceived as a war crime. We had an acronym that summed this sort of thing quite well, while I was in Iraq- BOHICA: Bend over, here it comes again…

Two civilians and a Nato soldier have been killed in Afghanistan during a demonstration over the shooting of the Koran by a US soldier in Iraq. The protest by over 1,000 people in Chagcharan turned violent after the crowd tried to storm a Nato base. President Bush apologised earlier this week for the Koran incident, in which a copy of the book was found riddled with bullets at a shooting range in Iraq. He also promised the soldier would be prosecuted.

So what is there to prosecute?

The Islamic community has been whipped into a fervor over this incident, the likes of which they used to reserve for Dutch cartoonists and expatriate novelists, and have been calling for this man’s head

Again, for shooting a BOOK

Our President is showing the world just how spineless Americans can really be by giving in to the Islamists’ demands. Instead of kowtowing to them, he should have brushed them off like the bunch of cry-baby cave-people they are- would this fly in the States? If some liberal artist shoots a Bible or a Torah as part of some bullshit performance art piece, or worse, wipes his/her ass with it, pisses on it and throws it into a fire, said individual would receive no punishment at all, his/her actions being protected by the First Ammendment. No matter what amount of religious fervor built up in opposition to such actions, they wouldn’t stand a chance of seeing such an insult being dealt with in the way these Islamists are demanding. More than likely, the offended Judeo-Christians in this scenario would be told to quit crying over what was essentially nothing, and to go develop a sense of humor. This is what Bush should have done, instead of capitulating. Hell, more have been hurt by the Muslim protest of the Koran shooting than were harmed in the actual shooting, as two were killed in the ensuing riot that broke out.

Is this justice? Or is it a tale told by an idiot, a bunch of bass-ackward cave-dwellers sharing half a brain and a hive mentality, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing?

Do these people really have nothing better to do than riot over something so trivial?

Hell, if we’re going to start rounding up Americans who’ve offended people while visiting other countries, half the population who’ve ever been abroad would have to be locked up and shot in the back of the neck, including yours truly.¹ Hell, there’s a particular illegal immigrant who’s come through my wife’s line at the Grocery store and, when asked if he’d like to donate a buck to Texas Children’s Hospitals, blew his top and said that if it wasn’t for Mexicans only, he wasn’t donating shit. He then went on to rant about how Americans needed to get over themselves, how how we never did anything but whine, and that “we’re gonna be running things here soon, so you better get used to the idea.” I don’t know about you, but I found that pretty damn offensive, especially because all my wife had done to set him off was ask for a charitable donation, which she had been asked to do with everyone who came through her line. Does this give me the right to call for this man’s life? Suppose, instead of racial diatribe, he’d been an atheist, and had gone off on a rant about the stupidity of believing in God- would I have the right to call for him to be punished for what, to me, would be blasphemy? Of course not. This sort of behavior is a throwback to the days of witch trials and inquisitions, which may be where we’re headed if we keep rolling over for the very people we should be fighting. In fact, I think I’m going to go out and get myself a Koran to use as target practice, as a show of support for our troops over there. if anyone else out there would like to do the same, send me a pic, and I’ll post it in a special section here.