Panssarimiina m/S-39 and m/S-40

The Panssarimiina m/S-39 and Panssarimiina m/S-40 are Finnish anti-tank blast mines used during the Winter War of 1939-1940. Russian tanks were only able to be halted by rapid production and placement of mines. Due to the demand for mines during the Winter War, a cheap, easy-to-produce mine was needed. The m/S-39 was designed by a team led by Major A. Saloranta in October 1939, and it entered production on 8 November 1939. After one week's production at furniture factories in Lahti and Helylä over 2,000 mines had been produced. By the end of the Winter War 133,000 had been delivered. The m/S-40 was an improved version of the mine that differed in detail.

Panssarimiina m/S-39

The mine is a square wooden box containing a large block of explosive, the top has a thick rim over which a wooden cover is placed. When pressure on the top of the mine increases, the wooden cover collapses, pressing down on the mine and triggering it.

During the Winter War, the mine had the advantage of being difficult to detect with contemporary mine detectors, though by modern standards it has a high metal content.

Specifications

• Height: 0.045 m or 0.145 m
• Length: 0.228 m or 0.308 m
• Weight: 6.5 kg to 7.5 kg
• Explosive content: 3.0 kg to 3.8 kg of TNT or Chlorate-resin
• Activated pressure: 240 kg

External links

• Finnish anti-tank mines at Jaegerplatoon.net
• Finnish tactics at Lonesentry.com/.html