{{Infobox weapon |name=Glasmine 43 | image=File:Duitse glasmijn, voorzien van Buckontsteker en 2 ons standaardlading 2155 005052.jpg | image_size = 300 |caption=Glasmine 43 |origin=Germany |type=Minimum metal anti-personnel mine <!-- Type selection --> |is_explosive=yes <!-- Service history --> |service=1944–1945 |used_by=Germany, |wars=World War II<!-- Production history --> |designer= |design_date= |manufacturer= |unit_cost= |production_date=1944–1945 |number=11 million |variants=*''Hebelzünder 44'' detonator *''Buck'' chemical detonator <!-- General specifications --> |weight= |length= |part_length= |width= |height={{convert|6|in}} |diameter={{convert|4.5|in}} |crew= <!-- Explosive specifications --> |filling=TNT |filling_weight={{convert|200|g}} |detonation=Pressure – weight of around {{convert|40|lb}}<ref name="CatalogueEoM">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/CatalogOfEnemyOrdnanceMateriel |title=Catalog Of Enemy Ordnance Materiel |last=Office of the Chief of Ordnance |date=1945 |oclc=464601649}}</ref> |yield= }} The '''Glasmine 43''' was an anti-personnel mine with a glass body used by Nazi Germany during World War II.
This mine was an early minimum metal mine, designed to reduce the likelihood of detection by the Polish mine detector then in use by Allied forces. The use of glass instead of metal helped conserve valuable war materials.
==Description== thumb|left|Diagram of a Glasmine 43 from a US Army manual<ref name="CatalogueEoM" /> The mine consists of a glass bowl, {{convert|6|in|cm|spell=in}} in diameter containing an explosive charge and a detonator. The top of the mine was covered by a sheet-glass disk {{convert|0.25|in|mm}} thick, under a thick, moulded glass pressure plate. Each mine was supplied with a small quantity of cement putty to seal gaps between the main body and the glass disk cover and make the mine waterproof.<ref name="German Explosive Ordnance">{{Cite book |author=United States War Office |title=German Explosive Ordnance |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |page=275|year=1953 |series=Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 9-1985-2 |publication-place=Washington |publication-date=March 1953|oclc=713755660}}</ref>
When stepped on, the pressure plate shattered the glass disk and activated the detonator, detonating the mine's main explosive charge. This was a ''Sprengkörper'' 28 – a standard demolition charge with {{convert|200|g|oz}} of explosive.<ref name="CatalogueEoM" /><ref name="German Explosive Ordnance" /> Two types of detonators were used. Early versions of the mine used a mechanical detonator, known as a ''Hebelzünder'' 44 which used a percussion cap.<ref>[http://www.lexpev.nl/minesandcharges/europe/germany/glasmine43.html Functioning, Assembly and Pictures of Glasminen (english)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122153311/http://www.lexpev.nl/minesandcharges/europe/germany/glasmine43.html |date=2009-01-22 }}(Retrieved on 11 June 2012)</ref> Later versions fired the main charge using a device known as a ''Buck igniter''.
thumb|right|Buck igniter<ref>{{Cite book|title=Catalog Of Enemy Ordnance Material|publisher=Office of the Chief of Ordnance|date=1 August 1945|url=https://archive.org/details/CatalogOfEnemyOrdnanceMateriel |page=283}}</ref> The Buck igniter was a small can of thin, corrugated aluminium. This contained a glass ampoule of sulfuric acid, surrounded by flash powder that included powdered naphthalene. The can crushed when subjected to a force equivalent to around {{convert|5|lb|kg|spell=in}}, shattering the ampoule and causing the acid to mix with the powder. The resulting chemical reaction produced a flash that ignited the detonator of the main explosive charge.<ref name="Youngblood2006">{{cite book|author=Norman Youngblood|title=The Development of Mine Warfare: A Most Murderous and Barbarous Conduct|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WToYXxVaKKgC&pg=PA115|year=2006|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98419-9|pages=115–}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=German Explosive Ordnance |publisher=US Government Printing Office |page=308|year=1953 |series=Department of the Army Technical Manual TM 9-1985-2 |publication-place=Washington |publication-date=March 1953}}</ref>
In 1944 and 1945, 11 million mines were produced; at the end of World War II, 9.7 million were still in stock.<ref>[http://www.lonesentry.com/manuals/tme30/ch8sec5sub5.html TM-E 30-451 Handbook on German Military Forces (english)] (Retrieved on 11 Juni 2012)</ref> Along with other companies, the {{ill|Glashütte Gifhorn|de}} participated in the production.
==Effect and legacy== Glass shrapnel was not easily detectable via X-rays, which rendered medical assistance to victims much harder than conventional mines. Glass made life-threatening injuries more difficult to assess.{{citation needed|reason=Glass foreign bodies are radiopaque and usually show up clearly on x-ray images.|date=August 2024}}
Mines of this type are still buried in the Eifel National Park on the grounds of the Vogelsang Military Training Area, a former "Nazi leadership" training center.<ref>[http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/am-rande-des-nationalparks-eifel.1242.de.html?dram:article_id=189309 Dieter Wulf: ''Am Rande des Nationalparks Eifel''], 5. April 2009 in Deutschlandfunk, Retrieved on 8 September 2013</ref>
Demining areas with this type of mine is resource intensive, as the fields must be swept either by hand or with mine flails like the Keiler, not forgetting that the latter has a certain margin of error since it was developed with military-tactical deployments in mind (creating pathways through minefields).
In 2004, the Colombian Government claimed that "home-made" glass mines were employed by guerrillas in Colombia.<ref>[http://artsdocuments.blogspot.de/search/label/DALLAPORTA%20Rapha%C3%ABl Personenminen] Retrieved 21 November 2012</ref>
==References== <references />
==External links== * Description and images on [https://web.archive.org/web/20090122153311/http://www.lexpev.nl/minesandcharges/europe/germany/glasmine43.html LEXPEV] * [http://www.lonesentry.com/ordnance/glasmine-43-f-glass-mine-antipersonnel.html ''Catalog of Enemy Ordnance'', U.S. Office of Chief of Ordnance, 1945] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106220551/http://www.lonesentry.com/ordnance/glasmine-43-f-glass-mine-antipersonnel.html |date=2019-11-06 }} * Another short description on [http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/002079.html Castle Argghhh!!!]
{{WWIIGermanMines}}
Category:World War II infantry weapons of Germany Category:Anti-personnel mines Category:Land mines of Germany Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1944