On night ambush patrols we always took Claymore mines along and set them out in front of our position.  The Claymore was an inch-and-a-half-thick antipersonnel mine in a slightly curved fiberglass case.  The device was six inches high and nearly a foot long.  Two sets of folding steel legs allowed us to stick them upright into the ground, curved side facing the enemy.  A blasting cap went into one of two top holes.  A long wire connected the cap to a hand detonator.  One squeeze of the firing handle and the mine exploded, sending hundreds of small steel balls flying forward.

 

 

Claymore Mines:  Tales Of A War Far Away
Copyright © 1995 Kirk S. Ramsey
Last modified: March 02, 1995