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US M14 AP mine

E

EOD

Well-Known Member
Who can explain why the US M14 AP mine exists in at least two variations?
There are different US manuals describing the M14 AP mine. The 1994 edition (TM 43-0001-36 Land Mines) is showing it with a steel disc in the bottom "cavity" around the screw-in detonator.

This modification seems not to having had influence on the original designation what is surprising.
Also does anybody know if that disc was permanently attached or if it was removable if desired (as some other AP mines do)?
Was that maybe a late "humanitarian" measure by making it easier to detect?

Also: what would be an E-M14 ???
 
I've never seen one with the metal disc, the M 14s I played with were all pretty much plastic - the belvelle (misspelled) I believe was a light metal but not detechable with the mine detectors of the day,
 
So your experience may support my idea of the steel disced version being a late measure. But still guessing.

Images of such a version would be nice as the disc when permanently attached covered the original designation and should have been reapplied onto that disc or on some oither part of the mine.
 
Some AP pressure blast landmines adopted a metal disk (or ring) to increase EM trace.

I recall VS/50, P4 Mk.1, MI AP ID 59, FMK-1 Mod.0 and of course M14, that in this case become M14E1.

Regards
stecol
 
stecol said:
Some AP pressure blast landmines adopted a metal disk (or ring) to increase EM trace.

Regards
stecol
Click to expand...

This is what i meant with the "humanitarian measure".
Why is the 1994 manual not giving the designation M14 E1 then?
 
Hi. There are only minor structural changes between the M14E1 and the M14. Both the M14 and Ml4E1 are nonmetallic, pressure initiated, blast, antipersonnel, high explosive landmines which use an integral fuze with a steel firing pin. The practice version is the M17. Cheers
 
Last edited:
m14.jpgHi. There is the option of fitting a metal washer to make the mine detectable by conventional means. Whilst I have not seen an M14 with one, I have seen French MI AP DV 59 mines with the same type of ring. Most likely they are issued like this now, with the rings being removed when they are being laid. Cheers
 
The manual does not mention the option of removal, alos why should they deliver it with the disc on then?
The image does not show how the disc had been attached but it appears here that it is not held by the det screw - this would allow for the thought of it being attached by glueing and then there will be no ption to remove it.
Also what for all the effort when it was issued without steel disc the decades before?
 
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