Did the Soviets use toy mines?

The Soviets used the PFM1 or ‘butterfly’ air-dropped land mine in Afghanistan. This mine is designed to float to the ground on plastic ‘wings’, hence the nickname, and is often used by children as a toy. Exploding dolls would more likely be used as booby-traps than AP mines.

What are butterfly mines?

A type of land mine called the “butterfly” has a particularly insidious reputation for two reasons: It is known for killing or crippling children who may pick up what looks a lot like a green plastic toy, and its mostly nonmetallic construction means it often evades traditional mine detectors.

What are land mines called?

anti-personnel mines
What are landmines? Landmines, also known as anti-personnel mines, are defined as mines “designed to be exploded by the presence, proximity or contact of a person and that will incapacitate, injure or kill one or more persons.”

How many mines did the Soviets leave in Afghanistan?

The Soviet troops may be gone, but they have left a lethal legacy behind in Afghanistan: up to 30 million mines, scattered like deadly seeds across the Afghan landscape.

How does a butterfly mine work?

Action. The mine consists of a plastic container containing explosive liquid. The mine is stored with a pin restraining a detonating plunger. Once the arming pin is removed, the plunger is slowly forced forward by a spring until it contacts the detonator, at which point it is armed.

Who planted the mines in Afghanistan?

most were laid by Soviet and pro-Soviet Afghan government forces from 1979-1992. At least fifty different types of mines have been identified in Afghanistan of Belgian, Chinese, ex- Czechoslovakian, Iranian, Italian, Pakistani, Singaporean, ex-USSR, United Kingdom, ex- Yugoslavian, and Zimbabwean manufacture.

Is there land mines in Afghanistan?

More than 40 years of war have left the Afghan landscape littered with landmines as well as other munitions. These landmines have rendered fields, valleys, cities, watercourses, mountains and other terrain unusable, leading to the under-development of the country.

Can you avoid a Bouncing Betty?

Players can even completely avoid a Bouncing Betty by simply going prone and crawling past it.

When did mining start in Australia?

Between 40,000 – 60,000 years ago, when the Aboriginal people came to Australia, they began the country’s very first mining phase.