SB-33 mine
Encyclopedia
The SB-33 is a small Italian
minimum metal
blast type anti-personnel mine
formerly manufactured by Misar, that entered service in 1977. The SB-33 can be emplaced by hand or scattered using the helicopter mounted SY-AT system.
The body
of the mine is made of two glass reinforced polycarbonate
halves, with the top surface having a central neoprene pressure pad. The body has an irregular shape to make the mine harder to distinguish on the ground.
To arm an SB-33, a small pin is removed from the side of the mine. After the mine has been armed, gradual pressure on the pressure plate (i.e. when the victim steps on it) rotates a locking collar until the striker is released, which flips into a stab-detonator
and the mine explodes. However, sudden pressure (e.g. from a mine-clearing charge) causes the striker to lock the rotating collar in position for the duration of the pressure, preventing the mine from detonating. The combination of low metal content and resistance to overpressure make the mine extremely difficult to remove.
Another version of the SB-33 called the SB-33 AR (AR standing for Anti-Rimozione, "Counter-Removal") exists. It looks identical to the standard SB-33 mine. However, the SB-33 AR has an integral anti-handling device
specifically designed to injure deminers. The anti-handling device in an SB-33 AR consists of a mercury tilt switch
and battery connected to the detonator
. When an SB-33 AR is moved a few degrees from the horizontal (i.e. when a deminer lifts it), it detonates, blowing the victim's hand off. Generally, a handful of SB-33 AR landmines would be sown inside an SB-33 minefield to discourage clearing operations.
Copies of the mine were produced in several countries and the mine was in service with Holland, Spain
, Greece
and Argentina
. This mine is no longer produced and Italy
has destroyed all operational stocks and any associated machinery required for its manufacture. However, minefields containing SB-33 mines do exist e.g. in Afghanistan
, Djibouti
, the Falkland Islands
, Iran
, Iraq
, Kurdistan, and the Western Sahara
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
minimum metal
Minimum metal mine
A minimum metal mine is a land mine that is designed to use the minimum amount of metal in its construction . Both minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel mines exist. Some designs contain almost no metal at all...
blast type anti-personnel mine
Anti-personnel mine
Anti-personnel mines are a form of land mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles...
formerly manufactured by Misar, that entered service in 1977. The SB-33 can be emplaced by hand or scattered using the helicopter mounted SY-AT system.
The body
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
of the mine is made of two glass reinforced polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
halves, with the top surface having a central neoprene pressure pad. The body has an irregular shape to make the mine harder to distinguish on the ground.
To arm an SB-33, a small pin is removed from the side of the mine. After the mine has been armed, gradual pressure on the pressure plate (i.e. when the victim steps on it) rotates a locking collar until the striker is released, which flips into a stab-detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
and the mine explodes. However, sudden pressure (e.g. from a mine-clearing charge) causes the striker to lock the rotating collar in position for the duration of the pressure, preventing the mine from detonating. The combination of low metal content and resistance to overpressure make the mine extremely difficult to remove.
Another version of the SB-33 called the SB-33 AR (AR standing for Anti-Rimozione, "Counter-Removal") exists. It looks identical to the standard SB-33 mine. However, the SB-33 AR has an integral anti-handling device
Anti-handling device
An anti-handling device is an attachment to or integral part of a landmine or other munition e.g. some fuze types found in air-dropped bombs such as the M83, cluster bombs and sea mines. It is specifically designed to prevent tampering. When the protected device is disturbed it detonates, killing...
specifically designed to injure deminers. The anti-handling device in an SB-33 AR consists of a mercury tilt switch
Mercury switch
A mercury switch is a switch whose purpose is to allow or interrupt the flow of electric current in an electrical circuit in a manner that is dependent on the switch's physical position or alignment relative to the direction of the "pull" of earth's gravity, or other inertia.Mercury switches...
and battery connected to the detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
. When an SB-33 AR is moved a few degrees from the horizontal (i.e. when a deminer lifts it), it detonates, blowing the victim's hand off. Generally, a handful of SB-33 AR landmines would be sown inside an SB-33 minefield to discourage clearing operations.
Copies of the mine were produced in several countries and the mine was in service with Holland, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. This mine is no longer produced and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
has destroyed all operational stocks and any associated machinery required for its manufacture. However, minefields containing SB-33 mines do exist e.g. in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Kurdistan, and the Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
.
Specifications
- Diameter: 85 mm
- Height: 30 mm
- Operating pressure: 8 kg
- Weight: 140 g
- Explosive content: 35 g RDXRDXRDX, an initialism for Research Department Explosive, is an explosive nitroamine widely used in military and industrial applications. It was developed as an explosive which was more powerful than TNT, and it saw wide use in WWII. RDX is also known as cyclonite, hexogen , and T4...
/HMXHMXHMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive, chemically related to RDX. Like RDX, the name has been variously listed as High Melting eXplosive, Her Majesty's eXplosive, High-velocity Military eXplosive, or High-Molecular-weight rdX.The molecular...
(98%/2%)
Variants
- EM-20, a GreekGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
copy of the mine. - M/412, a PortuguesePortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
copy of the mine. - P-5, a SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
copy of the mine produced under license. It is no longer in service with Spain, and all but 4,000 of the mines have been destroyed.