POMZ

The mines consist of a small TNT explosive charge inside a hollow cylindrical-cast iron fragmentation sleeve. The sleeve has large fragments cast into the outside and is open at the bottom to accept the insertion of a wooden or plastic mounting stake. On top is a weather cap, covering a standardised fuze well, which in operation is normally armed with an MUV or VPF tripwire fuze. The tripwire can be set to detonate via both pressure or pressure release. The POMZ-2M has a threaded fuze well, while the earlier POMZ-2 was unthreaded and the fuze and igniter would sometimes fall out if the mine was disturbed. The POMZ-2 has 6 rows of square preformed fragments, while the POMZ-2M has 5 rows and is slightly shorter. The crude fragmentation jacket produces an uneven fragmentation effect. The effective radius of the mine is often quoted as four meters @ 360 degrees, but a small number of large fragments may be lethal at ranges far exceeding that. The wooden stakes tend to rot in tropical climates, leaving the mine, if armed, in an extremely unpredictable state.

Variants 

Being of simple construction, these mines have been widely copied, including non-standardised patterns from informal guerrilla workshops. Some mass-produced copies: Type 58 and Type 59, People's Republic of China (POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M copies respectively) MAP and Model 15 (POMZ-2 and POMZ-2M copies) PMR-1 and PMR-2A, Yugoslavia PP Mi-SK, Czechoslovakia (POMZ-2, used with an RO-1 fuze) MM-1, Myanmar (POMZ-2) MBV-78A1, Vietnam (POMZ-2) PMFH-1,PMFH-2, Cuba (POMZ-2 copies)