Last updated on February 17th, 2019 at 09:49 pm
Germany’s Panzerschnellmine and Holzmine 42 mines were similar to the Tellermine.
However, the Panzerschnellmine and the Holzmine 42 had wood enclosures and therefore cost less to manufacture than the Tellermine, which was enclosed in steel.
Wood enclosures also made it harder for metal detectors to find the Holzmine 42 and the Tellermine.
The Panzerschnellmine was made up of a wooden box that contained a charge.
It was activated when pressure of at least 200 pounds was applied on the lid of the box. This would cause wooden dowels in the box to shear before the main igniter was lit.
There were two types of Panzerschnellmine – A and B.
Type A had dowels that were half of an inch long and a ZZ42 igniter. When the dowels were sheared, the link pin on the fuse would be pressed out and the fuse would ignite.
Type B used dowels that were three quarters of an inch long. When these were sheared, pressure would be placed on two Buck chemical fuses, causing them to ignite.
The Holzmine 42 also consisted of a wooden box with an explosive inside. This explosive was known as Amatol 50/50. Like Panzerschnellmine A, the Holzmine 42 used a ZZ42 fuse. When pressure of at least 200 pounds sheared the dowels, the pin in the fuse would be pushed out and the fuse would ignite.