 An M2A4 mine with a M6A1 pressure and pull fuse | |
| Type | Antipersonnel mine |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Produced | January 1943-September 1944 |
| No. built | Approximately 4,161,000 |
| Specifications (Mine, Antipersonnel, M2A3) | |
| Mass | 5.01 lb (2.27 kg) |
| Width | 4.04 in (103 mm) |
| Height | 8.25 in (210 mm) |
| Filling | TNT |
| Filling weight | 0.34 lb (0.15 kg) |
| References | Catalogue of Standard Ordnance Items, Second Edition 1944 Volume III |
The M2 is a United States bounding anti-personnel mine used during World War II. A number of variants of the mine were produced and although the mine is no longer in US service, it can be found in Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Laos, Oman, Rwanda, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. Copies of the mine were produced by Belgium (as the PRB M966), Pakistan (P7), Portugal (M/966) and Taiwan.
The mine consists of a cylindrical steel main body containing a 60 millimeter mortar shell body (originally the M49A2), linked to a tall thin fuze stand. The fuze stand held either a pin based tripwire fuze or a combination pressure tripwire fuze with a pronged pressure cap. Later fuzes were sensitive to pressure or pull and could be used with a tripwire. When the mine is triggered a black powder charge launches the mortar shell out of the main body of the mine and into the air. A pyrotechnic delay fuse triggers the mine when it has risen to between two and three meters in height. The lethal radius of the mine is reported to be approximately ten meters.