Many have seen old photos and war films and, of course, noted the unusual appearance of sea mines, which were actively used both in the First World War and in the Second. Large balls with spikes all over the surface - this is the famous ammunition. But not everyone understands why the design looks that way.
1. Inventors from China
As it turned out, for the first time this type of mine was made in China in the early years of the fourteenth century. Of course, they had a completely different design, one might even say primitive. These were wooden barrels filled with explosives and sealed with putty.
There were two options for activating these bombs: using a wick that was set on fire in advance (prototype delayed firing mechanism), and with the help of a wheel-type lock attached to a long cable with flint.
The design was dropped by a sapper into the water, after which he unwound the cable attached to it. As soon as she swam up to the enemy ship, he pulled the cable, thereby triggering the trigger. The idea is as simple as possible, however, the Europeans thought of it much later, only towards the end of the eighteenth century.
2. Revolutionary Russian invention
It was the inventors from Russia who made a revolution in this direction. P. Schilling in 1812 invented and created the first electric type fuse. This device set the mine in action thanks to the electric current coming from the battery, which was on land.
During the Crimean War, the invention demonstrated a high level of efficiency. As a result, the Russian fleet was officially recognized as the first in the world to use this type of ammunition in a well-developed strategy. As a result, it was Russia that was the leader in terms of sapper business for many years, before the First World War.
3. Mina with "horns"
The spiked mine familiar to us, which is often shown in military films, is an anchor ship ammunition, the effect of which is galvanic shock. Invented it in 1908. P. Kitkin, Russian admiral. During the First World War, this weapon was widely used by our military personnel. Soviet engineers in 1939 it was modernized, and in the updated version, ammunition was used until the sixties of the last century.
According to the regulations, the mine was combat-ready for ten years. She weighed 602 kilograms, and TNT served as an explosive - 110 kilograms.
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4. Why mine needed "horns"
The spikes on the structure are nothing more than galvanic impact fuses. Thanks to them, when a mine collided with a target, detonation occurred. Inside the cap made of lead, the electrolyte was placed in a special glass ampoule and a carbon-zinc type battery.
In a collision with the vessel, the cap was deformed, as a result of which the glass broke, the electrolyte flowed out of the bulb and powered the battery. That, in turn, activated the ignition mechanism and ignited the detonator. The result of all this was an explosion.
Today, the mine is already obsolete. Now they use ammunition equipped with proximity-type fuses, which detonate under the influence of the acoustics of a ship sailing near them, or a magnetic field. But the relevance of galvanic shock ammunition is preserved. They are installed at a shallow depth in the coastal zone to stop the enemy landing.
Continue reading on the topic how the Molotov cocktail appeared, and why it was called that
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/141121/61259/