Tellermine
Tellermine
My sources are conflicting on the effectiveness of the trllermine, all seem to agree that at the very least it would track a tank however some seem to suggest that It could also kill a tank the size if a Sherman, Opinion ?
Re: Tellermine
Not really a matter of opinion. WWII mines with pressure plates could break a tank track and mangle a road wheel or two, but not "kill" a tank in the sense of putting it, and the crew, permanently out of action (except very light tanks perhaps).
I have a copy of a report about a Churchill tank accidentally running over a "Beach Type C" mine in 1942. These mines were laid on British beaches in large numbers in 1940-41 as part of the anti-invasion defences and packed a serious amount of explosive, 20 lbs (9 kg.) of amatol, a heavier charge than AT mines of the period. The explosion destroyed six track links and one of the bogie wheels was found 150 yards away from the tank, but the hull was not ruptured and the crew suffered no ill effects whatsoever.
To really kill a tank, you need a mine with hollow-charge effect which will attack not the tracks but the bottom of the hull as the tanks passes over it, actuated by a tilting rod, magnetic influence sensor or other means. Example: the Swedish FFV 028 introduced in the 1980s (picture from Jane's Military Vehicles and Ground Support Equipment 1986).
Of course, if you just pack enough explosive in a mine, you don't need such technical refinements. There is a story (unconfirmed) that in 1945 some German naval personnel went to the trouble of digging in a naval mine (300 kgs or so of explosive) on one of the roads leading to Hamburg (or was it Bremen?) and when a tank of the Guards Armoured Division drove over it, it was blown so completely to bits that no trace of the crew was ever found.
I have a copy of a report about a Churchill tank accidentally running over a "Beach Type C" mine in 1942. These mines were laid on British beaches in large numbers in 1940-41 as part of the anti-invasion defences and packed a serious amount of explosive, 20 lbs (9 kg.) of amatol, a heavier charge than AT mines of the period. The explosion destroyed six track links and one of the bogie wheels was found 150 yards away from the tank, but the hull was not ruptured and the crew suffered no ill effects whatsoever.
To really kill a tank, you need a mine with hollow-charge effect which will attack not the tracks but the bottom of the hull as the tanks passes over it, actuated by a tilting rod, magnetic influence sensor or other means. Example: the Swedish FFV 028 introduced in the 1980s (picture from Jane's Military Vehicles and Ground Support Equipment 1986).
Of course, if you just pack enough explosive in a mine, you don't need such technical refinements. There is a story (unconfirmed) that in 1945 some German naval personnel went to the trouble of digging in a naval mine (300 kgs or so of explosive) on one of the roads leading to Hamburg (or was it Bremen?) and when a tank of the Guards Armoured Division drove over it, it was blown so completely to bits that no trace of the crew was ever found.
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"The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man's observation, not overturning it." Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Re: Tellermine
So this, is basically:
"On June 8th, 1944, a Sherman tank was accompanying the 1st Ranger Battalion in an attack on the Maisy battery. It ran over a Tellermine and was blown to pieces, with a total crew loss.[3] Sergeant John Robert "Bob" Slaughter describes the scene: "The explosive energy from that hidden teller mine sent the 32-ton Sherman tank into the ditch on its side. This scene echoed the bloody, grotesque carnage of D-Day. One minute they were healthy young men, and the next minute they were bloody arms and legs wrapped around bloody torsos. We found body parts and shoes with the feet still stuck in them twenty-five yards away."
A fib, from Wiki- ?
"On June 8th, 1944, a Sherman tank was accompanying the 1st Ranger Battalion in an attack on the Maisy battery. It ran over a Tellermine and was blown to pieces, with a total crew loss.[3] Sergeant John Robert "Bob" Slaughter describes the scene: "The explosive energy from that hidden teller mine sent the 32-ton Sherman tank into the ditch on its side. This scene echoed the bloody, grotesque carnage of D-Day. One minute they were healthy young men, and the next minute they were bloody arms and legs wrapped around bloody torsos. We found body parts and shoes with the feet still stuck in them twenty-five yards away."
A fib, from Wiki- ?
Re: Tellermine
That report doesn't make much sense. If the explosion tipped the Sherman over, that would mean it was still in one piece, more or less, with the crew inside. So how could they find body parts 25 yards away? Or does that bit refer to unrelated scenes on D-Day?
Anyway, the explosion of a standard Tellermine (there were different versions) with about 5 kgs of explosive would not be enough to tip a Sherman over, IMHO. Of course it could have been a mine combined with a case of explosives, or 2 mines on top of each other. It might have been a captured French or Dutch mine, both were used in some numbers by the Germans. In fact it might have been any number of things.
I assume sergeant Slaughter did not verify exactly what type of mine it had been and just used "Tellermine" as a generic term for German AT mines.
Anyway, the explosion of a standard Tellermine (there were different versions) with about 5 kgs of explosive would not be enough to tip a Sherman over, IMHO. Of course it could have been a mine combined with a case of explosives, or 2 mines on top of each other. It might have been a captured French or Dutch mine, both were used in some numbers by the Germans. In fact it might have been any number of things.
I assume sergeant Slaughter did not verify exactly what type of mine it had been and just used "Tellermine" as a generic term for German AT mines.
"The true spirit of conversation consists in building on another man's observation, not overturning it." Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Re: Tellermine
Truth or not about the mine damage, the 1st Ranger Battalion was not in France.Brady wrote:So this, is basically:
"On June 8th, 1944, a Sherman tank was accompanying the 1st Ranger Battalion in an attack on the Maisy battery. It ran over a Tellermine and was blown to pieces, with a total crew loss.[3] Sergeant John Robert "Bob" Slaughter describes the scene: "The explosive energy from that hidden teller mine sent the 32-ton Sherman tank into the ditch on its side. This scene echoed the bloody, grotesque carnage of D-Day. One minute they were healthy young men, and the next minute they were bloody arms and legs wrapped around bloody torsos. We found body parts and shoes with the feet still stuck in them twenty-five yards away."
A fib, from Wiki- ?