L9 Bar Mine
| L9 Bar Mine | |
|---|---|
L9 Bar Mine
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| Type | Anti-tank blast mine |
| Place of origin |
 United Kingdom
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| Service history | |
| In service | –1969 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 11 kilograms (24 lb) |
| Length | 120 centimetres (47 in) |
| Width | 10.8 centimetres (4.3 in) |
| Height | 8.2 centimetres (3.2 in) |
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| Filling | TNT |
| Filling weight | 8.4 kilograms (19 lb) |
The L9 Bar Mine is a large rectangular British anti-tank landmine. The bar mine's principal advantage is its long length, and therefore its trigger length. A typical anti-tank landmine is circular, and a vehicle's wheels or tracks, which make up only a small proportion of its total width, must actually press on the mine to activate it. To increase the probability of a vehicle striking the mine, the mine's effective trigger width must be increased.
The bar mine's shape allows a 50% reduction in the number of mines in a minefield without reducing its effectiveness. It was reported that it would take 90 sappers 150 minutes to lay a 1,000 yard mine field consisting of 1,250 Mk 7 British anti-tank mines, weighing a total of 17 tonnes. By comparison, it would take 30 sappers 60 minutes to lay a 1,000 yard minefield consisting of 655 bar mines weighing a total of 7.2 tonnes.
The long mines can also be laid through a simple plough attached to the rear of a FV432 Armoured Personnel Carrier. Laying circular mines in similar fashion requires a far larger plough and more powerful towing vehicle. The bar mine laying FV432s were also usually fitted with launchers for the L10 Ranger Anti-Personnel Mine, to make subsequent clearing of the minefield by hand by enemy sappers more difficult; however, the L10 was withdrawn from service, in line with several conventions regulating mines which have been agreed to by the United Kingdom.
The bar mine is made of plastic, and cannot be detected by metal detectors. A metal plate is attached to bar mines which are intended to be subsequently recovered by friendly forces, usually for training purposes. A full width attack mine (FWAM) fuze and an anti-disturbance fuze are available for the bar mine; these are secured on the ends of the mine, adjacent to the pressure plate. If either is used, the mine must be laid by hand.
A training version of the mine is bio-degradable, and consists of sand or peat in a cardboard casing.
The L9 Bar Mine entered British service in 1969. A number of sub-variants of the mine exist, designated L9A1 through L9A8. It was replaced as an anti-tank mine in British service (by the Shielder minelaying system) in 2010.
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