The danger area of a Claymore exits in an ellipse around the mine. The BBDA or Back Blast Danger Area's particular relevance is providing a rearward safety distance to the user. To that end, our American friends, aware that their soldiers aren't the world's brightest, stamped the words 'front towards enemy' on the more 'exciting' side of the case. If the enemy walk within that, say behind its arc, all's well, the best they come out of it is with a nasty case of shock and ringing ears.
Whilst the there are optimal distances to the spread of the ball bearings, about 50 meters IIRC*, the blast effect means that there is no real safe zone in front of the mine. An example of which being the SASR ambush sprung in Vietnam where the patrol commander set up the mines close to a path with the view of capturing an enemy by the expedient of knocking them over with the blast. It failed spectacularly, the blast effect alone killed the chaps in front of the mine.
One thing you might want to consider is the siting of claymores. When it goes boom the thing flings bits of case and secondary fragments, like twigs, small stones and shit around, up to 100 meters. The blast effect is significant enough to keep anybody out of the immediate rear or sides by 18 meters. That's an exclusion zone. Beyond that and up to 100 meters troops are supposed to be in some form of cover, although in practice it's much less than that due to the need to eyeball the killing ground that and the fact that you only get about 30 metres of firing cable.
The other thing you might want to consider is that Claymores can be fired as multiples, by daisy chaining them with det cord between each mine, there are little shipping plugs on each side of the mine's sight, atop the mine, that allow you to do this. One clacker, several Claymores going boom at once.
*If I could be bothered, I'd dig out the relevant training pam, I think I still have it somewhere
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April 29, 2024, 12:21:46 AM
