Claymore version alfa 0.1

[xoo1246]

Someone built and tried a claymore(few weeks ago), constructed of around 365 8mm steel balls and 410 grams of ANNM(25%NM,75%AN). By using a cone with a flat bottom, the builder intended to give some extra velocity to the steel balls by munroe effect(explosives beind and on the sides of 1mm steel cone). Somehow everything fucked up and the few balls that hit the target had a very low velocity(propably most of them hit before the target since the builder only found one tree hit behind the target).
Targets were 5mm steel plate(optimistic), and around 2cm wooden plate.
Atleast the builder didn't kill himself.
Now please, evalutate.
The picture sais it all.

Pictures are no longer avalible.
Pictures are no longer avalible.
Pictures are no longer avalible.

The images showing the construction are the first numbers, then scenery, then detonation, then target images.

<small>[ July 17, 2002, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: xoo1246 ]</small>

[kingspaz]

i'd put it down to the shape of the charge. theres a relatively small area of explosive in contact with the balls. note the shape of real claymores. thin plate of explosive with large area of explosive in contact with the balls. the explosive more than 2cm behind the balls is goind to have little additional effect if any since the explosive well detonate a roughly uniform rate thus propelling the balls at a speed which cannot be added too greatly by a explosive further behind the balls detonating at a simliar speed. so basically what you need is a tin box 250*150mm and about 40mm deep. 10mm of space for ball bearings and 30mm for the explosive behind it.

[Eliteforum]

Whats the stand? It looks like a small camera stand or something?

[endotherm]

How far away was the target?

[nbk2000]

I hope you're NOT having these pictures developed! It IS being taken with a digital camera, correct? Because I can just imagine the police looking at copies of these pictures with an unpleasant smile on their faces.

[nbk2000]

Well, from the pictures, it looks like the targets are at least 20 meters away, right?

1-6 Pictures of the claymore. You know, it looks a lot more like an EFP projector than a claymore. Next time, you may want to aim it (without the bearings) at the steel plate from 5-10 meters away and see if it will punch a hole in it. Use a waveformer though. This is a 2" thick wood or styrofoam disc that's a half inch less in radius than the can it sits in.

11 Looks like the balls were just randomly poured in?

18-20 The area where the claymore was exploded?

22-24, 27 Penetrated the wood completely. These would have been serious or fatal wounds on a person hit in the torso.

25 The bearings hit with enough force to leave a full sized dent of a bearing in 5mm steel plate! This shows that there was more than enough velocity behind them.

From the pictures, it looks like you need to work on controlling the dispersion of the fragments. The velocity is there, but the pattern is random. You'd want uniform dispersion to ensure hits.

Also, since a claymore is an anti-personnel weapon, you may want more realistic targets to test it against.

Here's a target design made from cardboard. You'll need two sheets of cardboard for each target.

The first sheet is cut 2.5' long, by 18" wide.

<img src="http://server3001.freeyellow.com/nbk2000/target1.jpg" alt=" - " />

The second sheet is cut 2' long by 18" wide.

<img src="http://server3001.freeyellow.com/nbk2000/target2.jpg" alt=" - " />

Cut the tabs and notches as shown and slide the two sheets together.

<img src="http://server3001.freeyellow.com/nbk2000/target4.jpg" alt=" - " />

This forms a 3D target that is self-standing.

<img src="http://server3001.freeyellow.com/nbk2000/target3.jpg" alt=" - " />

Anything that hits the 6" wide head is considered a fatal hit. Anything in the central (protruding) part is a serious/fatal injury. Anywhere else is a flesh wound. You want at least three hits to the central mass to ensure the kill.

Set up a dozen or so targets at different ranges and angles from your claymore to test dispersion.

The ultimate targets are, of course, live targets. Your in a forest area, surely there must be deer or something that you could bait and blast. Nothing tastes better than meat you blasted with your own claymore! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> :D

[mrloud]

Half your explosive energy went into propelling the tin can backwards. Isn't the normal use of a claymore to bury it in a small hole and cover with a few leaves and sticks? For these experiments, I'd suggest placing the back of the tin up against a sandbag or a big rock.

[nbk2000]

Ah, but in actual use, would you always have the luxury of backinh it with a sandbag or boulder? Of course not.

The way he has it set up now is just fine. I especially like the little tripod and sight. Gives it that added professional touch. :)

Anyhows, here's some drawings from the original claymore patent. In the patent, it's stressed how important it is that the explosive be in direct contact with the fragments, to impel them with maximum velocity.

Explosive weight is listed as being from 20% to 200% of the weight of the fragments.

As it was, only the fragments directly against the explosive got the full velocity. Those were the ones that dented the steel. Those farthest from the explosive basicly got pushed, and not shot, out of the mine. So you had a wide spread of fragment velocity. :(

<img src="http://server3001.freeyellow.com/nbk2000/CM.gif" alt=" - " />

In it's simplist form, you'd lay the fragments in a single layer in the bottom of a rectangular box, leaving a small border of about 1/2" of empty space around the frags. (See Fig. 9)

Fill the border, and the remainder of the box, with your explosive and rear-center prime. Obviously, the more explosive behind your frags, the faster they'll go. :)

Since you now know that the frags won't penetrate your steel target, you may want to be behind it when you set the next one off. Being downrange of a weapon gives you a whole different perspective on its effectiveness. You can hear the frags whistling by you, bouncing off the steel, etc. A tape recorder would be good too. Spectrum analysis of the sound can reveal all sorts of details, like velocity of fragments and uniformity of dispersion.

Plus we'd like to hear it going BOOM! too, you know. :p

[xoo1246]

Someone seems to like claymores. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
Thanks for all the good comments, and no the pictures werent developed(taken with a digital camera). That would have been fairly stupid. Posting them here is risky enought, happily the builder is not me. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
You are right about that fragments have to be in contact with explosive to have primary fragmentation effect, and if not in contact, confinment must be heavily increased. Say, if you use a (thick) steel pipe with one end sealed and fragments 1/4 way into that pipe(explosives behind).
Much like a shotgun. Or is that what you call a pipe-claymore(NBK)?
I have seen military claymores, belive it was anti-vehicle types, where the fragments are inside a block of some kind of casted(brittle?) metal? They must rely on confinment to reach high velocities I assume.
In large destructive devices(those that are most often dropped from planes, not saying the B-word :) ) with heavy confinment, c:w ratio of around 2:3 fragments can reach 4000 m/s. With a c:w ratio of 1:10 the velocity average 1000 m/s wich is the aproximate speed required to penetrate 10mm steel(depending on shape and weight). Above 2000 m/s shape doesn't mather much. (from E,P&P)
The tripod was from a camera staive, the distance was around 10-15 meters.
If anyone will be behind a steel plate infront of a claymore it won't be a person, rather a tape recorder. Especially since there is no point in constructing the same things over and over again, you wish to develop(if you are sure they don't work properly), right?
Ah, a claymore patent, have had troubles finding any.

[Zero]

Shallow thought of the day: I think we just found a use for those silly tins the AOL CDs ship in nowadays...

I'm picturing two stuck together, one stuffed with explosive and the other with lead shot.

~Zero the Inestimable

[mongo blongo]

Being behind a steel plate with explosive propelled 8mm steel balls flying at you at a high velocity would be one hell of a rush!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
I think I might just be crazy enough to do it! :) Send the video to the guys from Jackass. :D

[A-BOMB]

Or just have it posthusmely sent the Darwin Awards, people because Jackass doesn't take tapes from the audience of then killing themself with a claymore (or anytapes for that matter)

[john_smith]

Theory question:
Is there a reasonably simple and effective way for calculating the force that a fixed claymore applies to it's backing?

[nbk2000]

Define what you mean by "backing".

Is that the side of the mine NOT facing the enemy? Or are you talking about having the claymore mounted to something (like a wall) and want to know if it'd be destroyed by the blast?

Assuming you know the explosive type and weight, there's formulas out there to compute PSI and such.

RTPB P.F.F Assume whatever you attach it to will be destroyed. Thus don't attach it to anything you'll miss. :)

[john_smith]

In fact, I was thinking about something like <a href="http://members.tripod.com/selousscouts/antiambush_devices.htm" target="_blank">this</a>, and whether a normal full frame car or truck would survive the blasts. More exactly, attaching a couple of mini-claymores to the reinforced front bumper, and some to the rear. If it'd work, well...think crashing roadblocks for instance. Fire front charges upon approach to make the piggies take cover, and the rear ones (angled to give more spread) immeadiately after crashing through to finish them off :D It would probably also do a good job getting rid of those pesky...erm...tailgaters :D

Edit: damn graemlins...

<small>[ December 03, 2002, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: john_smith ]</small>