The effectiveness of U.S. tanks in operations against the Japanese has led the Japanese Army to devise an extraordinary series of hand-carried antitank demolitions. Specially designed to pierce armor plate or to damage vital tank parts, these weapons may well replace the familiar Model 99 (magnetic) armor-piercing mine as the primary weapon of Close-quarter Combat Units—the Japanese suicide tank fighters.

The Japanese are known to have been experimenting with such antitank charges, and, during recent operations, attempts to use weapons of this type have been reported.

LUNGE MINE

Perhaps the oddest of these antitank charges is the so-called "Lunge Mine" encountered on Leyte Island. This weapon—an armor-piercing charge on the end of a pole—derives its name from the way in which it must be thrust against the side of a tank in order to detonate.

The mine is an explosive-filled, sheet-steel cone, about 12 inches long and 8 inches in diameter at the base. As in all hollow charges, the cavity in the bottom of the cone tends to guide the force of the explosion out from the bottom of the cone and against the armor plate of the target. A metal sleeve extends from the top, or point end, of the cone and houses the simple firing device—a nail on the end of the broomstick-like handle which fits into the sleeve. The detonator is little more than an ordinary blasting cap set into the top of the cone, where the nail will strike the cap if the handle is jammed down in the sleeve. During transport, however, the handle is held immobile in the sleeve by a simple safety pin inserted through the sleeve and handle. A further safety feature is a thin holding pin, or shear wire, similarly installed through sleeve and handle. Three legs, 5 1/4 inches long, are attached to the bottom of the cone; the Japanese claim that these legs increase the penetrating power of the weapon. The penetrating effect of the charge is greater when the explosion occurs a few inches away from the armor.

The Japanese suicide soldier has been taught to wield this weapon as he would a rifle and bayonet. The prescribed method of operation is for the soldier to remove the safety pin as he approaches the tank to be attacked, and to grasp the center of the handle with his left hand, and the butt end with his right. Then, holding the stick level, with the mine to the front, he lunges forward as in a bayonet attack, thrusting the three legs on the mine base against the side of the tank. The shock of contact will break the shear wire and the striker nail will be shoved into the detonator cap, thus exploding the mine as it is held against the armor. At this point the Jap soldier's mission ends for all time.

From experiments conducted in Manila, the Japanese claim that the 6 1/2 pounds of explosive in the mine is capable of penetrating 6 inches of armor, provided that the mine contacts the plate squarely. However, if contact is made at an angle of 60 degrees, the mine is reputed to penetrate 4 inches of armor. To date all attempts by the enemy to use the Lunge Mine against our tanks have met with failure.

HOOK CHARGES

One Japanese division has advocated the use of a similar, although simpler, device designed primarily to damage the guns on a tank being attacked by ground troops. It consists of a heavy demolition charge of explosive blocks to which a short stick has been wired. One end of this stick then is inserted in the hollow end of a bamboo pole, thus forming an easily removable handle. Two heavy wires, bent like fishhooks, are fastened to the other end of the charge.

A short length of fuze rigged with a pull-type fuze lighter is installed in a demolition block near the handle, and a cord or rope about as long as the handle is tied to the fuze lighter.

When attacking a tank with this pole charge, presumably from ambush, the Japanese soldier is supposed to pull the cord and ignite the fuze as he approaches his target. On reaching the tank, he is supposed to hook the wire hooks of the charge over the tank cannon or machine gun. As he retreats he pulls the bamboo pole loose from the charge, and the demolition hangs freely in position on the gun until the charge explodes.

A variation of this pole charge is a similar demolition on the end of a 4-foot rope. The soldier armed with such a weapon is supposed to sling the rope and explosive over the top of the tank gun barrel and then pull the rope back towards him until the wire hooks catch and hang on the barrel. Lacking opportunity to attack the tank weapons, the Japanese of this division were instructed to hang the explosives on the tank's camouflage net, or some other likely place.

HAND MINES

Besides the Model 99 magnetic mine, which already has been used on a wide scale, two other hand-thrown antitank demolitions are known to have been developed and experimented with by the Japanese Army. They are the Conical Hand Mine and the Experimental Hand-thrown Mine.

The Model 3 Conical Hand Mine actually is an antitank bomb or hand grenade. This grenade has been found in captured ammunition dumps in the Philippines, although there have been no reported attempts by the enemy to use it. Of Japanese naval manufacture, it comes in two sizes—one weighing 2 pounds, and the larger weighing 3 pounds. Like the Lunge Mine, the Conical Hand Mine is a cone shaped, hollow charge designed to direct the force of explosion against tank armor. The large end of the grenade cone is covered by a bowl-shaped wooden base. The whole body of the grenade is encased in a silk bag sewn to fit tightly around the explosive unit and the wooden base.

The fuze, which functions on impact, is located in the narrow end of the bomb, and is designed to detonate regardless of the angle at which the grenade strikes the target. To ensure detonation, the grenade must be thrown with force. To be safe from the effect of the explosion, the soldier who throws the grenade must be at least 35 feet from the target. The grenade reputedly can penetrate 3/4 inch of armor.

Approximately 20 inches of hemp-palm fibers resembling a grass skirt are attached to the narrow end of the grenade, and serve as a tail or stabilizer when the grenade is thrown. This permits the grenade to strike base-first on the target.

The Experimental Hand-thrown Mine is a spherical bomb 4.7 inches in diameter. It is composed of 3 pounds of explosive encased in a black aluminum shell. Like the Conical Hand Mine, it is reported as capable of penetrating 3/4 inch armor, and must be thrown from a distance of at least 30 feet from the target.

A carrying handle and a fuze cover are attached to the outside of the mine. During shipment the fuzes are packed separately, and must be inserted in the mine by unscrewing the fuze cover and inserting the fuze in the recess provided. The fuze is similar to that on the Conical Hand Mine, and is kept unarmed by a safety pin. Since the fuze will detonate the bomb upon impact with the target, the mine requires careful handling after the safety pin has been removed.



