M18 Claymore Mine & M7 Bandolier
(Pennsylvania Military Museum, T. Gum, Site Admin.)
For purposes of defensive operations, and area-denial, the M18 Claymore Mine (the M18, or simply, Claymore) was developed in the 1950s and put into service for the first time during the Vietnam War. Warfare has seen many uses and variations of mines including pressure-activated, timed, personnel-activated, trip-wired, and even remote detonation. However, the Claymore has been in continual use by the United States Armed Services since 1960.
The Claymore is relatively basic in design - a housing, an explosive charge, a system for detonation, and a manner to easily carry it on the battlefield. Carried in the M7 Bandolier, the satchel allows the personnel employing it to carry all hardware and related instructions in a canvas bag with respective compartments and arresting devices for its contents.
Weighing approximately four pounds with an overall footprint of 8.5”x1.5”x4.9”, and typically olive drab in color, the Claymore is easily carried, deployed, and hard to spot - lending to its ubiquitous use on the battlefield. Typically used to secure flanks or rears when a unit is stationary, or in the case of a machine gun in-placement or sniper-hide, at weak points of the perimeter, the mine has devastating effect with its most lethal range being inside of fifty yards. The device’s lethality is only increased as the range to target decreases, and if used within confined environments, or in combination with other defensive measures.
The history of the M18 dates back to World War II, and subsequently, the Korean War, when demand by troops was expressed for more field expedient, effective, and easily transported anti-personnel device. During World War II improvised devices or more elaborate devices were employed by US troops, and during the Korean War the US saw the need to protect troops during wave, massed, and otherwise devastating attacks that lead to immense casualties that could have been prevented.
By the Vietnam War, the Claymore had been improved upon several times by various companies. However, the Claymore has retained (overall) its original shape, design, and use.
Worth noting - the M7 Bandolier has gained a strong fan-base for its design, and utilitarian purpose. Used as a tool satchel, a personal effects container, a shower-bag, and countless other purposes, the M7 has even garnered a loyal following in the civilian world for its simple design and endless use… not to mention the ability to carry and use something related to a well respected and feared battlefield tool, the M18 Claymore Mine.