 the m18a1 claymore is a directional anti-personnel mine used by the u.s. military. its inventor, norman macleod, named the mine after a large scottish medieval sword. unlike a conventional land mine, the claymore is command-detonated and directional, meaning it is fired by remote-control and shoots a pattern of metal balls into the kill zone like a shotgun. the claymore fires steel balls, out to about  within a 60Â° arc in front of the device. it is used primarily in ambushes and as an anti-infiltration device against enemy infantry. it is also used against unarmored vehicles. many countries have developed and use mines like the claymore. examples include former soviet union models mon-50, mon-90, mon-100, mon-200, and mrud (serbia), maped f1 (france), and mini ms-803 (south africa). ==description== the m18a1 claymore mine has a horizontally convex green plastic case (inert training versions are blue). the shape was developed through experimentation to deliver the optimum distribution of fragments at  range. the case has the words "front toward enemy" embossed on the front of the mine.fm 3â21.75 ch. 14 a simple open sight on the top surface allows for aiming the mine. two pairs of scissor legs attached to the bottom support the mine and allow it to be aimed vertically. on both sides of the sight are fuse wells set at 45 degrees. internally the mine contains a layer of c-4 explosive behind a matrix of about seven hundred  steel balls set into an epoxy resin. when the m18a1 is detonated, the explosion drives the m
Anti-personnel_mines Land_mines_of_the_United_States