S.Mi.35 (Sprengen Mine 1935) aka the "Bouncing Betty"

So here is the second mine, set up for display. This one had the three brass detonator tubes included, and a nice repro cast main charge with labels. Early bursting charges were cast HE wrapped in paper, and in true German fashion, labeled with maker and lot info, as well as when it was loaded into the mine body. This is a great piece to have.

This one also came with original German early ball bearing shrapnel load. Later mines used cut heavy gauge wire pieces to save time and money.

Also had the three shear screws for the bottom which attached outer case to the mine to keep them together. When the mine was set off, the black powder jumping charged simply sheared these off as the name implies and allowed the mine to separate from the case and bound.

This is how I am thinking of displaying this one...oh, the fuze package on this one is a double adapter, in this case using a ZZ-35 pull igniter, and a ZZ-42 tension igniter.

Oh, this one is also a Richard Rinker produced mine, 1939...a little harder to read.

So have I gone completely around the bend?

Outstanding Pzjgr That faux charge is very cool for display. I'd like to have one of those for mine. Great job all around.

Hambone said:

Outstanding Pzjgr That faux charge is very cool for display. I'd like to have one of those for mine. Great job all around.

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Thanks Craig! There is one of the charges for sale on eBay from a Russian, but he wants $150 for it, which seems steep to me...

One more item to add, another which is pretty cool, and I was happy to get...

This is a box which carried Initiators, fuzes, and accessories for the S. Mine....nice wooden box, with a locking lid, well marked, and with the original label inside. According to the label it contained:

9 S. Mine Zunder 35 (the main pressure fuze with the three prongs)

15 ZZ-35 pull initiators

27 Sprengkapseln No. 8 (these were the actual detonators, same as used in the M24 stick grenades...they fit inside the wells in the fuzes...)

9 three way adapters

27 small sealing rings (I am guessing these are rubber washers for the large external screws on the top of the mine)

3 large sealing rings (I am thinking these were to seal the perimeter between the mine and outer case)

3 something added, I can't read it...

This label is stamped 19 March 1943...while the box is marked as 1940, so I am guessing these were refilled...

The box looks like it had some internal dividers, I think I can replicate those, and there was a handle on the front which is broken off, again, I think I can replicate and replace that too.

I haven't seen many of these, so its a great addition to the mines...now I just have to find one of the mine transport crates!

pzjgr said:

..in true German fashion, labeled with maker and lot info, as well as when it was loaded into the mine body.

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Of course! Would we really expect any different?

pzjgr said:

..with original German early ball bearing shrapnel load. Later mines used cut heavy gauge wire pieces to save time and money.

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Hmm I did not know that. Interesting. I wonder how the change effected the soft target penetration? Great stuff and thanks for sharing in such detail.

heavy_mech said:

Of course! Would we really expect any different?



Hmm I did not know that. Interesting. I wonder how the change effected the soft target penetration? Great stuff and thanks for sharing in such detail.

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Here is a pic of the cut wire type....

Another interesting piece. It has always intrigued me how countries will reprioritize industry in times of war. So I see your crate was made my Gebr Rieger (Josef von Glatter-Gotz actually after Otto died) in a organ manufacturing facility newly established in 1926 in Mocker (Oberschlesien) now in Poland. I guess if you can make organs you can make crates for land mines? Not sure where you find this stuff but again thanks for posting.

pzjgr said:

Here is a pic of the cut wire type....

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I can see that being a huge time, labor and energy savings over ball bearing type. It probably effected performance at least some but the savings certainly drove that decision.

What a bada$$ mine! Good grief. Application of ballistics: the early ball bearings probably went farther, faster, and straighter, and probably penetrated a bit more, but made cleaner wounds. The irregular cut pieces created nastier wounds but probably did not have the range or penetration. The Germans likely figured that there was little practical difference in the design change other than costing less and perhaps causing more harm.

heavy_mech said:

Another interesting piece. It has always intrigued me how countries will reprioritize industry in times of war. So I see your crate was made my Gebr Rieger (Josef von Glatter-Gotz actually after Otto died) in a organ manufacturing facility newly established in 1926 in Mocker (Oberschlesien) now in Poland. I guess if you can make organs you can make crates for land mines? Not sure where you find this stuff but again thanks for posting.

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Thanks for posting this info, very interesting! I was wondering where that town was, I never heard of Mocker....

Hambone said:

What a bada$$ mine! Good grief. Application of ballistics: the early ball bearings probably went farther, faster, and straighter, and probably penetrated a bit more, but made cleaner wounds. The irregular cut pieces created nastier wounds but probably did not have the range or penetration. The Germans likely figured that there was little practical difference in the design change other than costing less and perhaps causing more harm.

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I agree and think that's probably the same assessment they came up with. I can certainly see those cut pieces of wire being so irregular creating some really nasty wounds even if they didn't have the range or predictability or the ball bearing shrapnel.

pzjgr said:

Thanks for posting this info, very interesting! I was wondering where that town was, I never heard of Mocker....

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It's a very interesting part of the 'behind the scenes' stuff and really interests me. Like the Silesiastahl discussion. It's kind of obtuse and you find much of the info is in other language websites but I really enjoy digging into this kind of thing.