M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine
Name	M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine
Origin	United States
Weapon type	Direction fragmentation anti-personnel mine
Designer	Norman Macleod and others
Manufacturer	Various
Appearances	MGS, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4
Weight	3.5 lb (1,6kg)
Length	216 mm
Width	38 mm
Height	124 mm
Caliber	700, 1/8 (0,6cm) inch steel balls
Muzzle velocity	1,200 m/s (3,937fps)
Max range	250 m

The M18A1 Claymore is an anti-personnel directional mine developed in the U.S. after the Korean War.

OperationEdit

The M18A1 Claymore's curved casing is packed with a pound and a half of powerful explosives. The side facing the enemy is lined with 700 steel ball bearings, so when the mine explodes, the ball bearings simultaneously burst out of the casing. The mine is triggered by an electric detonator. When the mine is planted, it reacts to anything that comes close and automatically explodes.

Claymore mines are used for ambushing an enemy without exposing the explosive itself to the enemy. Because they can be difficult to detect, sensors have to be used in order to avoid them.

UsageEdit

Claymore mines were utilized in Tselinoyarsk in the early 1960s, and were encountered by Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater. They were speculated to have either been stolen or recovered by the Soviets from a battlefield in Southeast Asia, and then commenced performance evaluations on them. Some of the Claymores were also modified to include a proximity sensor that would detonate when an enemy approached it at a certain distance. Sigint correctly predicted that the Soviets would eventually copy the Claymore's simple structure, resulting in the Russian Claymorasky mines. They each weighed 1.6kg.

During the 1970 San Hieronymo Takeover, FOX commander Gene's renegade army secretly planted Claymore mines throughout the hospital area, which would have caused a devastating hazard to the hospital staff (who were not informed of the incident), had Naked Snake's resistance goup not discovered and disarmed all of them. During the Peace Walker Incident in 1974, the Militaires Sans Frontieres attempted to remove Claymore Mines at the Rio del Jade boathouse and the Selva de la Muerte cliff-bottom that were presumably set by the Peace Sentinels. The MSF also procured some design specs on Claymore mines after a demolition mission at the Rio del Jade.

The Claymore mines used during the Shadow Moses and Big Shell incidents were enhanced with built-in Stealth Camouflage, and utilized a short ranged 90º laser sight to trigger the detonation. During the former, they were laid in the canyon between the tank hangar and warhead storage building, and in the underground passage leading to the communication towers.

During Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection, Claymores were used prominently in PMC warzones, though they were not stealth-equipped.

Behind the scenesEdit

"An American-made anti-personnel directional mine. Modified by Soviet technicians to automatically detonate when it detects a moving object within the trigger areas to its front and rear."

— Claymore description from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

"An anti-personnel mine consisting of explosives and 700 steel ball bearings contained within a gently curving plastic case.
When an object passes in front of it, it detonates and propels the ball bearings forward in a wedge-shaped pattern, wounding or killing the enemy."

— Claymore weapon description from Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops

The Claymore mine's first appearance in the overall Metal Gear series was in the non-canonical sequel to the original Metal Gear, Snake's Revenge. It first canonically appeared in Metal Gear Solid.

• Thermal Goggles can be used to make Claymore mines visible.
• Mine Detectors are obviously useful for locating them. Early versions of this sensor would vibrate as you got closer to a mine. Later versions would display the location of mines on the Soliton Radar. The first in-game appearance of the mine detector, in Metal Gear, actually revealed the mines on-screen.
• Crawling over a mine will allow Snake to pick it up safely.
• Unlike previous games, Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4 feature Claymore mines that can be seen with the naked eye, though they can still be difficult to spot.
• In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the Metal Gear Mk. II/III can be used to scout ahead for mines. These can then be disarmed by pressing the ▲ (triangle) button.

"An anti-personnel mine that focuses its blast in a specific directon. Upon detonation, it sprays 700 steel balls in a 60-degree arc, Although developed for anti-personnel use, it is also effective against vehicles.
The Claymore is extremely powerful and simple to use, but be very careful not to set it off yourself. The results could be too horrible to watch."

— Claymore weapon description from Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

GalleryEdit

Claymore mine from Portable Ops

Claymore mine from Portable Ops (w/ description)

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