L9 Bar Mine

The L9 bar mine is a large rectangular British anti-tank landmine, introduced into British service in 1969 and still in use. Where a typical anti-tank mine is circular and depends on a vehicle's narrow wheels or tracks actually pressing on its small surface, the bar mine's elongated shape greatly increases the odds that a passing vehicle will trigger it, letting a minefield of bar mines be laid at half the density of a circular-mine field for the same effect. The mines can be laid mechanically with a simple plough towed behind an armored vehicle such as the FV432, and are far faster to lay than circular mines: one comparison found that 30 personnel could lay 655 bar mines in 60 minutes, against 90 personnel needing 150 minutes to lay 1,250 circular mines. The mine's plastic body defeats standard metal detectors, though metal plates can be fitted to it to allow recovery.