Demining
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Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of humanitarian demining is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines.
South Korean soldiers searching for land mines in Iraq
A US soldier clears a mine using a grappling hook during training
PROM-1 bounding landmine. Normally it is buried so only the prongs are exposed.
British Army sappers clearing a beach front in Normandy (1944)
Mine flail
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A mine flail is a vehicle-mounted device that makes a safe path through a minefield by deliberately detonating land mines in front of the vehicle that carries it. They were first used by the British during World War II.
A preserved World War II Sherman Crab, an M4 Sherman tank fitted with a flail
Matilda Scorpion Mk 1. The position of the flail operator is outside the tank.
Turretless Matilda Baron under test - 13 August 1943.
Experimental flail mounted on a Valentine tank; the Valentine Scorpion was never used operationally.