Mechanical Demining: from 1942 to the Present

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Volume 12 Issue 2 The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Article 24

March 2008

Mechanical Demining: From 1942 to the Present

Pehr Lodhammar Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

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Recommended Citation Lodhammar, Pehr (2008) "Mechanical Demining: From 1942 to the Present," The Journal of ERW and Mine Action : Vol. 12 : Iss. 2 , Article 24. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol12/iss2/24

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Lodhammar: Mechanical Demining: From 1942 to the Present

have completed clearance obligations—12 may meet the obliga- vey informed the five-year strategic plan (2008–2012) written to tion, and at least 14 will request an extension to meet it. Mozambique guide the implementation of mine-action activities during the is included in the list of those needing an extension.3 extension. According to Mozambique’s projections, on average, Mechanical Demining: From 1942 Mozambique has made earnest efforts to support mine- an estimated US$5.9 million is needed every year for more than action activities—demining has been integrated into govern- six years in order to meet the Convention obligations.9 to the Present ment plans to reduce poverty as a cross-cutting priority. This Efforts undertaken to release cleared land to communities measure clearly shows its commitment to demining and to the have had positive socioeconomic consequences. Communities Ottawa Convention. and their inhabitants are the ultimate beneficiaries of land re- Although demining machines have been in existence since 1942, they were not used in The challenge remains: With a myriad of priority areas to lease. In areas still considered affected, the presence of land- be funded, resources are limited. Clearance itself relies heavily mines and UXO has a major negative impact on communities. the field of mine action until about the early 1990s. Demining machines were initially only on industrialized world technology and funding. Paradoxically, Completing mine clearance would clearly benefit the commu- it costs as little as US$3 to produce a landmine yet as much as nities by allowing the citizens to work on their land, and would used by the military. With the growing number of casualties stemming from landmines, $1,000 to remove it once it has been emplanted.4 Mozambique therefore contribute toward the reduction of poverty. has benefited from financial and technical support from the do- It is time to look into the problems that most States Parties especially among civilians, it became necessary to employ machines for humanitarian nor community; however, due to the country’s low level of eco- have encountered along the 10 years of the treaty’s existence. nomic development, Mozambique’s needs always exceed the Collective analysis of each state’s challenges and shortcomings purposes. From the first demining machine constructed in early 1942 to the present, resources available. will help provide appropriate data to support reaching the goals It is vital to mention that the Convention has played a very the Convention was ultimately set to achieve. For countries like tremendous improvements have been made. important role in limiting the proliferation of anti-personnel Mozambique, the extension must be granted and coordinated, mines; however, actual mine clearance is an essential compo- and donor support should follow to enable the implementation by Pehr Lodhammar [ Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining ] nent of the solution to the global problem.5 of the national strategic program. Contrary to what was expected, the flow of funds from States bear the primary responsibility in designing and im- donors for clearance activities has declined year after year. In plementing strategies, plans and programs for mine action with- he first demining machine is believed to have been de- the case of Mozambique, different international nongovern- in their borders. However, many States Parties like Mozambique veloped by Major Abraham du Toit, a South African mental organizations have left the country or are in the process are still in need of assistance. The United Nations Development soldier and engineer. In early 1942, he was sent to of phasing out their activities. This situation is of great concern Programme, other international organizations, nongovern- EnglandT to refine a demining machine prototype he had because landmine-affected States Parties are faced with insuffi- mental organizations and governments able to do so should play constructed in South Africa. cient funding to continue demining activities and, thereby, ful- a vital role by mainstreaming mine action into their activities Before leaving for England, du Toit discussed his ideas fill their Ottawa Convention deadlines. in mine-affected countries. In addition, local capacity building with Captain Norman Berry, a British mechanical engi- should be at the center of every effort to ensure sustainability of neer. Berry conducted his own unofficial experiments with What is the Next Step? mine action in these countries. flails in Libya before providing the results to another Brit- Article 6 of the Ottawa Convention states that each State The challenge is great, but there is an equally great oppor- ish officer at an army workshop in Egypt. This collabora- Party has the right to seek and receive assistance for the fulfill- tunity to attain the goals of the Convention through coherent, tion resulted in the development of the Matilda Scorpion, ment of its Convention obligations and to request assistance in coordinated and collective action. a Matilda tank fitted with a rotor mounted on two arms the implementation of its national mine-action plan.6 States also See Endnotes, page 112 at the front. The rotor carried 24 flails and was driven at have the responsibility to make an effort to meet the Conven- 100 revolutions per minute by a 105-horsepower Ford V8 tion deadlines. Although the government of Mozambique has engine. A second engine was fitted with an armored box been increasing its funding to mine action, mine clearance has mounted on the right side of the tank. This box included proven costly, and external funding is crucial for Mozambique space for a crew member, who operated the flail. to reach its final goal. A number of these vehicles were produced and became It is clear that the failure to meet the deadline means that operational in October 1942 when they were used in the Mozambique, and many other countries, will need more re- Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October to 5 November sources. Mine action must compete for the same resources as 1942). Although the clearance speed was slow, the Scorpion other problems, namely poverty, endemic diseases, and the ef- operators were able to conceal the machines from German fects of high oil and food prices. This battle of priorities puts im- soldiers because of the huge dust cloud they formed; how- mense pressure on donors and States Parties, and mine action is ever, the dust cloud also blinded and affected the breath- likely to lose the tug of war for funding. ing of the drivers, so crews had to wear gas masks in order

As Olivier Vodoz, then-President of the International Com- to breathe. The revolving drum and chains on a Matilda Scorpion flail tank. 17 April 1942. th mittee of the Red Cross, mentioned on his statement to the 8 The first flails were not as successful as expected. They PHOTO COURTESY OF IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM Meeting of the States Parties7 in Jordan in 2007, “Every day were unreliable, with frequent breakdowns. Problems were Maria Isabel Macedo dos Santos joined the Department for Studies also encountered with the heat and dust, a problem encoun- during which the Convention‘s deadline is not met is a day in Planning and Information in Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional de could only move at very low speeds; however, the Crab was which civilians are put at risk. The Mine Ban Convention will be Desminagem in 2003. In 2004 she participated in the first UNDP tered with flails today. The first Matilda Scorpion was fol- used during and after the D-Day landings and allowed the judged on the basis of States Parties’ capacity to manage clear- Senior Mine Action Manager’s Course at James Madison University. lowed by several similar machines such as the Mark II, III, Allied Forces to advance through the German minefields. ance deadlines in a way which maintains the credibility of the From 1994 to 1996, dos Santos worked for the United Nations High IV and V versions of the Scorpion. Version V was mounted Up to the end of the 1980s, demining machines were Commissioner for Refugees in Maputo as a Protection Assistant. She Convention and creates maximum pressure for completion be- on the Sherman tank. only used by the military. In the early 1990s, however, the holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Monroe College in fore the deadline or within a realistic well-planned and ade- New York, and a Master of Arts from St. John’s University in New York. Other flails that followed included the Matilda Baron need for demining machines for humanitarian purposes quately funded extension period.”8 and the Sherman Crab. The Crab ran on the tank’s main was recognized, and the machines were introduced into At this juncture, it is necessary to look at different countries, Maria Isabel Macedo dos Santos engine, had 43 flail hammers and included a rotor for countries such as Afghanistan and Angola. Initially, mil- their level of contamination, and the resources available to assist Department for Studies Planning and Information cutting barbed wire to prevent the flail from getting en- itary carriers were used, but later purpose-built carriers Instituto Nacional de Desminagem Mozambique tangled. The flail also had a mechanism to ensure that it 1 them in safely and cheaply clearing their lands of these deadly Tel: +491 757 276 729 (Berlin) were developed. Early machines were often clumsy, unre- weapons. Mozambique benefited from the recent baseline as- E-mail: [email protected] followed ground contours and had extra protection in the liable and underpowered. The clearance results also fell be- sessment conducted by The HALO Trust. The results of the sur- Web site: http://www.ind.gov.mz form of a blast shield. This flail did not clear all mines and low the minimum United Nations’ requirement.

Published by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2008 1 Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 12, Iss. 2 [2008], Art. 24

Present by manual deminers or mine-detection dogs; available on the GICHD Web site. The refer- Today, varieties of demining machines are however, as the quality of available machines ence library will include most documents re- available on the open market and are much im- improves, this is changing. In June 2008, two lated to mechanical demining that have been proved. Some have been produced in relatively Comité Européen de Normalisation Workshop published over the years and will be available Geneva Diary: Report large numbers, while others have been made in Agreements for mechanical demining were to all interested in mechanical demining. limited series or only as single machines. The published: one for quality management and As seen above, demining machines have Geneva International Centre for Humanitar- assurance/quality control for mechanical de- evolved enormously since 1942. The GICHD from the GICHD ian Demining’s Mechanical Demining Equip- mining; the other for follow-on processes, af- will continue to follow and assist in the fur- ment Catalogue 20082 includes 42 different ter the use of demining machines. The latter ther development and improvement over the demining machines; however, there are also states the following: “Follow-on operations af- coming years. The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining provides operational several others available, including those that ter technical survey may not be required if the See Endnotes, page 112 are locally constructed. Local demining ma- machine does not encounter a hazard, and has assistance to mine-action programs and operators, creates and disseminates chines were not included in the catalog since been proven capable of detecting and destroy- they are only produced in very small quanti- ing similar expected hazards in similar condi- knowledge, works to improve quality management and standards and provides ties, i.e., only one or two machines. tions. If a machine does encounter a hazard, Demining machines include various types then follow-on will be required in all but ex- support to instruments of international law. of mine-clearance machines, ground-preparation ceptional cases. The specific follow-on activity machines and mine-protected vehicles. There can only be determined at the site—and would by Ian Mansfield are flails, tillers and combined systems. In normally be either by manual demining or [ Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining ] addition, there are double flails, rollers, rock mine-detection dogs. The specific area for fol- crushers, soil disrupters, mowers, brush cut- low-on operations will be determined on the site ters, slashers and magnets. There are also on a case-by-case basis.”3 his installment of Geneva Diary fol- Odor-detection Conference mine-action programs. It assesses the impact lows the GICHD and its activities over The GICHD organized an international of different methods of marking and fencing Pehr Lodhammar is Mechanical Project the past year. Besides organizing both conference, “Odour Detection by Animals: of hazardous areas. It also discusses the con- Officer with the Geneva International aT conference and a workshop for the interna- Research and Practice,” held in Os, Norway, tribution of medium- and long-term marking Centre for Humanitarian Demining and joined the GICHD in February 2008. tional mine-action community, the organiza- in mid-June 2008. Around 120 participants towards casualty reduction in situations where He is working with mechanical mine- tion has also released two new publications. attended including practitioners and experts clearance cannot be conducted immediately. clearance projects with the GICHD. These publications, which are both filled with involved with animal-detector systems par- See Endnotes, page 112 Prior to starting with the GICHD, a sizeable amount of GICHD-researched data, Lodhammar worked as a project ticularly those with animal systems for hu- manager supporting the Iraqi Kurdistan will hopefully assist deminers in the field and manitarian demining detection. The purpose Mine Action Agency with the United make their areas safer for themselves as well of this unique meeting was to encourage those Nations Office for Project Services. as civilians. with expertise in this area to share it and to Before starting with mine action in highlight the research findings that are appli- 1999, he was a military engineering Technology Workshop officer specializing in Explosive cable across a range of animal species search- Ordnance Disposal for 10 years. The GICHD and the United Nations Mine ing for various target odors. End-users—such Action Service co-hosted a technology work- as humanitarian-demining administrators, Pehr Lodhammar shop in Geneva from 8–10 September 2008 police, customs officials, defense specialists, Mechanical Project Officer (see full article on page 78). This meeting was and search-and-rescue organizations—were Geneva International Centre Ian Mansfield is Deputy Director and for Humanitarian Demining a follow-up to the one held in February 2006, also represented. They discussed their practi- Head of Operations at the GICHD 7bis, avenue de la Paix which recommended that a similar meeting cal experiences and contributed views on how and is responsible for all operational, P.O. Box 1300 be held every two years. Over 75 people at- animal detector systems can best meet their technical and research activities of CH-1211 Geneva 1 / Switzerland tended the September meeting, representing requirements. The outcomes of this meeting the Centre. He is also responsible for Tel: +41 22 906 1660 analyzing existing and potential areas national mine-action programs, field operators, Fax: +41 22 906 1690 can be found at http://snipurl.com/45s13. of activity for the Centre, as well as all E-mail: [email protected] commercial companies, equipment manufac- evaluation, assessment and consultancy Web site: http://www.gichd.org turers and technology organizations. The ma- New Publications activities. Mansfield holds a Master jor topics discussed were metal detectors, dual The GICHD has recently released a num- of Business Administration and a sensors and the interference of soil on their ber of new publications. These have included bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Demining machine in action. performance. The workshop also addressed 1 PHOTO COURTESY OF VALER REPKO A Guide to Road Clearance, which aims to Ian Mansfield the operational challenges related to road contribute to the development of safer, more Deputy Director/Head of Operations combinations of the above-mentioned tools. GICHD Offerings clearance and land release in a technology efficient and cost-effective road-clearance sys- Geneva International Centre Cabins are now protected with state-of-the-art ar- Three more International Mine Action context. It provided a forum in which equip- tems by providing recent examples, data and for Humanitarian Demining Avenue de la Paix 7bis mor plating and outfitted with air conditioning. Standards are under development, in addition ment requirements could be expressed and methodologies from the field. Along with CH-1211 Geneva / Switzerland to IMAS 09.50 Mechanical Demining. The recorded. Challenges and experiences in hu- the information gathered in this guide, the Tel: +41 22 906 1674 Standards new IMAS will include operator safety, quality manitarian demining techniques from some GICHD has gathered supplementary technical Fax: +41 22 906 1690 International standards for mechanical management and the application of mechani- mine-affected countries were presented, as data through visits to road-clearance projects E-mail: [email protected] demining involve rigid testing of demining cal demining machines. well as exchanges and shared ideas to improve in four countries. Web site: www.gichd.org machines. In addition, the market is demand- In 2008, the GICHD published the seventh efficiency. Presentations and film clips used The Guide to Marking and Fencing in Mine ing complete, after-sales service packages and edition of the Mechanical Demining Equip- during the proceedings of the meeting can Action Programmes2 has also been developed. delivery of spare parts within days to some of ment Catalogue and A Guide To Road Clear- be found at http://snipurl.com/45sdr. There Based on research conducted by the GICHD the remotest locations in the world. ance,4. The Mechanical Demining Handbook is an informal plan to continue holding these in 10 mine-affected states and territories, this The practice in the demining community has was published in 2008. Beginning in 2009, a workshops every two years, with the next ex- guide describes the extent to which mark- been that all mechanical demining be followed mechanical demining reference library will be pected in 2010. ing and fencing are carried out in existing