Original Item: Only One Available. This is a rare set of 5 American M1 HD Gas landmines, a metal container holding 1 gallon (4.5 kg) of HD chemical agent intended for area denial by contamination with a persistent agent. This set contains five of these mines in the original shipping box, which is dated with a 3/53 or March 1953 pack date.

There Is No Chemical Agent In these containers. They have been Emptied And Cleared for decades. Not Available for Export.

The M1 chemical landmine was a rectangular 1-gallon can fitted with a carrying handle and a threaded cap. The cap was lined with a gasket of cork or rubber and faced with lead foil.

The landmine was filled in the field with persistent agents and known as the Chemical Mine E1. It consists of a simple thin-walled square metal can filled with a mustard agent. Two wires were soldered to the back of the can for attachment of a standardized burster charge or improvised charge made of detonating cord. The two wires are still present. Detonation of the charge would disperse the chemical agent. The standard chemical agent filling was 1 gallon (9.9 pounds) of distilled mustard (HD) or Levenstein mustard (H) as a substitute filling. The cap was lined with a gasket of sock or rubber and faced with lead foil.
 
The chemical mine was a post-WWI development. The chemical mine was first proposed in 1923 but the development was of a sporadic nature through fiscal year 1936 when test samples were prepared. The Chemical Warfare School conducted many tests with chemical landmines prior to 1934. A comprehensive discussion of the military requirements for and the military characteristics of chemical mines was prepared in 1935. The Chemical Landmine E2 was similar but used a round No. 10 fruit readily available in Hawaii.
 
Each mine is marked HD-GAS on the side with two green stripes. There are several instruction sheets in the box which would have come with each mine. The side of the box is marked with the insignia of the U.S. Chemical Corps and reads:

827115
MINE LAND CHEMICAL
ONE-GALLON (EMPTY)
10 EA DATE PACKED 3/53
LOT NO. NY-3182
GR WT 17 CU 2.1

This is a fantastic lot, ready for further research and display.

Totally inert, cannot be converted to an explosive device, not available for export. This item is completely legal within the USA. International Military Antiques, Inc observes all Federal, State and Local laws. Everything for sale on ima-usa.com is completely legal to own, trade, transport and sell within the United States of America.

All deactivated ordnance sold by IMA, Inc is engineered to be inoperable according to guidelines provided by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATF).