The mine found its widest application during the Soviet-Afghan war of 1979–89, and was actively used and is used in African countries. The largest number of them was registered in Angola, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Rwanda, Zambia, Congo. A fairly significant number was discovered by coalition forces during both wars in Iraq. In terms of popularity in these countries, the PRB-M3 mine probably surpasses the Soviet TM-46, TM-57 and TM-62. In any case, it is much cheaper and better suited to the climate of Africa.
Anti-tank, anti-track mine of high explosive action. Designed to disable tracked and wheeled enemy vehicles. Damage to enemy vehicles is caused by the destruction of a vehicle wheel or 2–3 tracks of a track with damage or destruction of the roller.
The mine body is a rectangular polyethylene box (1), glued together from two halves (upper and lower) with a length and width of 23 cm and a height of 9 cm, filled with 6 kilograms of explosive (2) TGA, which is a mixture of TNT (70%), hexogen (15%) and powdered aluminum (15%). A cotton webbing handle for carrying is built into one of the side walls (3). A bakelite disc-sleeve (4) is glued into the upper plane of the body, designed to accommodate the M30 detonator (5). A target pressure sensor is screwed into the same disc-sleeve, consisting of two halves - a fixed lower one (6) and a pressure upper one (7). They are interconnected by sixteen horizontal shear pins (8), also made of plastic. The shear force of the pins is 250 kg. The stroke of the pressure plate before the fuse is triggered is 2–4 mm. An intermediate detonator (hexogen) (9) is placed under the disk-sleeve in a bakelite cup. Some batches of mines in the intermediate detonator have a threaded socket at the bottom for installing a non-removal element (10) PRB-M30. When the mine is raised by more than 3–4 cm, this device is triggered, causing the mine to explode. Approximately 5 to 15% of mines in each batch have this additional socket and are equipped with the corresponding number of non-removal elements. The fuze of the M30 mine (Fuze M30) is a push-action. Two spring-loaded strikers are fixed separately from each other by a cylindrical hollow plunger with two holes. This plunger is connected to the pressure membrane of the detonator and moves freely along the sleeve, in which there are two percussion caps pressed against each other. In its normal position, this plunger holds the two strikers apart and covers them. When the membrane is pressed from above (by the pressure plate rod (7)), it lowers and forces the plunger to move down until the holes align with the percussion caps. At the same time, the strikers are released. The strikers strike the caps, which detonate the fuse. The detonator explosion causes the intermediate detonator to explode, which in turn initiates the main charge. The fuse is made of plastic and is completely sealed. The only metal components are the steel strikers, the spring and the percussion caps, which are made of aluminum. Their total mass is about 1 g and these components are not visible. The fuse requires a force of 80–100 kg to act on the fuse membrane, with a minimum lowering of 2–4 mm.
PRB-M30 Antilifting Device (PRB-M30) unloading action. Its structure resembles the M30 fuse, only inverted. And it is triggered not when the diaphragm is pressed, but on the contrary, if the pre-compressed diaphragm is released (in fact, the holes in the plunger are simply shifted along the axis and the holes in it coincide with the percussion caps when the plunger is shifted in the direction opposite to that which causes the fuse to be triggered). The spring-loaded diaphragm is held in its position by means of a unloading disk (highlighted in turquoise in the figure), which in the combat position rests on the ground, and in the safe position by a bracket shown in yellow in the figure. The explosion occurs if the mine with the central intermediate detonator EH screwed into the lower socket is raised by more than 3–4 cm.
The standard color of the mine is olive-gray. However, most of these mines manufactured for export are painted either in a dirty grayish-yellow or olive-yellow color. There is no military marking. The marking on the body and parts is factory-made, which does not allow determining the type of product, time of manufacture, country and manufacturer. There are no instructions, notes or explanations in the boxes. The mine can be identified only by its appearance.