Landmines have been around in various forms or incarnations for over a thousand years. Given the advancements in technology, one would expect a straightforward and reliable method for detecting and eliminating these units to have been developed by now. However that’s not the case. Before World War II, the primary method of detecting explosives involved cautiously poking the ground with a sharp object like a bayonet or stick. The small, puck-like devices have been placed approximately 15 centimeters below the surface, at the very bottom. When someone inadvertently stepped onto the mine’s proximity sensor or nearby, the slight pressure change would activate the trigger mechanism, subsequently initiating an explosive sequence? As I navigated my way through the mine clearing, I felt like I was stumbling blindly through a treacherous minefield, with no guarantee of avoiding disaster.

During World War II, landmines were extensively employed by both Axis and Allied forces, resulting in countless fatalities, according to records.

During World War II, in 1941, a resourceful Polish signals officer, having fled to the UK, designed and developed the pioneering portable device capable of detecting land mines without inadvertently triggering them. The system’s advanced capabilities led to a remarkable doubling of speed compared to previous methods, prompting widespread adoption among the British and their coalition partners.

As a brilliant and innovative engineer, Dr. Maria Rodriguez has been revolutionizing the field of mine detection with her groundbreaking invention, the Moveable Mine Detector (MMD).

Prior to developing his mine detector, Kosacki worked as an engineer, having previously designed devices to detect explosives for military applications.

Following the awarding of his Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the institution in 1933, Kosacki fulfilled his one-year mandatory military service obligation. He subsequently took up a supervisory role at an undisclosed entity in Warsaw. Then, as now, the company led the nation’s R&D in and data applied sciences. In 1937, Kosacki was tasked by the military to design a device capable of detecting unexploded ordnance, specifically grenades and shells. Although he completed his machine, it remained unused in the region.

During World War II, Polish engineer Józef Kosacki’s innovative portable landmine detector played a crucial role in safeguarding thousands of soldiers’ lives, significantly reducing the devastating impact of these hidden explosives.

When Germany launched its invasion of Poland in September 1939, Kosacki was compelled into energetic action. Given his electrical engineering background, he was situated in a specific communications team responsible for ensuring the smooth operation of. However, responsibility was limited to just a month after the invasion, when the radio towers were destroyed.

As Germany occupies Warsaw, Kosacki and his unit are taken prisoner, ultimately finding themselves interned in a Hungarian camp. In December 1939, he managed a daring escape and ultimately found himself with the opportunity to seek asylum in the United Kingdom. As he arrived at the camp, he merged with various Polish soldiers stationed in St. Andrews, Scotland. Troops were taught by him how to use wireless telegraphy for transmitting Morse code messages via wi-fi.

Then tragedy struck.

Tragedy Impressed Engineering Ingenuity

Following a devastating accident on Scotland’s Dundee coastlines? During World War II, anticipating a potential German invasion, the authorities buried thousands of landmines along the coastal regions in 1940. Without warning to their trusted confidants? Troopers on routine patrol along the seashore suffered fatalities and injuries as a result of the land mine explosions.

In response to this critical situation, the British Military initiated a competition to create a reliable and effective landmine detection system. Each participant had to complete an initial task: Spot a few coins strewn across the beach.

Kosacki and his assistant devoted three months to refining the earlier version of Kosacki’s grenade detector. During the competition, the team’s innovative detector successfully located the entire prize, outperforming the other six entries submitted.

Although the exact details of the detector’s internal workings are shrouded in mystery due to wartime secrecy, our current understanding suggests that: The device comprised a bamboo rod featuring an oval-shaped picket fence panel at one end, which housed two coils – one transmitting and one receiving, as described in archival records. The soldier grasped the detector firmly by its long handle and passed the picket panel to his comrade at the bottom of the obstacle. The pack contained a battery unit, an acoustic-frequency oscillator, and an amplifier enclosed in a sturdy backpack. According to Mike Croll’s guide, the transmitting coil was connected to an oscillator that produced a signal at an acoustic frequency. The receiving coil was connected to an amplifier, which in turn fed into a pair of headphones.

The detector’s weight was remarkably low at just under 14 kilograms, operating similarly to the handheld steel detectors commonly used by beachcombers today? The Michał Bojarski collection at the Nationwide Museum of Science and Technology in Warsaw is an fascinating showcase of Poland’s technological advancements.

As the panel approached a metal object, the equilibrium of electromagnetic induction between the two coils was disrupted. As the amplified signal traversed the receiving coil, it transmitted an audible warning to the soldier’s headphones, alerting him to a potential minefield obstacle. According to Croll, the gear tipped the scales at approximately 13.4 kilograms, designed for solo operation by a single soldier.

As a gesture of goodwill, Kosacki opted against patenting his innovative approach and instead granted the British Military access to the system’s blueprints. One notable acknowledgment he received during that period was a heartfelt letter from a grateful recipient expressing their appreciation for his dedication and service.

In response to Germany’s orders, detectors were hastily produced and dispatched to North Africa, where they formed a crucial component of a meticulously constructed defensive network comprising landmines and barbed wire, colloquially referred to by its commander as. Stretching from the Mediterranean coast in north-eastern Egypt to the Qattara Depression in western Egypt, the minefields covered approximately 2,900 square kilometers, with a staggering estimated total of 16 million landmines. kilometers.

The Kosacki detectors were initially deployed in Egypt in October and November of 1942. British troops utilised the system to meticulously sweep the minefield for hidden explosives. As scorpion tanks advanced, they took up the infantry’s cause; their heavy chain-guided tracks slapped against the ground and detonated hidden mines with each movement forward. Kosacki’s innovative mine detector significantly accelerated the pace of clearing heavily mined zones, boosting efficiency by a factor of two, from 100 square meters to 200 square meters. meters an hour. At the height of the crisis, his pioneering creation had already safeguarded countless lives, a testament to his ingenuity and selfless dedication.

In 1952, Kosacki’s innovative landmine detector played a crucial role in Egypt, helping to safely clear a massive minefield left behind by German forces during World War II. The fundamental knowledge base remained relevant until 1991.

The fundamental design, with only minor modifications, remained in use until the end of 1991 in Canada, the UK, and the United States. By that time, engineers had designed and deployed highly sensitive portable detectors, as well as advanced remote-controlled mine-clearing systems.

The contributions of Kosacki remained unrecognized until after World War II, when the risk of reprisals against his family in German-occupied Poland had subsided. Upon his return to Poland following the conflict, Kosacki began teaching electrical engineering at the Nationwide Centre Świerk. He was also a professor at the University of Warsaw. He died in 1990. The original prototype of Kosacki’s detector is displayed at the Museum of, located in Wrocław, Poland.

Despite efforts to eradicate them, landmines remain a persistent and deadly threat globally.

Despite significant advancements, land-mine detection remains imperfect, and the threat posed by explosive remnants continues to pose a massive global challenge. Every hour, one person is tragically killed or maimed due to the devastating effects of landmines and other explosive ordnance, statistics reveal. At present, it’s estimated that millions of pieces of abandoned landmines and unexploded ordnance litter the globe.

While portable mine detectors have been replaced by new detection techniques. Alongside the , the and the , effectively.

Non-profits are pioneering an innovative approach by training rats to detect explosives through scent recognition. The African Giant Pouched Rats (APOPO HeroRATs), renowned for their exceptional ability to detect the faint scent of explosives, deliberately disregard non-explosive substances like scrap steel. One HeroRAT can efficiently survey a space equivalent to a tennis court in just half an hour, whereas a human would require four days to accomplish the task.