They were also used as a rapid-deployment area denial expedient, to provide a barrier during combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations between downed pilots or other endangered units and infantry threats.
The mines consisted of a small green or brown camouflage fabric pouch filled with lead(II) azide and 30 grams of coarse ground glass between two sheets of plastic.
The explosive lumps came in wedge or cubed shapes and their plasticizers evaporated after three to eight minutes exposure to air.
To allow them to be handled and dropped from the air, the mines were phlegmatized with Freon 113, in which they were stored soaked.
The larger mines were fitted with a two tablet chemical system to gradually render the explosive inert, although the reliability of this mechanism was never gauged accurately.