A mine-clearing line charge (abbreviated MCLC or MICLIC and pronounced or "mick-lick") is used to create a breach in minefields under combat conditions. While there are many types, the basic design is for many explosive charges connected on a line to be projected onto the minefield. The charges explode, detonating any buried mines, thus clearing a path for infantry or armor to cross. The system may either be human-portable or vehicle-mounted. Man portable are primarily used to clear smaller paths for dismounted infantry while the larger vehicle mounted are used to clear paths for vehicles such as tanks, and infantry fighting vehicles or Armored Personnel Carriers. The systems do not guarantee clearance of all types of mines. History The British and Commonwealth developed their systems during the Second World War. The Canadians developed "Snake", an oversized application of the Bangalore torpedo in 1941 to 1942. A more flexible development was "Conger", developed in 1944, a tube that could be fired across the minefield and then filled with explosive before detonation. Conger was a 2-inch (51 mm) woven hose launched by a five-inch (127 mm) rocket. The tube and rocket were mounted in a Universal Carrier which had been stripped out to reduce it down to an armoured tracked trailer that could be towed by a tank, often a Churchill AVRE. The rocket was fired, trailing the hose across the area to be cleared. Compressed air was then used to pump the liquid explosive - just over a ton of "822C" nitroglycerin - into the hose before it was detonated. Conger was used in Normandy where there were instances of premature detonation. In the postwar period the British introduced Giant Viper. In 1991, during the First Gulf War (aka the Persian Gulf War) MICLICs, such as the Giant Viper, consisted of rocket launched lines containing roughly 800 kilograms of explosives, stretching some 100 meters long. These MICLICs were used by Coalition forces to penetrate extensive Iraqi minefield along the Saudi-Kuwait border. During the South African Border War, South African forces employed the use of the Plofadder system to clear paths through Angolan and Cuban minefields. Current use Systems in current use include the British Python, which can clear a wide by long path, and the American M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge, which can clear an 8 m wide by 100 m long path. Both are large, heavy systems that are deployed