charge. Approximately a half-second later, the main charge detonated at the optimum height to kill or severely injure anyone in the immediate area. The main charge of the mine was surrounded by roughly 360 steel balls, short steel rods, or scrap metal pieces. These became metal shrapnel that sprayed horizontally from the mine at high velocity. The time between triggering and ignition of the propelling charge varied between 3.9 and 4.5 seconds, depending on the age and condition of the mine. According to German documentation, the S-mine was lethal within and could inflict casualties within . American training manuals warned of casualties at up to . A common misconception prevailed that the S-mine would not detonate until its victim stepped off the trigger. This fallacy was propagated by incorrect United States propaganda during World War II. The mine would detonate whether the trigger was released or not. Standing still or attempting to run from the S-mine would be equally dangerous. The most effective way to survive the mine's detonation would not be to flee but to fall to the ground lying face down as quickly as possible. Armored vehicle discharger system A S-mine mine launcher ("Minenabwurfvorrichtung" in German) in the form of angled tubes attached via brackets to the hull, were also used for anti-infantry defense by Wehrmacht armored vehicles. Early versions of the Tiger I were equipped with five such devices with command variants being equipped with four. Beginning in January 1943 all new Tiger Is were equipped with this system. These were removed in October 1943 and replaced in March 1944 by the Nahverteidigungswaffe or "close defense weapon" (full deployment was delayed due to production delays) which could launch anti-personnel grenades as well as smoke grenades or signal flares in all directions. Detection and disarming The S-mine was constructed mostly of metal, so it could be easily detected by metal detectors. However, such expensive and bulky equipment was rarely available to infantry units and was prone to malfunction. The mine could also be detected through careful manual probing, a time-consuming process. Using a knife or a bayonet, an infantryman would probe at a low angle through the soil. It was important to probe at an angle that would not accidentally depress the pressure sensor. Once an S-mine was discovered, disarming it was fairly simple. To prevent triggering while the mine was being planted, the German pressure sensor featured