A minesweeper is a small
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
designed to remove or detonate
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an ...
s. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping.
History
The earliest known usage of the
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an ...
dates to the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
.
[Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205.] Dedicated minesweepers, however, only appeared many centuries later during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, where they were deployed by the British. The Crimean War minesweepers were rowboats trailing
grapnels to snag mines. Minesweeping technology picked up in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
, using aging
torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...
s as minesweepers.
In Britain, naval leaders recognized before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
that the development of sea mines was a threat to the nation's shipping and began efforts to counter the threat. Sir Arthur Wilson noted the real threat of the time was blockade aided by mines and not invasion. The function of the fishing fleet's trawlers with their trawl gear was recognized as having a natural connection with mine clearance and, among other things,
trawlers Trawler may refer to:
Boats
* Fishing trawler, used for commercial fishing
* Naval trawler
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second ...
were used to keep the
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
clear of mines. A Trawler Section of the
Royal Navy Reserve became the predecessor of the mine sweeping forces with specially designed ships and equipment to follow. These reserve Trawler Section fishermen and their trawlers were activated, supplied with mine gear, rifles, uniforms and pay as the first minesweepers. The dedicated, purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
with the
Flower-class minesweeping sloop. By the end of the War, naval mine technology had grown beyond the ability of minesweepers to detect and remove mines.
Minesweeping made significant advancements during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Combatant nations quickly adapted ships to the task of minesweeping, including Australia's 35 civilian ships that became auxiliary minesweepers. Both Allied and Axis countries made heavy use of minesweepers throughout the war. Historian Gordon Williamson wrote that "Germany's minesweepers alone formed a massive proportion of its total strength, and are very much the unsung heroes of the
Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
." Naval mines remained a threat even after the war ended, and minesweeping crews were still active after
VJ Day.
After the Second World War, Allied countries worked on new classes of minesweepers ranging from 120-ton designs for clearing
estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...
to 735-ton oceangoing vessels. The
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
even used specialized
mechanized landing craft
The landing craft mechanized (LCM) is a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults.
Variants
There was no ...
to sweep shallow harbors in and around
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
.
, the U.S. Navy had four minesweepers deployed to the Persian Gulf to address regional instabilities. The Royal Navy also has four minesweepers stationed in the Persian Gulf as part of the
9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron
The 9th Mine Countermeasures Squadron is a front-line squadron of the Royal Navy with responsibility for mine warfare in the Persian Gulf region. The squadron is based in Bahrain and is equipped with four mine countermeasure vessels and a Royal ...
.
Operation and requirements
Minesweepers are equipped with mechanical or electrical devices, known as "sweeps", for disabling mines. The modern minesweeper is designed to reduce the chances of it detonating mines itself; it is
soundproofed to reduce its
acoustic signature and often
constructed using wood,
fiberglass
Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...
or
non-ferrous metal
In metallurgy, non-ferrous metals are metals or alloys that do not contain iron ( allotropes of iron, ferrite, and so on) in appreciable amounts.
Generally more costly than ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals are used because of desirable prop ...
, or is
degaussed to reduce its
magnetic signature.
Mechanical sweeps are devices designed to cut the anchoring cables of moored mines, and preferably attach a tag to help the subsequent localization and neutralization. They are towed behind the minesweeper, and use a towed body (e.g.
oropesa,
paravane) to maintain the sweep at the desired depth and position. Influence sweeps are equipment, often towed, that emulate a particular ship signature, thereby causing a mine to detonate. The most common such sweeps are magnetic and acoustic generators.
There are two modes of operating an influence sweep: MSM (mine setting mode) and TSM (target simulation mode or target setting mode). MSM sweeping is founded on intelligence on a given type of mine, and produces the output required for detonation of this mine. If such intelligence is unavailable, the TSM sweeping instead reproduces the influence of the friendly ship that is about to transit the area. TSM sweeping thus clears mines directed at this ship without knowledge of the mines. However, mines directed at other ships might remain.
[P A Brodtkorb, B-E Marthinsen, M Nakjem, R Fardal (2005): "Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) introduces new mine sweeping capabilities", Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) Europe, conf. proc., Amsterdam.]
The minesweeper differs from a
minehunter
A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known a ...
; the minehunter actively detects and neutralises individual mines. Minesweepers are in many cases complementary to minehunters, depending on the operation and the environment; a minesweeper is, in particular, better suited to clearing open-water areas with large numbers of mines. Both kinds of ships are collectively called
mine countermeasure vessels (MCMV), a term also applied to a vessel that combines both roles. The first such ship was , also the first warship to be constructed from fiberglass.
See also
*
List of minesweeper classes
This is a list of minesweeper and minehunter classes
Argentine Navy
*
Royal Australian Navy
*
* – (1986–2001)
* – active
Belgian Navy
*
*
Brazilian Navy
*
*
Bulgarian Navy
*
Canadian Navy
*
*
*
*
*
* (Active)
People's Li ...
*
Demining
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...
*
Destroyer minesweeper
Destroyer minesweeper was a designation given by the United States Navy to a series of destroyers that were converted into high-speed ocean-going minesweepers for service during World War II. The hull classification symbol for this type of ship wa ...
*
List of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy
*
List of mine countermeasure vessels of the Royal Navy
Active ships
* s
** HMS ''Ledbury'' (M30)
** HMS ''Cattistock'' (M31)
** HMS ''Brocklesby'' (M33)
** HMS ''Middleton'' (M34)
** HMS ''Chiddingfold'' (M37)
** HMS ''Hurworth'' (M39)
* s
** HMS ''Penzance'' (M106)
** HMS ''Pembroke'' (M ...
*
List of mine warfare vessels of the Second World War
This is a list of mine warfare vessels of World War II.
The List of ships of World War II contains major military vessels of the war, arranged alphabetically and by type. The list includes armed vessels that served during the war and in the imme ...
References
Further reading
* Bruhn, David D.. (2006). ''Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The U.S. Navy's Ocean Minesweepers, 1953-1994''. Heritage Books. .
* Bruhn, David D.. (2009). ''Wooden Ships and Iron Men: The U.S. Navy's Coastal and Motor Minesweepers, 1941-1953''. Heritage Books. .
* Lund & Ludlam. (1978) ''Out Sweeps! The Story of the Minesweepers in World War II''. Foulsham/New English Library . Minesweeping by the wartime Royal Navy.
External links
Pewter Aircraft , Vickers Wellington DWI of 1 GRU used to clear magnetic minesEx HNLMS M880 - Mahu - MSI(Dutch)
Swedish Minesweeper from 1941 M 20 webpage still operational"Fighting The Submarine Mine - How Navies Combat A Deadly Sea Weapon" October 1941
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Ship types