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A parachute mine is a
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, any ve ...
dropped from an aircraft by
parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, wh ...
. They were mostly used in the
Second World War 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegera ...
and initially by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...
(RAF)
Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...
. Frequently, they were dropped on land targets.


History


Luftwaffe

During the Second World War, the Luftwaffe used a number of different kinds of parachute mines. The ''Luftmine'' A (LMA) and ''Luftmine'' B (LMB) weighed and respectively. The LMA was in length and the LMB . After the parachute opened, the mine would descend at around . If it came down on land, a clockwork mechanism would detonate the mine 25 seconds after impact. If the mine landed in water it would sink to the bottom. If the depth was greater than , water pressure and the dissolving of a water–soluble plug would deactivate the clockwork time-detonator, and activate an anti-shipping detonator. These were initially magnetic detonators but later, acoustic or magnetic/acoustic detonators could be fitted. The Luftwaffe began dropping mines in British waters in November 1939, using
Heinkel He 115 The Heinkel He 115 was a three-seat World War II ''Luftwaffe'' seaplane. It was used as a torpedo bomber and performed general seaplane duties, such as reconnaissance and minelaying. The aircraft was powered by two 960 PS (947 hp, 720& ...
seaplanes and
Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a "wolf in sheep's clothing". Due to restrictions placed on Germany after th ...
land–based bombers. The new British cruiser, HMS ''Belfast'', was damaged by a parachute mine on 21 November in the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meanin ...
, while the destroyer HMS ''Gipsy'' was damaged at
Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton- ...
on the same night. The threat to shipping posed by magnetic detonators was effectively negated after a German parachute mine was captured intact when it landed in mud in the
Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
. Thereafter, a ship's magnetic field could be counteracted by a process called
degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to redu ...
. This involved either the installation of electric wires around the inside of the hull, or for smaller vessels, by passing an electric cable under the hull, known as "wiping". Parachute mines were first used against land targets on 16 September 1940 in the early stages of
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
. It was rumoured that
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
had ordered parachute mines to be dropped on London in a fit of temper, but it is more likely that they were originally intended to disrupt shipping in the
London Docks London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Newham, and Greenwich. The docks were formerly part of the Port of Lo ...
. From October 1940, mines were also dropped in raids on other British cities such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Coventry. Clearance of these was carried out by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, which quickly dispatched a team to London from HMS ''Vernon'', while Army bomb disposal staff were warned that it was extremely inadvisable to attempt to render them safe without Naval guidance. The official British designation for these weapons on land was "Parachute Landmines", but civilians just called them "land mines". The singer
Al Bowlly Albert Allick Bowlly (7 January 1898 – 17 April 1941) was a Mozambican-born South African–British vocalist and jazz guitarist, who was popular during the 1930s in Britain. He recorded more than 1,000 songs. His most popular songs include ...
was killed by a parachute mine which exploded outside his flat in Jermyn Street, London during
the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...
on 17 April 1941. In 1941 a parachute bomb destroyed Victoria Hall, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, site of the
Victoria Hall disaster The Victoria Hall disaster occurred on 16 June 1883 at the Victoria Hall in Sunderland, England, when a stampede for free toys caused 183 children (aged between 3 and 14 years old) to be crushed to death due to compressive asphyxia. Events O ...
of 1883. The use of standard parachute mines declined after 1941, but the Luftwaffe later used the Bombenmine (BM 1000, Monika, or G Mine). This was fitted with a tail made from
Bakelite Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic compo ...
which broke up on impact. It had a
photoelectric cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.
beneath a cover which detonated the bomb if exposed to light to counteract the work of bomb disposal units.


RAF

The RAF initially used naval mines, but replaced them with purpose-made
blockbuster bomb A blockbuster bomb or cookie was one of several of the largest conventional bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The term ''blockbuster'' was originally a name coined by the press and referred to a bomb which had enough expl ...
s, which were produced in various sizes up to .


References

{{Reflist


External links


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Aerial bombs Mine warfare Explosive weapons Naval mines