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A minehunter is a
A minehunter is a naval vessel
A naval ship is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with w ...
that seeks, detects, and destroys individual 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 ...
s. Minesweeper
A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. 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 ...
s, 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 as a mine countermeasures vessel
A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter
A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destr ...
(MCMV).
Description
A minehunter uses an imagingsonar
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...
to detect and classify targets and then sends out divers or remotely operated vehicle
A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''.
Definition
This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the a ...
s to inspect and neutralise the threat, often using small charges that are detonated remotely.
As minehunters will often be operating in close proximity to mines, they are designed so as to reduce their own acoustic and magnetic signatures, two common forms of trigger for mines. For example, they are often soundproofed by mounting machinery on shock absorbers or by using quiet electrical drive, low magnetic electric motors and usually have a wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
, 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 clo ...
or non-ferrous metal hull, or are degaussed to reduce magnetic signature.Design Guide and Requirements for Equipment to Achieve a Low Magnetic Signature, Ministry of Defence.
Minehunters are generally small, shallow-draught vessels, as they are often called upon to work in enclosed bodies of water such as shipping channel
In physical geography, a channel is a type of landform consisting of the outline of a path of relatively shallow and narrow body of water or of other fluids (e.g., lava), most commonly the confine of a river, river delta or strait. The word is ...
s or harbours. As manoeuvrability in such areas is critical the Voith-Schneider cycloidal propulsor is commonly used, allowing the engine thrust to be transmitted in any direction. A number of modern vessels use catamaran hulls to provide a large, stable working platform with minimal underwater contact; this reduces draught whilst lowering acoustic transmission and reducing the fluid pressure
Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...
generated by the moving hull that may otherwise detonate mines with a hydraulic pressure trigger.
See also
*List of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy
This is a list of mine warfare vessels of the United States Navy.
Ship status is indicated as either currently active (including ready reserve), inactive or precommissioning Ships in the inactive category include only ships in the inactive ...
* Tripartite-class minehunter
* ''Bedok''-class minehunter
* Lerici-class minehunter
*Projekt 206FM-class minehunter
The Project 206FM class (NATO reporting name: "Krogulec"-class), originally designated Project 206F, were mine-countermeasure vessels of the Polish Navy built during the mid-1960s.
Class history
The twelve ships of this class were built at the '' ...
* AN/WLD-1 RMS Remote Minehunting System
References
{{navy-stub de:Minenabwehrfahrzeug#Minenjagdboote