300px, , an American net laying ship that worked at Pearl Harbor in the 1940s A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxili ...

. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel

anti-submarine net An anti-submarine net or anti-submarine boom is a boom placed across the mouth of a harbour or a strait for protection against submarines. Net laying ships would be used to place and remove the nets. The US Navy used anti-submarine nets in the ...

s or anti torpedo nets. Nets could be laid around an individual

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

at anchor, or

harbor A harbor (American English), or harbour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be moored. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is ...

entrances or

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

s, or other

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

ages. Net laying was potentially dangerous work, and net laying seamen were experts at dealing with blocks, tackles, knots and splicing. As

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

progressed, net layers were pressed into a variety of additional roles including salvage, troop and cargo transport,

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

maintenance, and service as

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

US Navy

1930s

War Plan Orange, the pre-World War II US plan for war with Japan, anticipated that

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

would be too small for the US Navy fleet that would be amassed in Hawaii. Orange anticipated the construction of a large anchorage in Lahaina Roads between the islands of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

Lānaʻi Lānai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands and the smallest publicly accessible inhabited island in the chain. It is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The island's o ...

, and Molokaʻi. Construction would consist of massive nets and minefields to protect the anchored ships.

Changing requirements

Ultimately four large netlayers would be laid down just before and after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

: , , , and .These ships were of a common design with three fleet minelayers: , , and which are listed

here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

It turned out that these ships were not needed. First, dredging significantly enlarged the anchorages in Pearl Harbor. Second, the mobility of aircraft carrier warfare made the large Lahaina Roads anchorage concept obsolete, though smaller nets would still be needed for the entrance channels at advanced bases such as the Naval Base Majuro and Naval Base Ulithi. Third, new technology resulted in lightweight nets that could be handled by smaller vessels. The four large netlayers would be converted to carry and launch amphibious vehicles under the hull classification landing ship, vehicle (LSV).

1940s

The 77 small auxiliary net layers were built in three classes. The first 32, the , were all launched in 1940 (before the attack on Pearl Harbor) and were built of steel. Due to the chronic shortage of steel during the war, the next 40, the , were built of wood. The last 15, the , laid down in 1944 and 1945, were again constructed of steel. These vessels served in all theatres of war but particularly in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

. Many of the ships were decommissioned after the war, but some continued in service for several more decades. Net layers were eventually made redundant by advances in underwater detection technology. There were also at least 43 craft that were classed as net gate craft; many were simply powered

barge A barge is typically a flat-bottomed boat, flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and ocean, marine water environments. The firs ...

s. To transport nets and to otherwise support the net layers, by 1943 specially built cargo ships, designated net cargo ships (AKN), were built. The first of this class was . ''Indus'' worked in Naval Base Philippines. Finally in 1946, USS ''Montauk'' was converted back from an LSV to net cargo duties as USS ''Galilea''.

British and Commonwealth

The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

referred to net laying ship as boom defence vessels.Boom defence vessel
'uboat.net'' * built in the 1940s. * built in the 1930s.

Gallery

File:Royal Navy Vessels Maintain the Boom Defence at Scapa Flow, Scotland, May 1943 A16572.jpg, The boom defence net at

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an impor ...

being towed into position by two

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

boom defence vessels in 1943. File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A16583.jpg, At

, a Royal Navy net laying vessel prepares to lay an

, which is long, weighs over and could be laid in 4 minutes. File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A17161.jpg, HMS ''Rogate'', a Royal Navy "gate vessel" designed to open and close the boom and nets at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

Harbour during World War II. File:HMCS Ypres E-35756.jpg, was a used by the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

as a gate vessel. She was sunk in a collision with a battleship in May 1940. File:USS TEREBINTH (AN-59).jpg, The US Navy wooden net tender, in wartime camouflage. File:HMAS Kangaroo SLV AllanGreen.jpg, , a of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

in 1947. File:USS Montauk (LSV-6) underway of New York (USA) on 12 October 1944 (NH 104262).jpg, after completion of her LSV conversion (mostly internal).

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

Photos of HMNZS Endeavour; Antarctic support ship, ex-US netlayer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Net Laying Ship Auxiliary gateship classes