Sperrbrecher
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A ''Sperrbrecher'' (German; informally translated as "pathfinder" but literally meaning "mine barrage breaker"), was a German
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. Auxil ...
of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and 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 opposin ...
that served as a type of
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 ...
, steaming ahead of other vessels through minefields and detonating them with their reinforced hull. Also used as anti-aircraft ships, the ''Sperrbrecher'' suffered heavy losses in the war.


Operational history

''Sperrbrecher'' were used extensively by the Germans in World War I. The Imperial Fleet had a total of thirty ''Sperrbrecher'' for clearing mine streets – eight were lost during the war. Some of these ships were equipped with airplanes, such as ''Rio Negro'', ''Plauen'' or ''Wigbert''. In World War II officially designated as 'Special Purpose Merchant Ships', although termed 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) and ...
as "Heavy
Flak Ship ''Vorpostenboot'' (plural ''Vorpostenboote''), also referred to as VP-Boats, flakships or outpost boats, were German patrol boats which served during both World Wars. They were used around coastal areas and in coastal operations, and were tasked w ...
",Paterson 2004, p. 165. the ''Sperrbrecher'' were converted from
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...
s for their special role, were primarily crewed by merchant seamen. Often their
cargo hold 120px, View of the hold of a container ship A ship's hold or cargo hold is a space for carrying cargo in the ship's compartment. Description Cargo in holds may be either packaged in crates, bales, etc., or unpackaged (bulk cargo). Access to h ...
s were filled with buoyant material to aid in flotation in case of hitting a mine and the bows were strengthened. Ships converted to the ''Sperrbrecher'' type were usually fitted with heavy anti-aircraft armament and often carried
barrage balloons A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...
. The primary use of the ''Sperrbrecher'' was to escort other vessels through cleared paths in defensive minefields, for the purpose of detonating any mines that might have strayed into the passageways.Williamson 2009, p. 19. The ships of the ''Sperrbrecher'' type were, early in the war, used to clear suspected enemy minefields by simply sailing through them. Even with the strengthened hull and buoyant material the ships suffered heavy losses and with the advent of acoustically and
magnetically Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...
fused mines, they became ineffective. Later in the war the ''Sperrbrecher'' type ships were used to escort
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s in and out of harbour. Due to their capable dual purpose armament and respectable fire control a ''Sperrbrecher'' was also an able surface combatant, significant enough to deter the WWI-era RN
escort destroyer An escort destroyer with United States Navy hull classification symbol DDE was a destroyer (DD) modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role after World War II. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers. Later, in March 1950, t ...
HMS ''Wanderer'' from engaging for fear of receiving "a bloody nose". To counter newer, magnetically fused mines, some ships of the ''Sperrbrecher'' type were equipped with a large
electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in ...
in their bows. Referred to as the
VES system VES may refer to: Society * Venezuelan bolívar, Venezuelan (ISO 4217 code VES), the currency of Venezuela beginning in 2018 Science and technology * Fairchild Channel F, Video Entertainment System, second generation video games console * Ver ...
, this was to detonate magnetic mines well clear of the vessel, the design specifications calling for a distance of from the hull at detonation.Breyer 1994. Careful
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
work 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 F ...
resulted in a method to defeat this method of minesweeping, sinking several ''Sperrbrecher'' through the careful fusing of mines laid as traps, their fuses desensitised to be activated only when the sweeping vessel was directly above them. Over one hundred vessels, mostly merchant ships of around and larger displacement, were converted as ''Sperrbrecher'' and it is estimated that around 50 percent of the vessels converted were lost during the war. During World War II only one commander received the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...
for services on a ''Sperrbrecher''. ''
Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The off ...
'' of the Reserves Karl Palmgreen received the award on 3 August 1941 as commander of ''Sperrbrecher'' IX and I.Fellgiebel 2000, p. 332. After the war some ''Sperrbrecher'' were converted back to merchant duties, a number remaining in service until the 1970s.


See also

*
R boat The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, meaning ''minesweeper'') were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for several purposes during th ...
, for smaller German minesweepers *
M-class minesweeper (Germany) The M class were the standard minesweeper (german: Minensuchboot) of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The vessels were the primary force in Germany's harbor defense command and were organized administratively into minesweepe ...
for larger German World War 2 minesweepers


References


Notes


Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links


Sperrbrecher, at German Navy website
{{WWII German ships Mine warfare vessels of the Kriegsmarine World War II mine warfare vessels of Germany da:Minestryger#Sperbrecher de:Minenabwehrfahrzeug#Sperrbrecher