Mine Warfare Flashcards
The US Navy organizes MIW into two subdivisions
Mining and Mine Countermeasures
Offensive MCM
Is any action implemented to prevent the laying of mines by eliminating the requirement for defensive MCM operations
Active MCM
Is reactive in nature & involves directly assailing mines.
Mine Hunting
Is the process of searching the seabed & water column for mines. it is comprised of detection, classification, localization, reacquision, identification, and neutralization.
Mine Sweeping
Is the cleaning of mines by minesweepers using mechanical, influence or explosive gear, which physically removes or destroys the mine.
Defensive MCM
is classified as either passive or active.
Passive MCM
Are measures taken to prevent engagement of the mine and target.
The critical importance of active MCM became apparent in
The late fall of 1990 in Persian Gulf.
The US began MCM operations in ________. WE had no knowledge of the Iraqi minelaying operations and therefore no idea of the positions of the mines. This lack of info resulted in the damage of to the __________ and _________.
February 1991. USS Princeton & the USS Tripoli.
Coalition forces successfully countered nearly 1,300 Iraqi Mines in the _______.
MCM segment of the Desert Storm.
Passive MCM involves the process of _______
Reducing the threat from influence mines by way of threat location to risk the reduction of instead of physically eliminating the mines.
influence mines activate at a _______
Distance when triggered by a ships acoustic, magnetic, or pressure characteristics.
The british developed the first _________ during ________
Passive MCM self protective measures. WW2 against German magnetic influence mines.
These ship treatment techniques continue today and include ______.
Degaussing to reduce target ship’s magnetic characteristics
Quieting to reduce target ship’s sound
Reducing transit speed to decrease the pressure created by target ship.
Degaussing
A process which reduces the ship’s magnetic field by creating a magnetic field that is, as nearly as possible, equal & opposite to the ship’s permanent & induced magnetism
Mining
Focuses on the design, development & laying of mines. This includes using mines to protect or defend national waters, or using mines to hinder or impede enemy ships
MCM
Focuses on developing, producing, & operating all forms of MCM equipment
MCM is further broken down into two areas
Offensive MCM and Defensive MCM
References
NWP 3-15: Naval Mine Warfare
The five Recurring Themes
Mine Warfare tail chase
Mines as cheap, effective weapons
Intelligence, Surveilance, & Reconnaissance (ISR)
Force Protection
MCM Cycle
ISR
Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance
The evolution of technologies often results in a
Tail chase between mines and MCM
Developments that came after WWI from Tail Chase
Magnetic and Acoustic sweeping devices
Minehunting sonar
Counter - counter measure devices
ship counter and delay arm
Ship counter
prevents the mine from destoning until a preset number of ships pass.
Delay Arm
Causes a mine to remain unarmed for a set of period of time after its laid
Developments that came in WWII from Tail Chase
Use of submarines to covertly lay mines & use of aircraft to lay large numbers of mines.
US Navy went in search of additional MCM vessels
Today, the US Navy’s renewed MCM vision calls for emphasis on ISR efforts to shape & prepare the environment prior to mining. This includes
Increased priority to technical exploitation of threat mines.
MIW indications & warning tasking & dissemination at all command levels.
Rules of engagement to counter hostile mines.
Environmental databases, like MineNet Tactical (MNT) & the INTELINK contingency planning tool.
CSG
Carrier Strike Groups
ESG
Expeditionary Strike Groups
Admiral Zunwalts focus on the promising _____ aslo contributing to the reduction of the
AMCM force, SMCM Force
AMCM
Airbourne Mine Countermeasure
SMCM
Surface Mine Countermeasure
As a direct result of the AMCM and SMCM forces the US Navy was not initially prepared to to address the mining campaign of
Iran in the 1980’s and drifting mines from Iraq
Rotation crews manned the _____ and the material readiness of these ships suffered.
Ocean going Mine Sweepers
MSO’s
Ocean going Mine Sweepers
LCS
Littoral Combat Ships
Tail chase involves both _____
mine developers and MCM forces trying to stay ahead of each other developments.
Countries with less developed navies can use ________
Mines as a tool to delay, frustrate, or even defeat more industrialized navies as they are cheap and effective weapons.
ISR is the best way to ______
Ensure success in any MCM operation
The availability of resources for MIW suffers during
Peacetimes
U.S. Civil war time period
1861-1865
World War 1 time period
1914-1918
World war 2 time period
1939- 1945
Korean War time period
1950-1953
Vietnamese Conflict time period
1965-1973
Iran/Iraqi War, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom time period
1973 and beyond
Spanish American War time period
1898
American Revolutionary War
1700’s, 1775-1783
Who is David Bushnell
American Inventor, developed the first known sea mine during the revolutionary war in 1776
First sea mine was a
tar covered wooden beer keg filled with black powder & a flint-lock firing mechanism suspended a few feet below the water’s surface by a float. A light shock would release the hammer & fire the powder charge. Once adrift, it relied on the tides & currents to bring it into contact with the enemy.
In 1777, under orders from General Washington _____________, General Washington used the kegs again in _________in an attempt to destroy a fleet of British warships anchored in the ____________
two of Bushnell’s kegs were used against the British Fleet in New London, Connecticut.
1778
Delaware River off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
In order to counter the threat posed by keg mines, the British used the first MCM efforts, to include:
Exploding the kegs with musket fire
Steering their vessels away from the kegs.
The first relatively large scale use of mines occurred during
The US Civil War
In a message to the US Secretary of the Navy in ______, Union Admiral ________ expressed his change of attitude.
1864
David Farragut
Keg Torpedo
Tarred oak barrels w/wood end cones for buoyancy & stability.
When the glass & chemical fuse contacted the ship, the chemicals broke into a chamber filled w/alcohol & liquid gun powder & exploded the tightly packed charge of powder housed in the sides of the barrel
Singer mine
Named for its inventor, brother of the sewing machine inventor.
Had an inverted truncated cone that floated with a pocket of air.
Activated by an iron rod, the plunger drops a plate which releases a plunger & springs against a percussion cap within the charge, which explodes the mine.
Special groups within the War Department
The Confederates set up special groups w/in the War Department to deal w/the development & operational use of mines – The Submarine Battery Service, the Torpedo (Mine) Bureau, & the Secret Service.
Un-sweepable secondary mines (first counter-counter measure).
As Union MCM efforts became more successful, Confederates developed supposedly un-sweepable secondary mines at a distance. These mines would explode under the minesweeping vessel while it was contending with the main mine casing.
In one of the major mine engagements of the war, the Confederates used mines successfully at Vicksburg, against the Union Navy in
December of 1862
The USS Cairo
a Union ironclad, was providing force protection for small boats involved in a mine clearance expedition down the Yazoo River
How long did it take for the USS Cairo to sink?
Within 12 minutes
What was the mistake that causes the USS Cairo to sink?
The boats encountered difficulties clearing the mines, so they open fired on the mines. The Commanding officer mistook that as an attack he maneuvered the ship to protect the boats. Trying to fix his mistake the ship resumed course. The Cairo came under fire and went over two electrically controlled mines.
In an effort to counter Confederate mines, the Union Navy developed the first MCM tactics
Bow rake for minesweeping
Anchorage nets (grapnel hooks & line drags)
Mine raft
Intelligence gathering:
Scouting pontoon boats
Shore search parties
Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama 1864
After conducting mine watching reconnaissance operations for over a month, the Union Navy was able to shut down one of the two remaining Confederate ports during this battle.
The Confederates had laid _______ in three staggered mines lines in Mobile Bay.
180 mines.
What ship detonated a mine and sank in seconds, killing 94 men?
The USS Tecumseh
Who uttered the famous words: “Damn the torpedoes – full speed ahead!”
Admiral Farragut
British Developments:
Established a group of Royal Engineers & tasked them to develop mines & minefields. Along with a procedure for placing a Protective Minefield around a temporary base. The HMS Vernon was established in 1886 as a torpedo school & principal research & development station for mines.
American Developments:
Evolution of technology after the Civil War led to the development of a more reliable firing mechanism, which is still in use today. As such, a mine developed in WWI is just as effective as one developed today.
German Developments:
Dr. Heinrich Hertz developed a method to enable mines to fire independently of an outside detonator. The Hertz Horn – a carbon plate, zinc plate, & bichromate solution contained in a glass tube inside a lead horn. Since the firing energy was stored chemically, the Hertz Horn had an indefinite effective life.
Who developed a method to enable mines to fire independently of an outside detonater?
Dr. Heinrich Hertz
The Hertz Horn
a carbon plate, zinc plate, & bichromate solution contained in a glass tube inside a lead horn.
Russian Developments:
During the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, the Russians used mines extensively to deny the Turks access to the Danube. This minimized the influence of the Turkish Navy on land campaigns
This battleship exploded and sank in Havana harbor on Feb 15th, with the loss of 266 men. The explosion was caused by a mine.
USS Maine
Less than a week after America declared war on Spain, who sought to destroy the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay.
Rear Admiral George Dewey
What happened on the night of April 30, 1898
Dewey ran the passage into Manila Bay. The Spanish artillery made such powerful splashes the crew mistook them for mines & cried “Remember the Maine”. Nonetheless, the fleet successfully entered the bay without detonating any mines & defeated the Spanish fleet.
Russo- Japanese War time period
1904- 1905
Both the Russians & Japanese used mines for the first time as offensive weapons during this war. As well as conducted MCM Operations.
Russo- Japanese War
What year did Japan take control of Korea which remained under Japanese until the end of World War 2.
1910
Catenary Sweep
Involves two tugs towing a wire weighted down with iron sinkers to sever mine mooring cables
The Russians also developed the world’s first ships dedicated
laying mines
What played a significant role in the “war to end all wars”
MIW
German Submarines are called
U-Boats
In the summer of 1918, the Americans & British conducted the largest mining campaign in history
the North Sea Barrage
What was the purpose of the North Sea Barrage
to prevent U-Boats from gaining access to the Atlantic by sailing around Great Britain to the north.
How many minesweepers did it take to clear the North Sea Barrage
82
MIW played a very significant role in the “War to End All Wars,” as both Allied & Axis powers laid over
240,000 mines during WWI, which sunk over 200 warships.
Dardanelles-Gallipoli Campaign time period
Feb- March 1915
The Dardanelles is a strait between
between Europe & Turkey & are overlooked by high cliffs on the Gallipoli Peninsula
On the outbreak of the war, the Dardanelles Straits were under the control of
of Turkey. The Turks had laid several minefields to block access to the straits.
On the 18th of February 1915 (darndanelles)
eighteen battleships entered the straits. The French battleship Bouvet struck a mine, heeled over, capsized & disappeared. Soon afterwards two more ships, HMS Irrestible & HMS Ocean hit mines.
What two major ships were used in the Dardanelles - Gallipoli Campaign
HMS Irrestible and HMS Ocean
On the 19th of February,1915 (Darndanelles)
the British attacked the Turkish forts at the Dardanelles. The minesweepers were brought forward & managed to penetrate six miles inside the straits & clear the area of mines. The minesweepers were sent forward to clear the next section but they were forced to retreat when they came under heavy fire from the Turkish batteries
By the time the allied fleet retreated in the DG Campaign of 1915 how many men were killed?
Over 700 men
Dover Mine Barrage
The British laid the Dover Mine Barrage between the coasts of France & England. Its purpose was to prevent German U-Boats from entering the Atlantic through the English Channel. This barrage damaged 10 U-Boats.
What was the mine of choice for Allied forces in both the North Sea Barrage & the Dover Barrage
Mark 6, which contained 300 pounds of TNT
K device/ Antenna Mine
Another device developed & used by the US in WWI to combat the German U-Boat threat was the K-Device, or antenna mine. This mine made use of the fact that a steel ship coming into contact with a copper wire in salt water could produce a galvanic current to fire a mine.
Galvanic Action:
A direct current (DC) imposed into the firing circuit of the mine by the contact between the hull of the passing ship & the copper antenna of the mine that creates a voltaic charge, similar to a battery’s charge.
This mine increases the kill range of moored mines approximately threefold while also targeting submerged submarines at varying depths
Antenna Mine
In an attempt to trap German U-Boats in the North Sea, the British Navy laid influence mines off the coast of
Great Britian
in World War 2 The German defensive mining strategy sought to prevent
Allied amphibious assault on Europe, and to prevent British surface & submarine raiders from interrupting coastal commerce. The Germans called this mining effort “The Western Wall.”
The major tasks of US minesweepers were to:
Accompany all invasion forces
Carry out daily exploratory sweeps
Respond quickly when other craft discovered a
minefield.
Clear mines laid in these areas
World War 2 MCM addresses the threat of influencing mines by
Shipboard Degaussing Systems (British)
Deperming
First Minehunting Ships (US Navy)
Mechanical & Influence minesweeping systems
Anti Sweep Devices such as Explosive Grapnels, Delayed release Mines, Ship Counters
Deperming (British):
A procedure for lowering the permanent magnetism of ships & submarines to protect them against magnetic detection vessels & enemy sea mines, & is conducted at shipyards following construction or extended overhauls
Oropesa Mechanical Minesweeping was created by the
British
WW 2 Recommendations included giving MCM high priority in order to:
Prevent minelaying through detection, destruction, or diversion of minelayers
Develop devices & systems for locating & destroying mines on the sea bottom.
Develop new equipment & techniques for sweeping mines.
Wooden hull minesweepers with few magnetic materials were designed to replace steel-class ships. These included:
65 Ocean-going Minesweepers (MSOs)
22 Coastal Minesweepers (MSCs)
MSC’s
Coastal Minesweepers
UQS-1
Mine hunting Sonar
This was the first time the US Navy used helicopters to spot mines in the path of sweepers.
Wonson Harbour
This conflict saw the emergence of a new family of mines called “destructors,” & a MIW battle waged inland in rivers & other waterways rather than at sea.
Vietnam Conflict
The MIW aspect of the conflict consisted of three distinct mining campaigns:
Riverine MCM
Mining of North Vietnamese ports by US
US MCM in the North Vietnamese ports
NVA Mine
North Vietnamese
VC Mine
Viet Cong
MSB
Shallow Draf Minesweeper boats
Operation Pocket Money May 1972- january 1973
In response to the North Vietnamese force buildup, & with the approval of President Nixon, the US began mining North Vietnamese ports on May 8, 1972.
Results of US Mining Campaign
the mining campaign had a significant effect on North Vietnam’s ability to continue its attack into South Vietnam, , the North Vietnamese attack eventually ground to a halt.
Operation End Sweep- Task Force 78
As part of the peace agreements in January, 1973, the MIW Command staff established Task Force 78 to conduct Operation End Sweep to remove the mines laid during the war.
In 1973, as the Vietnam Conflict was drawing to a close, international negotiations ended another series of conflicts between Israel & Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, & Syria in the Yom Kippur War.
Suez Canal Crisis
What ships did the Suez Canal Crisis MCM operated off of
USS Iwo Jima and USS Inchon
Mines of August Crisis 1984
Began on July 9, 1984 when the Soviet Merchant ship KNUD JESPERSON reportedly suffered minor damage from a mysterious underwater explosion in the northern Gulf of Suez. Within three months, 19 additional ships under the flags of 15 different nations claimed to be victims of minefields apparently laid in the Red Sea by Libya.
