Lurking below the waves these deadly weapons sit silently, waiting for any passing ship.
They come in a variety of shapes and sizes but all
bear one sole purpose, to damage or destroy enemy vessels. Unlike a submarine, however,
these hidden predators do not choose their prey but rather attack indiscriminately.
Much like their land bound cousins they can do this for years or even decades until some
unlucky soul crosses into their path. These stealthy killers are sea mines and today
we will be looking at what led to their usage and some of the common misconceptions about them.
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Mines are a complicated topic as there are many different variations on their design and how they
function. Although these are all interesting in an effort to keep this video from being me
droning on about every mine with minor differences I want to focus primarily on the main types that
have been used. Some of these common types include contact mines, limpet mines, and influence mines.
To start with I think it makes the most sense to look at some of the misconceptions
about sea mines and then follow it with how they actually function. I specifically want to cover
this because I myself was guilty of having an incorrect idea of how they functioned. This
was clearly shown in my Zimmerit video where I described them as magnetically sticking to the
hull and degaussing being done to prevent this. Although that statement is not far from reality
it is still incorrect as although many mines are indeed magnetic the ones which stick to the hull,
known as limpets, are separate from the mines that degaussing helps to combat. From a community post
I made asking you guys what misconceptions you had about naval mines it's clear I wasn’t alone
in thinking this as well as showcasing quite a few other things that people commonly get wrong about
how they function. As with many things I think this is most likely due to inaccurate portrayals
in movies and other media. To show an example of this that I believe may be what caused me
to misunderstand the topic, I want to show a brief clip from the television series Gilligan’s Island.
Now before I get any comments along the lines of “well you shouldn’t believe everything you
see on television” let me elaborate. Obviously I’m not going to trust a comedy series to accurately
portray military hardware, however, that’s not to say it can’t still unintentionally mislead
you. Having watched that episode without any knowledge on naval mines you might not
immediately think “ah that's how they work” but overtime you might forget where you heard
the explanation from and slowly it becomes what you assume as fact. It helps quite a bit when
the explanation makes some sense as well since why wouldn’t a nation want a mine that could
attach to an enemy ship magnetically and then be brought back to potentially damage more ships.
If this seems like a tedious explanation I apologize but I felt like it was worth saying
because this can happen for any number of things and in this case I can use myself as an example.
Although realistically this portion of the video might not have taught you how naval mines function
I think it's a valuable lesson to remember that our memories are not perfect and it's
easier to assume we’re right than it is to double check everything. In day to day life
this may not matter but it can still lead to issues if we then pass on that incorrect
knowledge to others. Anyways, that's quite enough of a PSA for this video. Let's get into what
you actually came here for and talk about why naval mines entered service and how they work.
The idea of having a self-contained explosive that would be able to destroy
enemy ships without the need for an operator has been around for centuries, with the first
types being Chinese devices from as early as the 14th century. These have been described as
simple wooden boxes that would have an explosive placed inside, then sealed and let drift to find
its target. There have been claims that the Greeks used the first mines in 668 BC, however these were
simply barrels that were lit on fire and let loose towards enemy ships and not truly mines.
Surprisingly, development of the sea mine in the western states was much slower. While designs
for primitive mines had been proposed, such as those offered to Queen Elizabeth I in 1574 by
Ralph Rabbards, navies continued to use simple barrels filled with explosives and lit on fire
to engage enemy ships during battles. It can be argued that these are not really mines,
as they were deployed during a battle towards an enemy - like large, floating grenades. The first
“true mine” deployed by the west can be said to be those developed by David Bushnell during the
American Revolutionary War, which were sealed powder kegs that were allowed to float down the
Delaware River and used a sparking mechanism that would detonate the mine if it hit a ship.
This is similar to most modern mines, as they most commonly have a contact fuse.
Unlike other naval weaponry, these mines received significant stigma from western governments and
admiralties. Due to the nature of mines as being unmanned explosives allowed to drift until they
find a target, they were quickly seen as an “uncivilized” piece of equipment. The idea of
attacking the enemy without personally engaging them was seen as distasteful, and was described
by US President Adams as “unfair and dishonest warfare.” Despite the stigma around these weapons,
development still proceeded and eventually they were adapted into defensive strategies.
It is reported that in the War of 1812, American forces laid the first minefield
to protect New York Harbor with mines similar to that of Bushnell’s from the Revolutionary War.
The first use of electrically detonated mines in combat was during the First Schleswig War,
when Prussian forces laid these mines in Kiel Harbor to defend against possible Danish attack.
Mines would become known as “infernal machines” during the Crimean War, where
they were used to defend fortresses and ports of the Russian Empire. While the Russian Navy
was not large enough to combat combined fleets of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire,
they did pioneer the usage of mines to bolster their lacking fleet. They primarily used two
types of mines, known as the Jacobi and Nobel type. Both were named after their inventors,
Moritz von Jacobi and Immanuel Nobel. The Nobel type was much simpler in design from the Jacobi
type, as it was like many mines before it - submerged casks filled with gunpowder that
would detonate upon contact with ships. The Jacobi type, which proved to be more effective,
was of a different design being electrically powered. They were connected to a power source
on shore, and then attached to the seabed. If a ship came close or hit the mine, then the contacts
of the electrical wiring would connect and cause the explosives to detonate. Interestingly enough,
this type of mine was also used on land during the war by the Russians.
Another widespread usage of mines was on the other side of the world, during the American
Civil War. Both the United and Confederate States adopted mines to protect their waters, and were a
common sight in rivers and harbors. During this time, naval mines went by two names: mines and
torpedoes. Of course, they were nothing like the torpedoes that we are used to in later wars
though. The most common were spar torpedoes, which would be attached to the bow of a small boat or
ship and rammed directly into the hull of an enemy ship. These mines would be attached to the enemy
hull and detonate at a later time after collision. The Confederates used a wide variety of mines,
some being so primitive you would not expect them to be actually deployed, such as the “frame
torpedo” which was literally an artillery shell attached to a wooden plank or spike.
Both sides also used standard designs, which were mines allowed to float on or near the surface and
detonate upon contact. Following the Civil War, the US Army and Navy realized the effectiveness
of the weapons and they became significant portions of coastal defense strategies.
While mines remained a strictly defensive weapon during the 19th century, it was not
until the early 20th century when the first usage of mines in an offensive
operation occurred. This was conducted by the Japanese in the Russo-Japanese War, and was
extremely effective. The Russian Pacific Fleet was stationed in their primary warm-water port,
Port Arthur, and as per Russian doctrine had had its entrances mined to protect against enemy
action. Instead of avoiding the port, the Japanese simply laid their own mines on the outside of the
port - effectively trapping the Russian fleet in its own port. For those that may not be aware,
this was a problem due to the Russians having charts and knowing where their
own mines were laid but had no idea where the Japanese may have laid theirs. Surprisingly,
the Russians were able to cross some of the minefields and defeat a small Japanese contingent.
However, when they were returning the flagship of the fleet struck a mine and killed the fleet’s
commanding officer Admiral Stepan Makarov. With the loss of their commander and two battleships,
the fleet was unable to effectively fight the Japanese until the capture of the port.
With the stigma towards using sea mines effectively gone by the start of the 20th Century,
this opened up the nearly endless possibilities towards mine warfare that would be seen from 1905
to now. Innovations began during the First World War, where nearly every participating naval force
engaged in mine warfare. The Ottomans were able to inflict serious casualties on the
Royal Navy during the Gallipoli Campaign, where 3 battleships and one battlecruiser were sunk.
This proved how a relatively cheap method of defense was able to cause the destruction of
extremely valuable ships. Other innovations included the development of the submarine-launched
mine, which made minefields even more dangerous due to the fact there was
no way of knowing that there was a ship deploying mines, unlike a normal minelayer.
Many of the mines used during the war were standard contact mines, such as the Mark 6
antenna mine and also the Hertz horn type mine, the latter of which may be more familiar to
you once you see them. The “spikes” seen on these types of mines are called Hertz horns,
or alternatively just horns, and are filled with chemicals - often an acid - that are
used to trigger the explosive. The acid is contained in a glass or another fragile
type container that will break if the mine is hit by a ship and release the acid. This
causes an electrical current to be conducted, and then triggers the explosive charge to detonate.
This design is much better than relying on a constant electrical charge from a nearby
station, as it allows the mine to be placed anywhere for an extended period of time.
Following the First World War, mine warfare would see even more developments. The mass adoption of
the airplane allowed for many of the major navies to deploy mines from the air. This allowed for the
deployment of mines in areas that previously were either strategically impossible, or too dangerous,
like inside enemy harbours - rather than outside. However, the most important innovation in mine
warfare occurred in the early years of WWII by the Germans - the development of the magnetic mine.
While the British did experiment with magnetically triggered mines during WWI, these had not been
successful and shelved later. These mines were often deployed by air, and would plant themselves
in shallow ground. I will be covering these magnetic mines along with others later. These
were not the only new types though with other mines having also been developed,
such as acoustic and pressure mines - these were used by nearly every combatant once
their technology had been improved. By the end of the war, over 300,000
mines had been laid around the world and many still remain to this day.
The usage of mines still remains in our modern world, with developments in both mines and
countermeasures continuing throughout the Cold War and modern times. Many of these countermeasures
include special sonar that is able to specifically detect only mines, and also systems that work to
jam mine mechanisms or cause them to detonate prematurely. The mines on the other hand have
also changed, with new mechanisms that actually allow the mines to detect these countermeasures.
Underwater Electrical Potential sensors are able to determine the difference between metals and
mine-clearance sensors, and essentially camouflage the mine by preventing it from activating.
In addition to new mechanisms of action, the deployment of mines has also changed
significantly. For example, mines used by the United States are nearly exclusively deployed by
aircraft and are reminiscent to the days of the Civil War in that they are essentially modified
torpedoes and bombs. The MK 65 Quickstrike mines are just electrical fuzes attached to bombs.
Hopefully you are enjoying this topic so far. I realized while editing that this was going to
end up being a very long video so I’m going to be breaking this into two parts with the next
part going over the different types of mines in more detail. Since I already have that recorded
you can expect it most likely by the end of this week. Thank you all for watching and I
hope you enjoyed the video. A special thanks to Baron Von Teapot for helping me out with
this script as well as to all my channel members for helping support the channel.
If you liked this video and want to see more naval content be sure to let me know in the comments and
check out my sails and salvos series playlist for all my videos like this. One final thanks
to Supremacy 1914 for sponsoring the video and a reminder to check out that link below to get
your free bonus just for being one of my viewers. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you in part two.