North Sea Mine Barrage

North Sea Mine Barrage

The North Sea Mine Barrage, also known as the Northern Barrage, was a large minefield laid by the United States Navy (assisted by the Royal Navy) between Scotland and Norway during World War I. The objective was to inhibit the movement of the German U-boat fleet.

Contents

Origin of the Barrage

The idea of mine barrage across the North Sea was first proposed in the summer of 1916 by Admiral Reginald Bacon and was agreed at the Allied Naval Conference on 5 September 1917. The Royal Navy—and in particular Admiral Beatty as Commander in Chief of the Grand Fleet—was sceptical about the value of the operation and did not feel it justified the large logistical and manufacturing commitment required.

The United States was altogether more enthusiastic about the operation as the loss of transatlantic shipping was a major domestic concern and this plan allowed the United States to play an active part in tackling this while playing to their industrial strength and with minimal risk of American casualties.

Objectives

The objective was to prevent U-boats from operating in the North Atlantic and preying on trans-Atlantic shipping. A similar barrage had already been placed across the English Channel, which had resulted in U-boats diverting north around Scotland. The North Sea Mine Barrage was intended to close this alternative route, and it also made it hard for the U-boats to get supplies.

Laying the minefield

In October 1917, the U.S. Navy tendered an order for the 100,000 mines necessary to lay a minefield stretching 230 mi (200 nmi; 370 km) and dangerous to a depth of 200 ft (61 m). The mines were a version of "antenna" mine that had only been developed in July 1917. Such was the scale of the operation that 80,000,000 ft (24,000,000 m) of steel wire was required to moor the mines to the seabed. The operation was beset with technical difficulties and delays, with the final mines eventually being laid on 26 October 1918.

The design of the minefield meant there was a theoretical 66% chance of a surfaced U-boat triggering a mine and a 33% chance for a submerged U-boat. In practice the actual odds were assessed[who?] at being closer to 20% for a surfaced U-boat and 10% for a submerged one.

Success of the barrage

As the final mines were laid only a matter of days before the end of World War I, it is impossible to assess the success of the plan. It is known three U-boats were sunk on the barrage[citation needed] and a further three are thought[who?] to have done so. This represented a return of one U-boat kill for roughly every $13 million spent. Clearing the barrage after the war took 82 ships and 5 months, working around the clock.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ Gilbert, Jason A., L/Cdr, USN. "Combined Mine Countermeasures Force", Naval War College paper (Newport, RI, 2001), p.4.

See also


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Naval mine — Polish wz. 08/39 contact mine. The protuberances around the top of the mine, called Hertz horns, are part of the detonation mechanism …   Wikipedia

  • Northern Barrage — For the minefield laid in World War I, see North Sea Mine Barrage. Map of the Norwegian Sea The Northern Barrage was the name given to an extensive series of defensive minefields laid by the British during World War II in order to restrict German …   Wikipedia

  • Mine planter — Army M 1 Mine Planter Hull No. 480 the USAMP MP 7 Major General Wallace F. Randolph.[1] Records (#742), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. Mine planter and the earlier… …   Wikipedia

  • German Mine Sweeping Administration — The German Mine Sweeping Administration (GMSA) was formed from former crews and vessels of the Nazi German Kriegsmarine for the purpose of mine sweeping after the Second World War, predominantly in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, and existed from… …   Wikipedia

  • Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939–1945) — The Baltic Sea Campaigns (1939 45) describes operations of the Axis naval forces in the Baltic Sea and its coastal regions that also included combat operations in the Gulf of Finland during the Second World War, including in support of the land… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Auk (AM-38) — was an Lapwing class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been place in the water to prevent ships from passing.The first ship to be named Auk by the Navy, Minesweeper No. 38 was laid down on 20 June 1918… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Viking (ARS-1) — For other ships of the same name, see USS Flamingo. For other ships of the same name, see USS Guide and USC GS Guide. For other ships of the same name, see USS Viking. USC GS Pioneer and USC GS Guide at Dutch Harbor, Territory of Alaska, in 1940 …   Wikipedia

  • USS Tanager (AM-5) — was an Lapwing class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. Tanager was named by the U.S. Navy after the tanager, one of numerous American… …   Wikipedia

  • USS Sanderling (AM-37) — For other ships of the same name, see USS Sanderling. Career Name: USS Sanderling …   Wikipedia

  • USS Whippoorwill (AM-35) — was a Lapwing class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing.The first Whippoorwill to be so named by the Navy, Minesweeper No. 35 was laid down …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”