Minh sea is self-contained explosive device placed in water for the purpose of damaging or destroying buildings ships, submarines, ferries, boats, and other watercraft.Unlike depth charges mines are in "sleep" state until contact with the board.Naval mines can be used for the application of direct damage to the enemy and to hinder his movements on the strategic directions.In international law, the rules of mine warfare installed 8th 1907 Hague Convention.
Classification
Sea mines are classified according to the following criteria:
- Tipu charge - regular, special (nuclear).
- degree of selectivity - ordinary (for any purpose), polling (recognize the characteristics of the vessel).
- Manageability - Managed (by wire, acoustic, radio), unmanaged.
- Multiplicity - multiple (given the number of targets), non-multiple.
- Fusing - non-contact (inductive, hydrodynamic, acoustic, magnetic), contact (antenna, electric &) combined.
- type of installation - homing (torpedo), pop-up, floating, bottom, anchor.
Mines are usually round or oval in shape (except for mines torpedoes), the size of half a meter from up to 6 m (or more) in diameter.Anchor characterized by a charge of up to 350 kg, bottom - up to a ton.
Background
first time sea mines have been used by the Chinese in the 14th century.The design of them were quite simple: the water was tarred barrels of gunpowder, which led to the wick supported on the surface of the float.Required for use when needed to ignite the wick.The use of such structures found in the treatises of the 16th century in the same China, but as the detonator used a flint-tech gear.Improved mines used against the Japanese pirates.
In Europe, the first naval mine was developed in 1574 by Englishman Ralph Rabbardsom.A century later, the Dutchman Cornelis Drebbel, who served in the artillery control of England, offered to design ineffective "floating crackers."
American Development
truly formidable structure was designed in the United States during the War of Independence, David Bushnell (1777).It was the same powder keg, but equipped with a mechanism to detonate a collision with the ship's hull.
In the midst of the Civil War (1861) in the United States by Alfred Vaud invented double-hulled floating sea mine.The name for her to find a suitable - "infernal machine."Explosive housed in a metal cylinder, is under water, which is kept floating on the surface of a wooden barrel at the same time served as a float and a detonator.
Domestic development
first electric fuse for the "infernal machine" invented by Russian engineer Paul Schilling in 1812.During the unsuccessful siege of Kronstadt, the Anglo-French fleet (1854) in the Crimean War some great mine has established offshore structures and Jacobi Nobel.Fifteen hundred exhibited "infernal machines" not only pinned down the movement of the enemy fleet, but they were also damaged three major British steamship.
Mina Jacobi-Nobel had its own buoyancy (thanks to air chambers) and did not need the floats.This allows you to install it secretly, in the water, hanging on chains or let the river.
Later actively used spheroconical floating mine, is held at the desired depth and small unobtrusive buoy or anchor.It was first used in the Russian-Turkish War (1877-1878 gg.), And was in service with the Navy, followed by improvements to the 1960s.
Anchor mine
She maintained at the required depth of the anchor end - cable.Pritaplivanie first samples provides manual adjustment of the length of a cable, which required a lot of time.Lieutenant Azarov suggested structure to automatically set the sea mines.
device is equipped with a system of lead and hung on the cargo load anchors.The anchor end reeled.Under the influence of the load and the armature is released from the brake drum, and the end is unwound from the drum.When the load reaches the bottom, pull the power and decreased the end of the drum stopper, whereby the "infernal machine" sank to a depth corresponding to the distance from the load to the anchor.
beginning of XX century
Mass sea mines have been used in the twentieth century.During the Boxer Rebellion in China (1899-1901 gg.) Imperial army mined the river Hayfe, covering the way to Beijing.The Russian-Japanese opposition in 1905 developed the first mine warfare, when both sides are actively using the mass-productions barriers and breakthroughs of minefields using trawlers.
This experience has been replicated in the First World.German naval mines prevented the landing of the British landing and impeded the actions of the Russian fleet.Submarines mined trade routes, bays and straits.The Allies did not remain in debt, virtually cutting off the outputs of Germany to the North Sea (this took 70 000 min).The total number of employed, "infernal machines" experts, is estimated at 235,000 units.
Sea mines WWII
During the war in the naval theaters of hostilities was delivered about a million minutes, including the waters of the Soviet Union - more than 160 000. Germany were established instruments of death in the sea, lakes,rivers in the Kara Sea ice in the lower reaches of the Ob River.While retreating, the enemy mined the port berths, raids, the harbor.Particularly brutal was mine warfare in the Baltic Sea, where the Germans only in the Gulf of Finland was delivered more than 70 000 pieces.
a result of mine explosions sank about 8,000 ships and vessels.In addition, thousands of ships were seriously damaged.In European waters, in the post-war period in the sea mines were blown up 558 ships, 290 of which were sunk.On the first day of the war in the Baltic blown destroyer "angry" and the cruiser "Maxim Gorky".
German mines
engineers in Germany at the beginning of the war the Allies were surprised by new types of highly efficient mines with magnetic fuzes.Mina Marine blew not from the contact.The ship was enough to swim close enough to the deadly charge.His shock wave was enough to make havoc aboard.Damaged ships had to interrupt the mission and returned for repair.
disproportionately affected the English fleet.Churchill personally placed the highest priority to develop a similar structure, and to find effective means for mine clearance, but British experts could not reveal the secret technology.Helped case.One of the German aircraft dropped mines in the coastal mud stuck.It was found that the explosion mechanism is rather complex and based on a magnetic field of the earth.Research has helped to create effective minesweepers.
Soviet mines
Soviet naval mines were not so technologically advanced, but no less effective.Mainly used model CB "Crab" and AG."Crab" was an anchor mine.CB-1 on arms adopted in 1931, in 1940 - upgraded KB-3.Designed for mass minefields, all at the disposal of the Navy when the war was about 8,000 units.With a length of 2 meters and a weight of over a ton device received and held 230 kg of explosives.
Mina antenna deep (HT) was applied to the flooding of submarines and ships, as well as to impede the enemy's shipping fleet.In fact it was a modification of a CB antenna device.When battle staged in seawater between two copper antennas leveled electric potential.If you touch the antenna body of the submarine or ship the balance of potential broken, which caused the closure of the electrical circuit fuse.One mine "control" of 60 m of space.General characteristics correspond to the model size.Later copper antenna (requiring 30 kg of precious metal) replaced the steel, the product received the designation AGSB.Few people know the name of naval mine model AGSB: Antenna deep steel antennas and equipment, assembled into a single unit.
Mine clearance
After 70 years of naval mines of the Second World still pose a threat to the peace Company.A large number of them is still somewhere in the depths of the Baltic Sea.Until 1945, only 7% of mines were cleared, and the rest took a decade dangerous work of demining.
main burden of the struggle with mine lay on the staff of the ships, minesweepers in the postwar years.Only in the Soviet Union it was involved in about 2,000 trawlers and 000 to 100 personnel.The risk was exceptionally high because of the constantly opposing factors:
- unknown boundaries of minefields;
- different depths of mines;
- various types of mines (anchor, antenna, traps, bottom non-contact devices with urgency and multiplicity);
- possible splinter unexploded mines.
technology trawling
trawling method was far from perfect and dangerous.At the risk of being injured by landmines, the ships were going through a minefield and a trawl pulled behind.Hence the constant stress of the condition of the people waiting deadly explosion.
trawl undercut and surfaced mine (if it is not exploded under the ship or in the trawl) must be destroyed.At sea attaching the disruptive patron.Undermining its mines safer execution of naval guns, as is often the projectile punched shell mines without hitting the fuse.Unexploded combat mine lay on the ground, representing a new, no longer amenable to the elimination of the danger.
Conclusion
Naval mine, a photo that inspires fear only one species, is still formidable, deadly, with cheap weapons.The devices have become more "intelligent" and more powerful.There are established to develop a nuclear warhead.In addition to these species, there are towed, Shestov, propelling, self-propelled and other "infernal machines."
