SEA MINES, THE SUBMARINE'S ADVERSARY AND WEAPON: 1775 TO 1918 PART Ⅱ: 20TH CENTURY

摘要

At the time of the Armistice in November of 1918, the mine was a comparatively inexpensive weapon with a proven success in naval warfare. The mine was responsible for the highest attrition of warships, compared with that of all other surface weapons combined in that war. In World War Ⅰ, more than 300,000 mines sank or damaged more than 950 Allied and Central Power, warships, merchantmen, and submarines. Allies lost 586 merchant ships and 87 warships not including 152 small patrol boats and minesweepers. The Central Powers' losses to mines included 129 warships, excluding an unknown number of merchant ships and submarines. Once again, the total ship damage in WWI from mines was far greater than that by gunfire and torpedoes. The effectiveness of the submarine, the torpedo, and the mine almost from the first days of World War Ⅰ was not anticipated. Countering each became an all-consuming task for both sides for the entire war. In the almost 90 years since the Armistice, means to counter the submarine and the two weapons continues to confound those involved. A kind of consensus regarding the lack of preparation or anticipation of the submarine's guerre de course, the mine, and torpedo in some instances was based on the lack of fiscal resources in peacetime to meet the requirements of the military. In the case of Great Britain, attention to preparing for offensive high seas battleship or dreadnought encounter seems to have precluded adequate support for alternative weapons like the mine and torpedo. Throughout the war, the inexpensive mine inhibited battleship maneuvers or even putting to sea in some instances. Historical evidence shows that sea mines, depth charges and submarines at some point in their introduction received slow acceptance as they were perceived as being a weapon for nations with small or inferior navies. In the 19th century, acceptance of steam versus sail in the United States Navy was not unanimous. During most of the first half of the 20th century, the concentration on capital-ship construction with the attendant cost and crew size was often steep competition for small ship needs and attention to new naval technologies. In retrospect, small-specialized ships for convoys, mining and countermining were frequently lacking. However, the role of mines in World WarⅡ, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Iraq Wars have each brought careful attention to sea mines and their defensive and offensive roles as the weapons that wait.