Chapter 32 Volume 1, Chapter 28, Magnetic Mines

November and December 1939 A meeting with Admiral Darlanne and the situation of the British and French navies Mr. Campinche The mine blockade in the north Magnetic mines a loyal act Technical aspect Minesweeping method Degaussing equipment Magnetic mine attacks overcome and controlled Retaliation method Float in the Rhine Mine Royal Navy Operations Plan. In the first few days of November, I traveled to France and held a meeting with the French naval authorities to discuss joint operations.Admiral Pound and I drove to the headquarters of the French Navy, about forty miles from Paris.The headquarters were in the gardens surrounding the old villa of the Duke of Noailles.Before the meeting, Admiral Darlan explained to me the French method of conducting the affairs of the Admiralty.He did not allow Mr. Campinch, Secretary of the Navy, to be present when we discussed operations.These questions are purely professional.

I say that in England the First Sea Lord and I are acting in unison.Darlan said he understood this, but it was different in France.However, he said: "Mr Minister will have lunch with us.We therefore studied naval affairs extensively, for two hours, and were able to agree on a large part.At lunch Mr. Campinch came.Knowing his position, he entertained us at this time with hospitality. My son-in-law, Duncan Sands, sat next to Darlan in my valet.Darlan spent most of the meeting explaining to him the constraints imposed on ministers of the civil service under the French system.Before leaving, I went to visit the Duke at the villa.He and his family seem very melancholy, but still guide us through their unusually magnificent home and precious art.

In the evening I entertained Mr. Campinch at a small banquet in a private dining room of the Ritz Hotel.His patriotism, his zeal, his wisdom, and above all, his take-it-or-leave-it determination are deeply moving and I admire them very much. I couldn't help comparing him in my mind to the Admiral, who was guarding his position and was fighting on a very different front than ours.Pound was of the same opinion as I was, although we both knew all that Darlan had done for the French Navy.One should not underestimate Darlan, nor should one be ignorant of the motives that drive him forward.He considered himself the French Navy, and the French Navy embraced him as their chief and revivalist.He had held his present post for seven years, while the post of Secretary of the Navy was filled by an ever-changing roster of incumbents.What he can't forget is trying to make politicians behave in their own way and talk in parliament.Pound and I got along very well with Campinche.There was never any sign of cringe or despondency about this stout Corsican.Near the beginning of 1941, under the reprimand of the Vichy government, he passed away in a depressing manner. His last words were high hopes for me.I will be proud of these words for the rest of my life.

The following statement is a summary of my naval situation at that time during the meeting: Statement of the Minister of the Navy to the French Ministry of the Navy Now only the naval battle was in full swing.Submarine raids on trade, which nearly killed us in 1917, are now dominated by British and French anti-submarine ships.We should expect a substantial increase in German submarines (Russia may lend them some).But this need not worry us as long as we take swift and massive countermeasures.Representatives of the British Admiralty will give a detailed explanation of our huge shipbuilding plan, but this plan will not be fully implemented until the end of 1940.At present, all anti-submarine ships that may be used must be completed and put into service immediately.

(2) There is no doubt that our method of submarine detection is very effective, and better than any instrument known in the last war.It enabled two torpedo boats to undertake what had to be done by ten torpedo boats in 1917-18, but only in search.For the merchant fleet, numbers still matter.Merchant fleets must be escorted by ships equipped with submarine detectors in order to be safe.This applies as much to merchant ships as it does to warships.The submarine can only be defeated if it is counterattacked by the submarine detector immediately after the submarine attacks the French or British ship.

The British Admiralty intends to supply and equip every French anti-submarine ship with submarine detectors.Fees are small and accounts can be settled at a later date.But any French ship which needs to be sent to England for arming should be prepared at once;It is most convenient to carry out this work in the port of Portland, the birthplace of submarine detectors, because the port has all the ready-made equipment.We plan to furnish equipment to equip fifty French ships, if desired. (3) But we earnestly hope that the French Navy will increase their ships equipped with submarine detectors and build as quickly as possible all the ships that can enter service in 1940.When work in this direction is in place, we can consider the situation in 1941 six months later.For now let us focus on 1940, especially the spring and summer.The six frigate destroyers, which began construction in 1936 and 1937, were badly needed for ocean escort until the submarine warfare peaked in 1940.

In addition, there are fourteen small destroyers under construction in 1939 or currently under planning, which will perform valuable functions without being a great drain on our manpower and material resources.The total number is twenty, which can be completed within 1940.Equipped with submarine detectors, these ships could have been extremely effective weapons in smashing the submarine offensive of 1940.The construction of the six minesweepers begun in 1936 and the twelve minesweepers in 1937, and the sixteen submarine hunters in the shipbuilding program for 1938, we also venture to consider very needed ships.For all these ships, we are willing to provide the convenience of submarine detectors and everything else.We will equip them after they are completed, as a combat operation.We do not think, however, that these smaller ships can compare in importance with the large and small destroyers mentioned above.

(4) We should not forget that once we have defeated the submarines, the allied fleets will gain command of the world's oceans, possibly prompting powerful neutrals to come to our aid, while drawing resources from various parts of the French and British empires, Maintain trade and thereby collect the wealth needed to continue the war. (5) The British Admiralty made a clear division of large ships that could be completed within 1940 and those that could be completed in a later period.In particular we made every effort to try to have the King George V and the Prince of Wales completed within 1940, if possible, by the autumn.This is necessary, because if the Bismarck suddenly appeared on the ocean before these two ships were completed, it would have very unfortunate consequences. Unhindered passage on the seas, and destruction of all shipping.But France also has a very important ship, the Richelieu, which may be completed in the autumn of 1940, or even earlier, if the two new Italian ships can be completed on schedule in 1940 , then this ship is of course more needed.Failure to bring these three capital ships into operation before 1940 would be an extremely serious mistake in naval strategy, with extremely unpleasant consequences not only naval but also diplomatic.It is therefore our hope that every effort should be made by France to have the Richelieu built at the earliest possible date.

With regard to the future capital ships of the Anglo-French navies, it is best to discuss them in April or May next year, when we will have a clearer view of the direction and nature of the war. (6) The British Admiralty would like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude to our French colleagues and comrades for the invaluable assistance they have given us in the common cause since the beginning of the war.This kind of help.It has far exceeded any promise or agreement made before the war.No other means can replace the contribution of French cruisers and destroyers in escorting the merchant fleet returning from Sierra Leone.Without their help, the merchant ships of the Allies would have suffered even greater losses.French cruisers and minesweepers, in conjunction with the French battleship Dunkirk, protected the merchant fleet as it reached the entrance to our western coast, and were at the time the only force repelling the German raiders.French submarines, stationed near Trinidad, were also most welcome to help.Especially worthy of mention are the two destroyers which constantly escorted the merchant fleet between Gibraltar and Brest, and which were a great support to our naval power, which, though great and growing, Still very nervous.

Finally, we are very grateful for the facilities that France has given to the HMS Argos to train pilots for the British Navy in the favorable Mediterranean climate. (7) An examination of the more general situation of war: since the enemy's navy has no operational boundaries, this requires us to spread our naval forces widely over the various oceans; we now have seven or eight British search fleets , adding two French search fleets, each capable of capturing or destroying an enemy ship such as Deutschland.We are currently patrolling the North Atlantic, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.The result was that the raiders did not dare to do damage to the merchant fleet, which we thought they would do before the war.In fact, there must have been a raider, or even two, like the Deutschland for some weeks on the main Atlantic shipping lines, but their lack of success precludes us from thinking of such raids as extremely dangerous. , feel a little relieved.Of course, we cannot say that it will not make a comeback in a more violent way in the future.

The British Admiralty had no objection to the formation of large ships in such a suitable fleet as to enable them to cruise widely in the seas where they would not be attacked by air, and to obtain for the Allies effective and visible control over the wide seas. (8) We shall soon proceed to send the advance parts of the Canadian and Australian forces to France, and for this purpose it will be convenient to spread all our search fleets widely.Many of the largest merchant convoys across the Atlantic also had to be escorted by battleships.Despite the bitter cold, we will continue to maintain the northern blockade from Greenland to Scotland.On this blockade, a total of twenty-five cruisers converted from merchant ships were on duty in rotation, supported by four 10,000-ton cruisers equipped with eight-inch guns. Behind this, we always maintained the main fighting force of the British Navy, the last The new battleship Hood or another gigantic ship, all these forces would be able to fight or pursue even the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau when they tried to break out of the blockade.In view of the situation in the Baltic, we consider it unlikely that the enemy would use these two ships in this way. Nevertheless, we always maintain the strength necessary to meet them. We hope that by the continuation of this strategy by the navies of the two allies, Italy will not be tempted to take part in the war against us, and that the hostile German forces will surely be destroyed. In reply, the French Admiralty stated that they were in fact actively completing the various ships mentioned, and that they readily accepted our proposal for the installation of submarine detectors.Not only the Richelieu will be completed in the summer of 1940, but also the Jean Bart in the autumn of the same year. In the middle of November, Admiral Pound proposed to me that the mine blockade should be reset between Scotland and Norway.Between 1917 and 1918, the Admiralties of the United Kingdom and the United States laid a mine blockade here.I do not like this method of warfare, since it is primarily defensive and attempts to replace decisive action with the expenditure of vast quantities of supplies.Gradually, however, I was forced to give up my opinion and agree.I presented the plan to the War Cabinet on November 19th. Northern mine blockade memorandum of the secretary of the navy After much deliberation, I recommend this plan to my colleagues.There is no doubt that after the completion of this plan, it will cause huge obstacles to the departure and return of German submarines and surface assault ships.It appears to be a prudent measure against the intensification of submarine warfare, and a strong guarantee against the danger of Russia joining us on the side of our enemies.By this measure we shall block all enemy ships and gain complete control over all entrances to the Baltic and North Seas.The point of this offensive minefield is to use superior naval power to keep vigilant, so that the enemy cannot clear the mines and open the channel.After the establishment of minefields, we will feel that our actions in the open sea will be far freer than they are now.The gradual but relentless expansion of minefields will become known to the enemy.But it will have a depressing effect on the morale of the enemy.Its costs, unfortunately great, but large sums have been apportioned by the Treasury, and the northern mine blockade is the best method of employing this means of warfare (i.e. laying mines). This represents the highest level of expert opinion and is certainly the formula that would easily pass in a serious and sensible cabinet.But it was thrown aside as circumstances developed; but by then a great deal of money had been spent.The mines made for this blockade were useful later for other tasks. Soon a new and dire danger threatens our very existence.During September and October, nearly a dozen merchant ships were mined and sunk at the entrances to our harbours, which had been properly cleared.The Admiralty immediately suspected that the enemy was using a magnetic mine.This is not new to us; we also used it on a small scale at the end of the previous Great War.In 1936, a committee of the Admiralty studied methods of countering magnetic guided bombs, but their work was mainly to deal with magnetic torpedoes or floating mines. Very large mines, laid in fairly deep water, can cause terrible damage.Without a sample of such mines, it was impossible to devise a remedy.Ships sunk by mines during September-October, mostly allied and neutral, totaled 56,000 tons.In mid-November, Hitler got so carried away that he hinted sinisterly that his new secret weapon was irresistible.I was at Chartwell one evening when Admiral Pound came to see me with great anxiety.Six ships were sunk at the mouth of the Thames.Hundreds of ships pass in and out of British ports every day, and our survival depends on their voyage.Hitler's experts must have told him that this method of attack could kill us.Fortunately, he was only able to operate on a small scale to begin with, with limited stockpiles and limited manufacturing capabilities. Fate also favors us more directly.Between 9 and 10 p.m. on November 22, a German plane was seen dropping a large object attached to a parachute into the sea near Hiberinas.The coast here is surrounded by a large mud pool, which is revealed when the tide goes out.It therefore immediately became apparent that whatever was dropped would be sure to be surveyed and picked up when the tide went out.This is really a great opportunity for us.Before midnight that night, two highly skilled officers of the HMS Vernon, the naval agency responsible for the development of underwater weapons, Lieutenant Commanders O and Lewis, were summoned to the Admiralty, received by the First Sea Lord and myself, and Hear their plans.By 1:30 the next morning, they had set off by car for the dangerous salvage work in Southend.On the 23rd, before dawn, in total darkness, with only the faint light of a signal light, they spotted the mine about 500 yards below the high tide mark, but at the time of high tide, they could only inspect it briefly. And be prepared to wait until after the next high tide to dispose of it. Dangerous salvage work began in the early afternoon, when a second mine was found in the mud near the first mine.Oh and Sergeant Baldwin dealt with the first mine, while his colleague Lewis and Private Venncomb waited at a safe distance, just in case.After each scheduled job was completed, O signaled to Lewis so that the knowledge gained could be used in the demolition of the second mine.In the end, they had to work as a team of four to deal with the first mine, but their skill and devotion were well rewarded.O and others came to the Admiralty that night to report that the mines had been fully recovered and were being transported to Portsmouth for detailed inspection.I greet them with enthusiasm.I assembled eighty or a hundred officers and officers in the largest room, and the audience listened to the salvage with great excitement, knowing that it was a matter of life and death.From then on, the whole situation changed.The knowledge gained from previous studies can now be immediately used to create practical methods for subduing mines of this peculiar nature. We mobilized all the power and knowledge available to the Navy; and soon experiments and experimental work began to produce practical results.Wick | Rear Admiral Walker was put in charge of coordinating the various technical measures that were required at the time.At the same time, we carry out work in various aspects. The first is to seek active means to destroy sea mines by means of new mine-sweeping and triggering detonators; the second is to seek passive means of defense. In the channel, try to make all the ships defend against the mines that may be encountered.In order to achieve this second purpose, we have invented an efficient method of degaussing the vessel by running cables around the hull.This method, called degaussing, was immediately applied to a wide variety of boats.Merchant ships are fitted with such devices in our principal ports, so as not to delay their journeys; and in the fleet, the progress of the work is greatly simplified by having highly trained Royal Navy technicians.Those readers who are not tired of technical details are referred to Appendix (XIII) for a record of these developments. Serious losses of ships continued; the new cruiser HMS Belfast struck a mine in the Firth of Forth on 21 November, and the battleship Nelson on 4 December entering Ew Firth. Ray, but these two warships were able to continue sailing to a port with a dock.During this period, two destroyers were lost, and in addition to the minelayer Adventure, two more were traumatized off the east coast.What is surprising is that the German spy agencies were unable to find out the truth about the damage to the Nelson until it was repaired and put back into service because of our strict secrecy.But since the incident, there are thousands of people in England who must know the truth. Experience soon made us aware of new and simpler methods of degaussing.The morale-boosting effect of this success has been enormous, but our efforts to thwart the enemy depended largely on the loyal, courageous, and stoic work of the minesweepers and the industrious talents of the technical specialists who designed and provided All equipment used in minesweepers.Since then, though there have been many anxious periods, the mine threat has been kept under control and the danger has finally begun to abate.By Christmas, I was able to write a letter to the Prime Minister like this: December 25, 1939 It's all pretty quiet here, but I thought you might like to know that we've had notable success against magnetic mines.Our first two methods of causing the mines to explode proved to be effective.Two mines were blown up by magnetic minesweepers, and two by barges with thick cable loops.This is what happened in Port A (Ew Bay), where our interesting patient (Nelson) was still waiting for the passage to be cleared before returning to the Sanitarium in Portsmouth.In the meantime, it appears that there is a simple, quick and cheap method of degaussing warships and merchant ships.All of our best designs are now near (finished).The aircraft and the magnetic boat USS Boulder will be available in less than ten days, and we are sure that the danger posed by magnetic mines will soon be eliminated. We are also working on other variations of this attack, namely Sonic Detonation Mines and Ultrasonic Mines.Thirty eager experts are studying these possibilities, but I cannot yet say that they have found a solution Concerning this aspect of naval warfare, it is necessary to ponder.At that time, a significant proportion of our total war effort had to be devoted to subduing mines.A lot of supplies and money were diverted from other tasks, and thousands of people risked their lives day and night to work on minesweepers alone.The number reached its peak in mid-June 1944, when almost 60,000 people were engaged in this field.No difficulty can dampen the spirits of merchant mariners; and their spirits are all the more heightened as mine attacks become more dire and sophisticated and our countermeasures more effective.Their hard work and tireless courage saved us.The sea shipping that we depend on for survival is finally able to continue as usual. Shaken by the first impact of the magnetic mine, I sought a means of revenge, in addition to all the protective measures which compelled us to apply.On the eve of the war, I went to inspect the Rhine, which made me attach great importance to this extremely important artery of Germany in my heart.Even as early as mid-September I raised the question of dropping floating mines into the Rhine at the Admiralty.In view of the fact that the river was being used by the ships of many neutral countries, we could not take such an action unless the Germans had first waged this unscrupulous war against us.Now that they have laid mines on English ports, and sunk our ships by any means, I think the just retaliation would be a similar, if possible more effective, mine attack on the Rhine. Accordingly, on the nineteenth of November, I sent out several abridgements, of which the following one most precisely states the details of the plan: Chief of Naval Quartermaster (and others) (1) In order to retaliate, it seems necessary to throw a large number of floating mines into the Rhine.This is easily done at any point between Strasbourg and Lauter, where the left bank of the river is French territory.General Gamelin was very interested in this idea, and asked me to draw up for him a plan for its implementation. (2) We should have a clear look at our goal.The Rhine was heavily trafficked by large barges, and it was the main artery of trade and life in Germany.The structure of these barges is only for river transportation, and does not have double keels, nor does it have large compartments divided into compartments.Such details are easy to ascertain. In addition, at least a dozen ship bridges have recently been erected over the Rhine, and these are necessary for the concentration of German troops in the Saarbrücken-Luxembourg area. (3) The mines required, therefore, are only a small one, perhaps not as large as a soccer ball.The maximum velocity of the river is about seven miles an hour, and in common cases about three or four miles, but this too is easily ascertained.So there must be a kind of timer in the mine, so that it will not be dangerous until it floats a certain distance, so that it can be kept out of French territory, and the terror it can cause can be extended to the lower reaches of the Rhine, to it and to the Mosel. will flow at or further afield.This timer should allow the mine to be automatically sunk, or preferably exploded, before it reaches Dutch territory.After the mine floats forward and has passed a prescribed and variable distance, it must be able to explode upon slight contact.In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, it would be even better if the mines could explode automatically after a certain period of time, because this would easily spread terror on both sides of the German river banks. (4) In addition, the mine must float at a suitable distance below the surface of the water so that it cannot be detected in swollen water.We shall design a hydraulic piston to be moved by a small pump of compressed air.I haven't calculated it, but I think the maximum it can work is at least forty-eight hours.Another method is to drop a large number of camouflaged spherical iron shells in the river. This can cause confusion and make it difficult for the opponent to try to deal with it. (5) How would they deal with such mines?Evidently they would erect barbed wire in the river; but wrecked ships floating upriver would destroy the barbed wire, and it would be a great inconvenience to water traffic, except at the frontier.In any case, when our mine hit the barbed wire and stopped, it would explode, blowing a hole in the wire, and after a dozen or more explosions, the channel would reopen and the other mines Can slowly float over.At the same time, you can also use extra-large mines to blow up the barbed wire.I can't think of any other defense, but the officer in charge of the matter may be able to think of something. (6) Finally, since these mines will be in great demand, and the laying of mines will be carried out night after night, for months, in order to render the waterways unusable, it must be borne in mind that the method of making mines must be simple in order to be able to Mass production. The War Cabinet endorsed the plan.They thought that after the Germans had attacked and destroyed all allied and neutral ships coming to English ports with magnetic mines, we had counterattacked by crippling all the frequent shipping on the Rhine, as we might have done, This is of course the correct and appropriate measure. As soon as we had the necessary permissions and priorities, the work started quickly.Together with the Air Ministry we worked out a plan to lay mines by aircraft on the Ruhr section of the Rhine.I entrust this task entirely to Rear Admiral Fitzgerald, who works under the direction of the First Sea Lord.This highly talented officer made a great personal contribution, but was later killed in the line of duty while commanding an Atlantic convoy.All technical issues have been resolved.There was no question of a large supply of mines, and several hundred dedicated British sailors and sailors were organized in case they should be dispatched to lay mines when the time came.That's all in November, and we won't be ready until next March.Whether in time of peace or war, it is always pleasant if, on your side, some positive measure is to be effected.