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Deep sea mines. Sea mines. New threats - new challenges

Depending on their carrier, sea mines are divided into ship mines (thrown from the deck of ships), boat mines (shot from torpedo tubes submarine) and aviation (dropped from an airplane). According to their position after setting, mines are divided into anchored, bottom and floating (with the help of devices they are kept at a given distance from the surface of the water); by type of fuses - contact (explode upon contact with a ship), non-contact (explode when a ship passes at a certain distance from the mine) and engineering (explode from the shore command post). Contact mines come in galvanic impact, mechanical impact and antenna types. The contact mine fuse has a galvanic element, the current of which (during the contact of the ship with the mine) is closed using a relay inside the mine electrical circuit fuse, which causes the mine charge to explode. Non-contact anchor and bottom mines are equipped with highly sensitive fuses that react to the physical fields of the ship when it passes near the mines (changing magnetic field, sound vibrations, etc.). Depending on the nature of the field to which proximity mines react, magnetic, induction, acoustic, hydrodynamic or combined mines are distinguished. The proximity fuse circuit includes an element that senses changes in the external field associated with the passage of a ship, an amplification path and an actuator (ignition circuit). Engineering mines are divided into wire-controlled and radio-controlled. To make it more difficult to combat non-contact mines (mine sweeping), the fuse circuit includes urgency devices that delay bringing the mine into firing position for any required period, multiplicity devices that ensure the mine explodes only after a specified number of impacts on the fuse, and decoy devices that cause the mine to explode while trying to disarm it.

The first, albeit unsuccessful, attempt to use a floating mine was made by Russian engineers in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. In 1807 in Russia, military engineer I. I. Fitzum designed a sea mine, detonated from the shore along a fire hose. In 1812, the Russian scientist P. L. Schilling implemented a project for a mine that would be exploded from the shore using an electric current. In the 1840-50s, academician B. S. Jacobi invented a galvanic impact mine, which was installed under the surface of the water on a cable with an anchor. These mines were first used during the Crimean War of 1853-56. After the war, Russian inventors A.P. Davydov and others created shock mines with a mechanical fuse. Admiral S. O. Makarov, inventor N. N. Azarov and others developed mechanisms automatic installation mines into a given depression and improved methods of laying mines from surface ships. Naval mines were widely used in the 1st World War 1914-18. In World War 2 (1939-45), non-contact mines (mainly magnetic, acoustic and magnetic-acoustic) appeared. Urgency and multiplicity devices and new anti-mine devices were introduced into the design of non-contact mines. Airplanes were widely used to lay mines in enemy waters. Appeared in the 60s new class mine - an “attack” mine, which is a combination of a mine platform with a torpedo or missile of the “water-water-target” or “water-air-target” class. In the 70s, self-transporting mines were developed, which are based on an anti-submarine torpedo that delivers a bottom mine to the mining area, where the latter lies on the ground.

The forerunner of sea mines was first described by the early Ming Chinese artillery officer Jiao Yu in a 14th-century military treatise called Huolongjing. Chinese chronicles also talk about the use of explosives in the 16th century to fight against Japanese pirates (wokou). Sea mines were placed in wooden box, sealed with putty. General Qi Juguang made several of these delayed-detonation drift mines to harass Japanese pirate ships. Sut Yingxing's treatise Tiangong Kaiu (Use of Natural Phenomena) of 1637 describes sea mines with a long cord stretched to a hidden ambush located on the shore. By pulling the cord, the ambush man activated a steel wheel lock with flint to produce a spark and ignite the sea mine fuse.

The first project on the use of sea mines in the West was made by Ralph Rabbards, he presented his developments Queen of England Elizabeth in 1574. Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel, who worked in artillery department English King Charles I, was engaged in the development of weapons, including “floating firecrackers”, which showed their unsuitability. The British apparently tried to use this type of weapon during the siege of La Rochelle in 1627. American David Bushnell invented the first practical sea mine for use against Great Britain during American war for independence. It was a sealed barrel of gunpowder that floated towards the enemy, and its impact lock exploded upon collision with the ship. In 1812, Russian engineer Pavel Schilling developed an electric fuse for an underwater mine. In 1854, during an unsuccessful attempt by the Anglo-French fleet to capture the Kronstadt fortress, several British steamships were damaged by the underwater explosion of Russian naval mines. More than 1,500 sea mines, or “infernal machines,” designed by Boris Jacobi, were planted by Russian naval specialists in the Gulf of Finland during the Crimean War. Jacobi created a sea anchor mine, which had its own buoyancy (due to the air chamber in its body), a galvanic shock mine, introduced training special units galvanizers for the fleet and sapper battalions.

According to official data from the Russian Navy, the first successful use of a sea mine took place in June 1855 in the Baltic during the Crimean War. The ships of the Anglo-French squadron were blown up by mines laid by Russian miners in the Gulf of Finland. Western sources cite earlier cases - 1803 and even 1776. Their success, however, has not been confirmed. Sea mines were widely used during the Crimean and Russian-Japanese wars. During the First World War, 310 thousand sea mines were installed, from which about 400 ships sank, including 9 battleships.
Sea mines can be installed both by surface ships (vessels) (mine layers), and from submarines (through torpedo tubes, from special internal compartments/containers, from external trailed containers), or dropped by aircraft. Anti-landing mines can also be installed from the shore at shallow depths.

To combat sea mines, all available means are used, both special and improvised. The classic means are minesweepers. They can use contact and non-contact trawls, mine search devices or other means. A contact-type trawl cuts the mine, and the mines that float to the surface are shot with firearms. To protect minefields from being swept by contact trawls, a mine protector is used. Non-contact trawls create physical fields that trigger fuses. In addition to specially built minesweepers, converted ships and vessels are used. Since the 40s, aviation can be used as minesweepers, including from the 70s x helicopters. Demolition charges destroy the mine at the place of placement. They can be installed by search vehicles, combat swimmers, improvised means, and less often by aviation. Minebreakers - a kind of kamikaze ships - trigger mines with their own presence. Sea mines are being improved in the areas of increasing the power of charges, creating new types of proximity fuses and increasing resistance to minesweeping. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki

Marine mine weapons (we will here understand by this term only sea mines and mine complexes of various types) are especially popular today among countries that do not have powerful navies, but have a fairly long coastline, as well as among the so-called third world countries or terrorist (criminal) communities that, for one reason or another, do not have the opportunity to purchase modern high-precision weapons for their naval forces (such as anti-ship and cruise missiles, missile-carrying aircraft, warships of the main classes). http://nvo.ng .ru/armament/2008-08-01/8_mina.html

The main reasons for this are the extreme simplicity of the design of sea mines and the ease of their operation compared to other types of sea mines. underwater weapons, as well as a very reasonable price, several times different from the same anti-ship missiles. “Cheap, but cheerful” - this motto can be applied without any reservations to modern naval mine weapons.

The command of the naval forces of Western countries came face to face with the “asymmetrical” mine threat, as it is often called abroad, during recent counter-terrorism and peacekeeping operations, which involved the involvement of fairly large naval forces. It turned out that mines - even outdated types - pose a very serious threat to modern warships. The concept of littoral warfare, on which the US Navy has recently been relying, has also come under attack.

Moreover, the high potential of the sea mine weapons is ensured not only due to their high tactical and technical characteristics, but also due to the high flexibility and variety of tactics of its use. So, for example, the enemy can carry out mine laying in his territorial or even inland waters, under the cover of coastal defense means and at the most convenient time for him, which significantly increases the surprise factor of its use and limits the ability of the opposing side to timely identify the mine threat and eliminate it. The danger posed by bottom mines with proximity fuses of various types installed in shallow areas of coastal seas: mine detection systems in this case function more effectively, and poor visibility, strong coastal and tidal currents, the presence of a large number of mine-like objects (decoys) and the proximity of naval bases or enemy coastal defense facilities complicates the work of mine-sweeping forces and groups of divers-miners of a potential aggressor.

According to naval experts, sea mines are “the quintessence of modern asymmetric warfare.” They are easy to install and can remain in position for many months or even years without requiring additional maintenance or issuing any commands. They are in no way influenced by any change in the conceptual provisions of warfare at sea, or by a change in the country's political course. They just lie there, at the bottom, and wait for their prey. To better understand how high potential modern mines and mine systems have, let's look at several samples of Russian naval mine weapons that are allowed for export.

For example, bottom mine MDM-1 Mod. 1, deployed both from submarines with 534 mm torpedo tubes and from surface ships, is designed to destroy enemy surface ships and their submerged submarines. Having a combat weight of 960 kg (boat version) or 1070 kg (installed from surface ships) and a warhead equivalent to a TNT charge weighing 1120 kg, it is capable of remaining in position in the “cocked state” for at least one year, and after the expiration of its assigned time During combat service, it simply self-destructs (which eliminates the need to search for and destroy it). The mine has a fairly wide range of application depth - from 8 to 120 m, is equipped with a three-channel proximity fuse that responds to the acoustic, electromagnetic and hydrodynamic fields of the target ship, urgency and frequency devices, and also has effective means of countering modern mine-sweeping systems of various types (contact, non-contact trawls, etc.). In addition, detecting a mine using acoustic and optical means is made difficult by the camouflage paint used and the special material of the body. For the first time, the mine, adopted for service in 1979, was demonstrated to the general public at the Abu Dhabi Arms and Military Equipment Exhibition (IDEX) in February 1993. Note that this is a mine adopted by the Russian Navy almost 30 years ago, but after it there were other bottom mines;

Another example of domestic mine weapons is the PMK-2 anti-submarine mine complex (export designation of the PMT-1 anti-submarine torpedo mine, adopted by the USSR Navy in 1972 and modernized in 1983 according to the MTPK-1 version), designed to destroy enemy submarines various classes and types at depths from 100 to 1000 m. The PMK-2 can be deployed from 534-mm torpedo tubes of submarines at depths of up to 300 meters and speeds of up to eight knots, or from surface ships at speeds of up to 18 knots, or from anti-submarine aircraft from altitudes of no more than 500 m and at flight speeds of up to 1000 km/h.

A distinctive feature of this mine complex is the use of a small-sized anti-submarine torpedo as a warhead (the latter, in turn, has a warhead weighing 130 kg in TNT equivalent and is equipped with a combined fuse). total weight PMK-2, depending on the modification (type of director), ranges from 1400 to 1800 kg. After installation, the PMK-2 can remain in position in combat-ready condition for at least one year. The hydroacoustic system of the complex constantly monitors its sector, detects a target, classifies it and provides data to a computer to determine the elements of the target's movement and generate data for launching a torpedo. After the torpedo enters the target zone at the designated depth, it begins to move in a spiral, and its seeker searches for the target and subsequently captures it. An analogue of the PMK-2 is the American anti-submarine mine system Mk60 Mod0/Mod1 CAPTOR (enCAPsulated TORpedo), which has been supplied to the United States Navy since 1979, but has already been withdrawn from both service and production.

However, people abroad try not to forget about the “horned death”. Countries such as the USA, Finland, Sweden and a number of others are today actively working to modernize old and develop new types of mines and mine systems. Perhaps the only maritime power that has almost completely abandoned the use of live sea mines is Great Britain. For example, in 2002, in an official response to a parliamentary inquiry, the commander of the Royal Navy noted that they “have not held any stockpiles of sea mines since 1992. At the same time, the United Kingdom retains the ability to use this type of weapon and continues to carry out R&D in this area. But the fleet only uses practical (training) mines - during exercises to develop the skills of personnel.”

However, this “self-prohibition” does not apply to British companies, and, for example, BAE Systems produces the Stonefish mine for export. In particular, this mine, equipped with a combined fuse that reacts to the acoustic, magnetic and hydrodynamic fields of the ship, is in service in Australia. The mine has an operating depth range of 30–200 m and can be deployed from aircraft, helicopters, surface ships and submarines.

Among the foreign models of sea mine weapons, it is worth noting the American self-transporting bottom mine Mk67 SLMM (Submarine-Launched Mobile Mine), which is designed for covert mining of shallow (actually coastal) areas of the seas, as well as fairways, water areas of naval bases and ports, approach to which the submarine carrying out mine-laying is too dangerous due to the enemy’s strong anti-submarine defense or is difficult due to the characteristics of the bottom topography, shallow depths, etc. In such cases, the carrier submarine can carry out mine-laying from a distance equal to the range of the mine itself, which, after leaving From the torpedo tube, the submarine, due to its electric power plant, moves out to a given area and lies on the ground, turning into an ordinary bottom mine capable of detecting and attacking surface ships and submarines. Taking into account the fact that the range of the mine is about 8.6 miles (16 km), and the width of the territorial waters is 12 miles, it can be easily seen that submarines equipped with such mines can, in peacetime or on the eve of the outbreak of hostilities, actions without much difficulty to carry out mining of the coastal areas of a potential enemy.

Externally, the Mk67 SLMM looks like a standard torpedo. However, it does include a torpedo - the mine itself is built on the basis of the Mk37 Mod2 torpedo, the design of which was made about 500 changes and improvements. Including changes combat unit– instead of a standard warhead, a mine is installed (it uses explosives of the PBXM-103 type). The onboard guidance system equipment was modernized, and combined proximity fuses Mk58 and Mk70, similar to those installed on American bottom mines of the Quickstrike family, were used. The working depth of the mine ranges from 10 to 300 m, and the mine interval (the distance between two adjacent mines) is 60 m. The disadvantage of the Mk67 SLMM is its “analog” nature, as a result of which when using the mine on submarines with a “digital” BIUS it is necessary to perform additional actions to “adapt” to the carrier.

Development of the Mk67 SLMM began in 1977–1978 and initial plans called for 2,421 of the new type of mine to be delivered to the United States Navy by 1982. However, for a number of reasons, including the end of the Cold War, the work was delayed, and the complex reached its initial operational readiness state only in 1992 (which is equivalent to putting it into service). Ultimately, the Pentagon purchased from the manufacturer, Raytheon Naval and Maritime Integrated Systems Company (Portsmouth, formerly Davey Electronics), only 889 mines, of which the oldest ones are already being removed from service and disposed of due to expiration of storage periods. An analogue of this mine is the Russian self-transporting bottom mines of the SMDM family, created on the basis of the 533-mm torpedo 53-65KE and the 650-mm torpedo 65-73 (65-76).

Recently, work has been underway in the United States to modernize the Mk67 SLMM mine complex, which is being carried out in several directions: firstly, the mine’s self-propelled range is increasing (due to improvements in the power plant) and its sensitivity is increasing (due to the installation of a newer programmable proximity fuse of the TDD type Mk71); secondly, the Honeywell Marine Systems company offers its own version of the mine - based on the NT-37E torpedo, and thirdly, back in 1993, work began on creating a new modification of the self-transporting mine based on the Mk48 Mod4 torpedo (the highlight of the mine should be the presence two warheads that have the ability to separate and detonate independently of each other, thus undermining two separate targets).

The US military also continues to improve bottom mines of the Quickstrike family, created on the basis of Mk80 series aircraft bombs of various calibers. Moreover, these mines are constantly used in various exercises of the Navy and Air Force of the United States and its allies.

The work in the field of naval mine weapons carried out by Finnish specialists deserves special mention. This is especially interesting due to the fact that the military-political leadership of Finland announced at the official level that the state’s defensive strategy in the maritime sector will be based on the widespread use of sea mines. At the same time, minefields designed to turn coastal areas into “dumpling soup” will be covered by coastal artillery batteries and coastal defense missile battalions.

The latest development of Finnish gunsmiths is the M2004 mine complex, serial production of which began in 2005 - the first contract for sea mines under the designation “Sea Mine 2000” was received by the Patria company (the main contractor for the program) in September 2004, committing to supply an unspecified number of them in 2004–2008 and then carry out maintenance of products in storage and operation areas.

Naval mine weapons are a “closed secret,” along with torpedo weapons, and are a source of special pride for those powers that can independently develop and produce them. Today, sea mines of various types are in service with the navies of 51 countries, of which 32 are capable of serial production themselves, and 13 export them to other countries. Moreover, in the US Navy alone after the Korean War, out of 18 lost and heavily damaged warships, 14 became victims of naval mine weapons.

If we evaluate the amount of effort expended by even the most advanced countries in the world to eliminate the mine threat, then it is enough to give the following example. On the eve of the First Gulf War, in January–February 1991, the Iraqi Navy deployed more than 1,300 sea mines of 16 different types in the coastal areas of Kuwait, in landing areas, which also caused the failure of the “brilliantly thought out” American amphibious landing operation. After the expulsion of Iraqi troops from Kuwaiti territory, it took the multinational coalition forces several months to completely clear these areas of mines. According to published data, the mine countermeasures forces of the navies of the United States, Germany, Great Britain and Belgium managed to find and destroy 112 mines - mainly old Soviet AMD aircraft bottom mines and KMD ship mines with Crab proximity fuses.

Everyone also remembers the “mine war” that took place in the Persian Gulf in the late 1980s. It is interesting that then the commanders of American warships allocated to escort commercial ships in the zone of the “blazing fire” bay quickly realized: oil tankers, due to their design features (double hull, etc.), were relatively invulnerable to the threat from sea mines. And then the Americans began to place tankers, especially empty ones, at the head of the convoy - even ahead of the escort warships.

In general, during the period from 1988 to 1991, it was mines that caused serious damage to American warships operating in the waters Persian Gulf:– 1988 – the guided-missile frigate Samuel B. Roberts was blown up by an Iranian mine of the M-08 type, which received a hole measuring 6.5 m (mechanisms were torn from the foundations, the keel was broken) and then underwent repairs costing $135 million; - February 1991 - the landing helicopter carrier "Tripoli" was allegedly blown up by an Iraqi mine of the LUGM-145 type, and the guided missile cruiser "Princeton" was also blown up by an Iraqi bottom mine of the "Manta" type of Italian design (the explosion damaged the equipment of the Aegis system, air defense missile system, propeller shafting, rudder and part of superstructures and decks). It should be noted that both of these ships were part of a large amphibious formation with 20 thousand marines on board, which was tasked with conducting an amphibious landing operation (during the liberation of Kuwait, the Americans were never able to conduct a single amphibious landing operation).

In addition, the destroyer URO "Paul F. Foster" ran into an anchor contact, "horned" mine and only by luck remained unharmed - it turned out to be too old and simply did not work. By the way, in the same conflict, the American minesweeper Avenger became the first mine-resistant ship in history to detect and neutralize a Manta-type mine in combat conditions - one of the best “shallow-water” bottom mines in the world.

When the time came for Operation Iraqi Freedom, allied forces had to worry more seriously. In the areas of operation of the forces and assets of the joint group of naval forces, only according to data officially released by the Pentagon, 68 mines and mine-like objects were discovered and destroyed. Although such data raise reasonable doubts: for example, according to the American military, several dozen Manta-type mines alone were discovered, and in addition, 86 Manta rays were found by the Australians in Iraqi warehouses and minelayers. In addition, divisions American forces special operations managed to detect and intercept a cargo ship literally “clogged” with Iraqi anchor and bottom mines, which were supposed to be placed on lines of communication in the Persian Gulf and presumably in the Strait of Hormuz. Moreover, each mine was disguised in a special “cocoon” made from an empty oil barrel. And after the end of the active phase of hostilities, American operational search groups came across several more small vessels converted into minelayers.

It should be especially noted that during the Second Gulf War, in the area of combat operations and on the territory of naval bases and bases of the US Navy and its allies in the Persian Gulf, American units that had dolphins and California lions, specially trained to combat sea mines and mine-like objects. In particular, “animals in uniform” were used to guard the naval base in Bahrain. Exact data on the results of the use of such units have not been officially released, but the American military command acknowledged the death of one dolphin sapper.

Additional tension during the operation was created by the fact that military personnel of mine-sweeping forces and units of divers-miners were often involved not only in the search and destruction of mines and mine-like objects of all types - floating, anchored, bottom, “self-burrowing”, etc., but also in destruction of anti-landing mine-explosive and other obstacles (for example, anti-tank minefields on the shore).

Mine clearance operations also left their indelible mark on the Russian Navy. Particularly memorable was the demining of the Suez Canal, carried out Soviet Navy at the request of the Egyptian government since July 15, 1974. On the USSR side, 10 minesweepers, 2 line laying ships and another 15 guard ships and auxiliary vessels participated; The French, Italian, American and British navies also took part in trawling the canal and bay. Moreover, the “Yankees” and “Tommies” trawled areas with exposed Soviet-style mines - which helped them a lot in practicing actions to combat the mine weapons of a potential enemy. By the way, permission for the American-British allies to mine these areas was issued by the military-political leadership of Egypt in violation of the Agreement on Military Supplies of September 10, 1965, signed by the USSR and Egypt.

However, this does not in any way detract from the invaluable experience gained by Soviet sailors in the Suez Canal. It was then in real conditions, on live mines, actions were practiced to destroy bottom mines with the help of minesweeper helicopters that laid cord charges or towed non-contact trawls. The use of all types of trawls and mine detectors in tropical conditions, the use of the VKT trawl for breaking through the first tack and the BShZ (combat cord charge) for thinning a minefield of combat mines by helicopters were also tested. Based on the experience gained, Soviet mine specialists adjusted the minesweeping instructions that existed in the USSR Navy. A large number of officers, foremen and sailors were also trained, gaining invaluable experience in combat trawling.

Due to the changing nature of mine warfare at sea and the expansion of the range of tasks of mine countermeasures forces, their units must be prepared to operate equally effectively both in deep and shallow areas of oceans and seas, and in extremely shallow areas of coastal zones, rivers and lakes, as well as in tidal zones. zone (surf strip) and even on the “beach”. I would especially like to note that in the last decade of the last century there was a clear tendency for the military of third world countries to use a rather interesting method of minelaying - old contact anchor and more modern non-contact bottom mines began to be used within the same minefield, which made the process of trawling difficult, since required the mine countermeasures forces to use different types of trawls (and to search for bottom mines, also underwater uninhabited mine countermeasures).

All this requires from the mine-sweeping forces military personnel not only appropriate comprehensive training, but also the availability of the necessary weapons and technical means for detecting mines and mine-like objects, their examination and subsequent destruction.

The particular danger of modern sea mine weapons and their rapid spread around the world is that waters favorable for laying sea mines today account for up to 98% of global commercial shipping. The following circumstance is also important: modern concepts the use of naval forces of the leading countries of the world Special attention pay attention to the ability of ship groupings to perform various maneuvers, including in the coastal, or “littoral” zone. Sea mines limit the actions of warships and auxiliary vessels, thus becoming a significant obstacle to the solution of their assigned tactical tasks. The result is that for the leading countries of the world with large navies, it has now become more preferable to create effective mine countermeasures forces than to develop mines and minelayers.

In connection with all of the above, the navies of the leading countries of the world have recently paid increased attention to the development of mine action forces and means. In this case, the emphasis is on the use modern technologies and the use of uninhabited remotely controlled underwater vehicles.

Modern sea mines seem to be the most formidable weapon on both sides, with the help of which it is possible to block sea communications around the world for a long time so that not only military operations will be impossible, but also trade and other peaceful activities will be stopped. Relevant agreements should be developed in this direction.

The enemy, as well as to impede their navigation.

Description

Sea mines are actively used as offensive or defensive weapons in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans, this is facilitated by their constant and long-term combat readiness, the surprise of combat impact, and the difficulty of clearing mines. Mines can be laid in enemy waters and minefields off one's own coast. Offensive mines are placed in enemy waters, primarily through important shipping routes, with the goal of destroying both merchant and warships. Defensive minefields protecting key areas of the coast from enemy ships and submarines, forcing them into more easily defended areas, or keeping them away from sensitive... M. m. is an explosive charge enclosed in a waterproof casing, which also houses instruments and devices, causing a mine to explode and ensuring safe handling.

Story

The forerunner of sea mines was first described by the early Ming Chinese artillery officer Jiao Yu in a 14th-century military treatise called Huolongjing. Chinese chronicles also talk about the use of explosives in the 16th century to fight against Japanese pirates (wokou). Sea mines were placed in a wooden box, sealed with putty. General Qi Juguang made several of these delayed-detonation drift mines to harass Japanese pirate ships. Sut Yingxing's treatise Tiangong Kaiu (Use of Natural Phenomena) of 1637 describes sea mines with a long cord stretched to a hidden ambush located on the shore. By pulling the cord, the ambush man activated a steel wheel lock with flint to produce a spark and ignite the sea mine fuse. "Infernal Machine" on the Potomac River in 1861 during the American Civil War, sketch by Alfred Woud English mine cart

The first project for the use of sea mines in the West was made by Ralph Rabbards; he presented his developments to Queen Elizabeth of England in 1574. The Dutch inventor Cornelius Drebbel, who worked in the artillery department of the English king Charles I, was engaged in the development of weapons, including “floating firecrackers”, which showed its unsuitability. The British apparently tried to use this type of weapon during the siege of La Rochelle in 1627.

American David Bushnell invented the first practical sea mine for use against Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. It was a sealed barrel of gunpowder that floated towards the enemy, and its impact lock exploded upon collision with the ship.

In 1812, Russian engineer Pavel Schilling developed an electric underwater mine fuse. In 1854, during an unsuccessful attempt by the Anglo-French fleet to capture the Kronstadt fortress, several British steamships were damaged by the underwater explosion of Russian naval mines. More than 1,500 sea mines or "infernal machines" designed by Jacobi were planted by Russian naval specialists in the Gulf of Finland during the Crimean War. Jacobi created a sea anchor mine, which had its own buoyancy (due to the air chamber in its body), a galvanic impact mine, and introduced the training of special units of galvanizers for the fleet and sapper battalions.

Sea mines were widely used during the Crimean and Russian-Japanese wars. During the First World War, 310 thousand sea mines were installed, from which about 400 ships sank, including 9 battleships. Carriers of sea mines

Sea mines can be installed both by surface ships (vessels) (mine layers), and from submarines (through torpedo tubes, from special internal compartments/containers, from external trailed containers), or dropped by aircraft. Anti-landing mines can also be installed from the shore at shallow depths. Destruction of sea mines Main articles: Minesweeper, Combat minesweeping

To combat sea mines, all available means, both special and improvised, are used.

The classic means are minesweepers. They can use contact and non-contact trawls, mine search devices or other means. A contact-type trawl cuts the mine, and the mines that float to the surface are shot with firearms. To protect minefields from being swept by contact trawls, a mine protector is used. Non-contact trawls create physical fields that trigger fuses.

In addition to specially built minesweepers, converted ships and vessels are used.

Since the 40s, aviation can be used as minesweepers, including helicopters since the 70s.

Demolition charges destroy the mine where it is placed. They can be installed by search engines, combat swimmers, improvised means, and less often by aviation.

Minebreakers - a kind of kamikaze ships - trigger mines with their own presence. Classification Small anchor ship galvanic impact mine, model 1943. KPM mine (ship, contact, anti-landing). Bottom mine in the KDVO Museum (Khabarovsk)

Kinds

Sea mines are divided into:

By installation type:

Anchor- the hull, which has positive buoyancy, is held at a given depth under water at an anchor using a minerep;
Bottom- installed on the seabed;
Floating- drifting with the current, staying underwater at a given depth
Pop-up- installed on an anchor, and when triggered, release it and float up vertically: freely or with the help of a motor
Homing- electric torpedoes held underwater by an anchor or lying on the bottom.

According to the principle of operation of the fuse:

Contact mines- exploding upon direct contact with the ship’s hull;
Galvanic shock- triggered when a ship hits a cap protruding from the mine body, which contains a glass ampoule with the electrolyte of a galvanic cell
Antenna- triggered when the ship’s hull comes into contact with a metal cable antenna (usually used to destroy submarines)
Non-contact- triggered when a ship passes at a certain distance from the influence of its magnetic field, or acoustic influence, etc.; including non-contact ones are divided into:
Magnetic- react to target magnetic fields
Acoustic- respond to acoustic fields
Hydrodynamic- react to dynamic changes in hydraulic pressure from the target’s movement
Induction- react to changes in the strength of the ship’s magnetic field (the fuse is triggered only under a ship underway)
Combined- combining fuses of different types

By multiplicity:

Multiple- triggered when a target is first detected
Multiples- triggered after a specified number of detections

In terms of controllability:

Uncontrollable
Managed from shore by wire; or from a passing ship (usually acoustically)

By selectivity:

Regular- hit any detected targets
Electoral- capable of recognizing and hitting targets of specified characteristics

By charge type:

Regular- TNT or similar explosives
Special- nuclear charge

Sea mines are being improved in the areas of increasing the power of charges, creating new types of proximity fuses and increasing resistance to minesweeping.

On land, mines never left the category of auxiliary, secondary weapons of tactical importance, even during their peak period, which occurred during the Second World War. At sea the situation is completely different. As soon as they appeared in the fleet, mines supplanted artillery and soon became weapons of strategic importance, often relegating other types of naval weapons to secondary roles.

Why did mines at sea become so important? It's a matter of cost and importance of each vessel. The number of warships in any fleet is limited, and the loss of even one can dramatically change the operational environment in the enemy's favor. A warship has great firepower, a large crew and can perform very serious tasks. For example, the sinking of just one tanker by the British in the Mediterranean Sea deprived Rommel's tanks of the ability to move, which played a big role in the outcome of the battle for North Africa. Therefore, the explosion of one mine under a ship plays a much greater role during the war than the explosions of hundreds of mines under tanks on the ground.

"Horned Death" and others

In many people's minds, a sea mine is a large, horned, black ball attached to an anchor line underwater or floating on the waves. If a passing ship hits one of the “horns,” an explosion will occur and the next victim will go to visit Neptune. These are the most common mines - anchored galvanic impact mines. They can be installed at great depths, and they can last for decades. True, they also have a significant drawback: they are quite easy to find and destroy - trawling. A small boat (minesweeper) with a shallow draft drags behind it a trawl, which, encountering a mine cable, interrupts it, and the mine floats up, after which it is shot from a cannon.

Great value These naval guns prompted designers to develop a number of mines of other designs - which are difficult to detect and even more difficult to neutralize or destroy. One of the most interesting species such weapons are sea-bottom non-contact mines.

Such a mine lies on the bottom, so it cannot be detected or hooked with a regular trawl. For a mine to work, you don’t need to touch it at all - it reacts to changes in the Earth’s magnetic field by a ship passing over the mine, to the noise of the propellers, to the hum of operating machines, to the difference in water pressure. The only way combating such mines is the use of devices (trawls) that imitate a real ship and provoke an explosion. But this is very difficult to do, especially since the fuses of such mines are designed in such a way that they are often able to distinguish ships from trawls.

In the 1920s—1930s and during World War II, such mines greatest development received in Germany, which lost its entire fleet by Treaty of Versailles. Creating a new fleet is a task that requires many decades and enormous expenses, and Hitler was going to conquer the whole world with lightning speed. Therefore, the lack of ships was compensated for by mines. In this way, it was possible to sharply limit the mobility of the enemy fleet: mines dropped from aircraft locked ships in harbors, did not allow foreign ships to approach their ports, and disrupted navigation in certain areas and in certain directions. According to the Germans, by depriving England of sea supplies, it was possible to create hunger and devastation in this country and thereby make Churchill more accommodating.

Delayed Strike

One of the most interesting bottom non-contact mines was the LMB mine - Luftwaffe Mine B, developed in Germany and actively used during the Second World War by German aviation (mines installed from ships are identical to aircraft, but do not have devices that ensure delivery by air and discharge from high altitudes and at high speeds). The LMB mine was the most widespread of all German sea-bottom proximity mines installed from aircraft. It turned out to be so successful that the German navy adopted it and installed it on ships. The naval version of the mine was designated LMB/S.

German specialists began developing the LMB in 1928, and by 1934 it was ready for use, although the German Air Force did not adopt it until 1938. Outwardly resembling an aerial bomb without a tail, it was suspended from the aircraft, after being dropped, a parachute opened above it, which provided the mine with a descent speed of 5-7 m/s to prevent a strong impact on the water: the body of the mine was made of thin aluminum (later series were made of pressed waterproof cardboard), and the explosive mechanism was a complex battery-powered electrical circuit.

As soon as the mine was separated from the aircraft, the clock mechanism of the auxiliary fuse LH-ZUS Z (34) began to work, which after seven seconds brought this fuse into the firing position. 19 seconds after touching the surface of the water or ground, if by this time the mine was not at a depth of more than 4.57 m, the fuse initiated an explosion. In this way the mine was protected from overly curious enemy deminers. But if the mine reached the specified depth, a special hydrostatic mechanism stopped the clock and blocked the operation of the fuse.

At a depth of 5.18 m, another hydrostat started a clock (UES, Uhrwerkseinschalter), which began counting down the time until the mine was brought into firing position. These clocks could be set in advance (when preparing the mine) for a time from 30 minutes to 6 hours (with an accuracy of 15 minutes) or from 12 hours to 6 days (with an accuracy of 6 hours). Thus, the main explosive device was not brought into firing position immediately, but after a predetermined time, before which the mine was completely safe. Additionally, a hydrostatic non-retrievable mechanism (LiS, Lihtsicherung) could be built into the mechanism of this watch, which would explode the mine when trying to remove it from the water. After the clock had run set time, they closed the contacts, and the process of bringing the mine into firing position began.

The picture shows an LMB mine equipped with an AT-1 explosive device. The parachute compartment cover has been pulled back to reveal the tail section of the mine. The shiny plates in the tail of the mine are not the tail, but the resonator tube of the low-frequency acoustic circuit. Between them there is an eye for a parachute. On the top of the body there is a T-shaped yoke for attaching the mine to the aircraft.

Magnetic death

The most interesting thing about LMB mines is a non-contact explosive device that is triggered when an enemy ship appears in the sensitivity zone. The very first was a device from Hartmann und Braun SVK, designated M1 (aka E-Bik, SE-Bik). It responded to the distortion of the Earth’s magnetic field at a distance of up to 35 m from the mine.

The M1 response principle itself is quite simple. An ordinary compass is used as a circuit closure. One wire is connected to the magnetic needle, the second is attached, say, to the “East” mark. As soon as you bring a steel object to the compass, the arrow will deviate from the “North” position and close the circuit.

Of course, a magnetic explosive device is technically more complicated. First of all, after power is applied, it begins to tune in to the Earth’s magnetic field that is present in a given place at that time. In this case, all magnetic objects (for example, a nearby ship) that are nearby are taken into account. This process takes up to 20 minutes.

When an enemy ship appears near the mine, the explosive device will react to the distortion of the magnetic field, and... the mine will not explode. She will let the ship pass peacefully. This is a multiplicity device (ZK, Zahl Kontakt). It will simply turn the deadly contact one step. And such steps in the multiplicity device of the M1 explosive device can be from 1 to 12 - the mine will miss a given number of ships, and will explode under the next one. This is done in order to complicate the work of enemy minesweepers. After all, making a magnetic trawl is not at all difficult: a simple electromagnet on a raft towed behind a wooden boat is enough. But it is unknown how many times the trawl will have to be pulled along the suspicious fairway. And time goes by! Warships are deprived of the ability to operate in this water area. The mine has not yet exploded, but it is already fulfilling its main task of disrupting the actions of enemy ships.

Sometimes, instead of a multiplicity device, a Pausenuhr (PU) clock device was built into the mine, which periodically turned the explosive device on and off for 15 days according to a given program - for example, 3 hours on, 21 hours off or 6 hours on, 18 hours off, etc. etc. So the minesweepers only had to wait for the maximum operating time of the UES (6 days) and PU (15 days) and only then begin trawling. For a month, enemy ships could not sail where they needed to.

Beat the sound

And yet, the M1 magnetic explosive device ceased to satisfy the Germans already in 1940. The British, in a desperate struggle to free the entrances to their ports, used all new magnetic minesweepers - from the simplest to those installed on low-flying aircraft. They managed to find and defuse several LMB mines, figured out the device and learned to deceive this fuse. In response to this, in May 1940, German miners put into use a new fuse from Dr. Hell SVK - A1, reacting to the noise of the ship's propellers. And not just for noise - the device triggered if this noise had a frequency of about 200 Hz and doubled within 3.5 s. This is the kind of noise that a high-speed warship of sufficiently large displacement creates. The fuse did not react to small vessels. In addition to the devices listed above (UES, ZK, PU), the new fuse was equipped with a self-destruction device to protect against tampering (Geheimhaltereinrichtung, GE).

But the British found a witty answer. They began to install propellers on light pontoons, which rotated from the incoming flow of water and imitated the noise of a warship. The pontoon was being towed by a fast boat, the propellers of which did not respond to the mine. Soon, English engineers came up with an even better way: they began installing such propellers in the bows of the ships themselves. Of course, this reduced the speed of the ship, but the mines did not explode under the ship, but in front of it.

Then the Germans combined the magnetic fuse M1 and the acoustic fuse A1, obtaining a new model MA1. For its operation, this fuse required, in addition to distortion of the magnetic field, also noise from the propellers. The designers were also prompted to take this step by the fact that the A1 consumed too much electricity, so the batteries only lasted from 2 to 14 days. In MA1, the acoustic circuit was disconnected from the power supply in the standby position. The enemy ship was first reacted to by a magnetic circuit, which turned on the acoustic sensor. The latter closed the explosive circuit. The combat operation time of a mine equipped with MA1 has become significantly longer than that of one equipped with A1.

But the German designers did not stop there. In 1942, Elac SVK and Eumig developed the AT1 explosive device. This fuse had two acoustic circuits. The first did not differ from circuit A1, but the second responded only to low-frequency sounds (25 Hz) coming strictly from above. That is, the noise of the propellers alone was not enough to trigger the mine; the fuse resonators had to pick up the characteristic hum of the ship’s engines. These fuses began to be installed in LMB mines in 1943.

In their desire to deceive Allied minesweepers, the Germans modernized the magnetic-acoustic fuse in 1942. The new sample was named MA2. In addition to the noise of the ship’s propellers, the new product also took into account the noise of the minesweeper’s propellers or simulators. If she detected the noise of the propellers coming from two points simultaneously, then the explosive chain was blocked.

water column

At the same time, in 1942, Hasag SVK developed a very interesting fuse, designated DM1. In addition to the usual magnetic circuit, this fuse was equipped with a sensor that responded to a decrease in water pressure (only 15-25 mm of water column was enough). The fact is that when moving in shallow water (down to depths of 30−35 m), the propellers big ship“suck” water from below and throw it back. The pressure in the gap between the bottom of the ship and the seabed decreases slightly, and this is precisely what the hydrodynamic sensor responds to. Thus, the mine did not react to passing small boats, but exploded under a destroyer or larger ship.

But by this time, the Allies were no longer faced with the issue of breaking the mine blockade of the British Isles. The Germans needed many mines to protect their waters from Allied ships. On long voyages, light Allied minesweepers could not accompany warships. Therefore, engineers dramatically simplified the design of the AT1, creating the AT2 model. The AT2 was no longer equipped with any additional devices such as multiplicity devices (ZK), anti-extraction devices (LiS), tamper-evident devices (GE) and others.

At the very end of the war, German companies proposed AMT1 fuses for LMB mines, which had three circuits (magnetic, acoustic and low-frequency). But the war was inevitably coming to an end, the factories were subjected to powerful Allied air raids and organized industrial production AMT1 has already failed.

The G-7a steam-gas torpedo was used by destroyers and submarines. It was produced in three modifications: “T-I” (straight forward since 1938), “T-I Fat-I” (since 1942 with a maneuvering device) and “T-I Lut-I/II” (since 1944 with a modernized maneuvering and guidance device). The torpedo was propelled by its own engine and maintained a given course using an autonomous guidance system. The servo motors responded to commands from the gyroscope and depth sensor, keeping the torpedo in programmed modes. It had a steel body, two screws rotating in antiphase. The contact detonator was placed in firing position at a distance of at least 30 m from the boat. Since the torpedo had a bubble trail, it was more often used at night. Performance characteristics of torpedoes: caliber – 533 mm; length 7186 mm; weight – 1538 kg; explosive mass – 280 kg; cruising range – 5500/7500/12500 m; speed – 30/40/44 knots.

The torpedo was in service with submarines. It was produced in five modifications: “T-II” (straight-propelled since 1939), “T-III” (straight-propelled since 1942), “T-III-Fat” (with maneuvering device since 1943), “ T-IIIa Fat-II" (since 1943 with a maneuvering and guidance device), "T-IIIa Lut-I/II" (since 1944 with an upgraded maneuvering and guidance device). The torpedo had a contact fuse and two propellers. In total, about 7 thousand torpedoes were fired. Performance characteristics of torpedoes: caliber – 533 mm; length – 7186 mm; weight – 1603-1760 kg; weight – explosive – 280 kg; battery weight – 665 kg; speed – 24-30 knots; cruising range – 3000/5000/5700/7500 m; engine power – 100 hp

The homing acoustic (for ship noise) torpedo “T-IV Falke” was put into service in 1943. It had a birotative (without gearbox) electric motor, two two-bladed propellers, horizontal and vertical rudders, and was powered by a battery of lead-acid batteries. Having traveled 400 meters after the launch, the homing equipment was turned on and two hydrophones located in the flat bow listened to the acoustic noise of ships traveling in the convoy. Due to its low speed, it was used to destroy merchant ships moving at speeds of up to 13 knots. A total of 560 torpedoes were fired. Performance characteristics of the T-IV torpedo: caliber - 533 mm; length - 7186 m; weight – 1937 kg; explosive mass – 274 kg; speed - 20 knots; cruising range - 7000 m; launch range – 2-3 km; battery voltage - 104 V, current - 700 A; engine operating time - 17 m. By the end of the year, the torpedo was modernized and produced in 1944 under the designation “T-V Zaunkonig”. It was used to destroy escort ships guarding convoys and moving at a speed of 10-18 knots. The torpedo had a significant drawback - it could mistake the boat itself for a target. Although the homing device was turned on after traveling 400 m, standard practice after launching a torpedo was to immediately dive the submarine to a depth of at least 60 m. A total of 80 torpedoes were fired. Performance characteristics of the T-V torpedo: caliber - 533 mm; length - 7200 m; weight – 1600 kg; explosive mass – 274 kg; speed - 24.5 knots; battery voltage - 106 V, current - 720 A; power - 75 - 56 kW.

A human-controlled transporter for the covert delivery and launch of torpedoes was put into service in 1944. In fact, the Marder was a mini-submarine and could travel up to 50 miles without a torpedo. The design consisted of two 533-mm torpedoes - an elongated carrier torpedo and a standard combat torpedo suspended underneath it on yokes. The carrier had a driver's cabin protected by a hood at the head. A 30-liter ballast tank was installed in the bow of the transport torpedo. To launch a torpedo, it was necessary to surface and orient the bow of the device to the target through the sighting device. A total of 300 units were produced. Performance characteristics of the torpedo: surface displacement - 3.5 tons; length – 8.3 m; width – 0.5 m; draft – 1.3 m; surface speed – 4.2 knots, underwater speed – 3.3 knots; immersion depth – 10 m; range – 35 miles; electric motor power – 12 hp. (8.8 kW); crew - 1 person.

A series of aircraft torpedoes of the “Lufttorpedo” type were produced in 10 main modifications. They differed in size, weight, guidance systems and types of fuses. All of them, except the LT.350, had paragas engines with a power of 140-170 hp, which developed a speed of 24-43 knots and could hit a target at a distance of 2.8-7.5 km. The drop was carried out at speeds of up to 340 km/h without a parachute. In 1942, under the brand name “LT.350”, the Italian 500 mm parachute electric circulating torpedo, designed to destroy ships in roadsteads and anchorages, was adopted. The torpedo had the ability to travel up to 15,000 m at a speed of 13.5 to 3.9 knots. The LT.1500 torpedo was equipped with a rocket engine. The performance characteristics of torpedoes are presented in the table.

Performance characteristics and type of torpedo	Length (mm)	Diameter (mm)	Weight (kg)	Explosive mass (kg)
LT.F-5/ LT-5a	4 960	450	685	200
F5B/LT I	5 150	450	750	200
F5В*	5 155	450	812	200
F5W	5 200	450	860	170
F5W*	5 460	450	869-905	200
LT.F-5u	5 160	450	752	200
LT.F-5i	5 250	450	885	175
LT.350	2 600	500	350	120
LT.850	5 275	450	935	150
LT.1500	7 050	533	1520	682

The torpedo was produced since 1943 by Blohm und Voss. It was a glider with an LT-950-C torpedo mounted on it. The torpedo was carried by the He.111 aircraft. When the torpedo approached a distance of 10 meters to the surface of the water, a sensor was triggered, giving a command to separate the airframe using small explosive packages. After diving, the torpedo followed underwater to the selected target. A total of 270 torpedoes were fired. Performance characteristics of the torpedo: length – 5150 mm; diameter – 450 mm; weight – 970 kg; explosive mass – 200 kg; release height – 2500 m, maximum range of application – 9000 m.

A series of aviation torpedoes of the “Bombentorpedo” type were produced since 1943 and consisted of seven modifications: VT-200, VT-400, VT-700A, VT-700V, VT-1000, VT-1400 and VT-1850. The performance characteristics of the torpedoes are set out in table.

Performance characteristics and type of torpedo	Length (mm)	Diameter (mm)	Weight (kg)	Explosive mass (kg)
VT-200	2 395	300	220	100
VT-400	2 946	378	435	200
VT-700A	3 500	426	780	330
VT-700V	3 358	456	755	320
VT-1000	4 240	480	1 180	710
VT-1400	4 560	620	1 510	920
VT-1850	4 690	620	1 923	1 050

Germany produced four types of magnetic mines of the RM type: RMA (produced since 1939, weight 800 kg), RMB (produced since 1939, charge weight 460 kg), RMD (produced since 1944, simplified design, charge weight 460 kg.), RMH (produced since 1944, with a wooden body, weight 770 kg.).

The mine with an aluminum casing was put into service in 1942. It was equipped with a macnitoacoustic fuse. It could only be installed from surface ships. Performance characteristics of mines: length – 2150 mm, diameter – 1333 mm; weight – 1600 kg; explosive mass – 350 kg; installation depth – 400-600 m.

The TM type torpedo mine series included the following mines: TMA (produced since 1935, length - 3380 mm, diameter 533 mm, explosive weight - 215 kg), TMV (produced since 1939, length - 2300 mm, diameter - 533 mm ; weight – 740 kg; explosive mass – 420-580 kg.), TMB/S (produced since 1940, explosive mass – 420-560 kg.), TMS (produced since 1940. length – 3390 mm; diameter – 533 mm; weight – 1896 kg; explosive mass – 860-930 kg.). A special feature of these mines was the ability to deploy them through the torpedo tubes of submarines. As a rule, two or three mines were placed in the torpedo tube, depending on the size. The mines were placed at depths from 22 to 270 m. They were equipped with magnetic or acoustic fuses.

Aviation sea mines of the BM series (Bombenminen) were produced in five modifications: “BM 1000-I”, “BM 1000-II”, “BM 1000-H”, “BM 1000-M” and “Wasserballoon”. They were built according to the principle high explosive bomb. Basically, all series of VM mines had the same design, with the exception of minor differences such as the size of the units, the size of the suspension yoke, and the size of the hatches. Three main types of explosive devices were used in mines: magnetic (react to the distortion of the Earth's magnetic field at a given point, created by a passing ship), acoustic (react to the noise of the ship's propellers), hydrodynamic (react to a slight decrease in water pressure). Mines could be equipped with one of three main devices or in combination with others. The mines were also equipped with a bomb fuse, designed to turn on the main fuse in the event of a normal situation, and when falling to the ground, to detonate the mine. Performance characteristics of mines: length – 1626 mm; diameter – 661 mm; weight – 871 kg; explosive mass – 680 kg; drop height – 100-2000 m without a parachute, with a parachute – up to 7000 m; drop speed – up to 460 km/h. Performance characteristics of the Wasserballoon mine: length – 1011 mm; diameter – 381 mm; explosive mass – 40 kg.

A series of anchor, contact mines of the “EM” type consisted of modifications: “EMA” (produced since 1930, length - 1600 mm; width - 800 mm; explosive weight - 150 kg; deployment depth - 100-150 m); “EMB” (produced since 1930; explosive mass – 220 kg; deployment depth – 100 - 150 m); "EMS" (produced since 1938, diameter - 1120 mm; explosive weight - 300 kg; deployment depth - 100 - 500 m), "EMC m KA" (produced since 1939, explosive weight - 250 - 285 kg; setting depth – 200-400 m); "EMC m AN Z" (produced since 1939, explosive mass - 285 - 300 kg, deployment depth - 200 - 350 m), "EMD" (produced since 1938, explosive mass - 150 kg, deployment depth - 100 - 200 m), "EMF" (produced since 1939, explosive mass - 350 kg, deployment depth - 200 - 500 m).

Marine and aviation parachute mines of the LM (Luftmine) series were the most common non-contact bottom mines. They were represented by four types: LMA (produced since 1939, weight - 550 kg; explosive mass - 300 kg), LMB, LMC and LMF (produced since 1943, weight - 1050 kg; explosive mass - 290 kg). The LMA and LMB mines were bottom mines, i.e. after being dropped they fell to the bottom. The LMC, LMD and LMF mines were anchor mines, i.e. Only the mine’s anchor lay on the bottom, and the mine itself was located at a certain depth. The mines were cylindrical in shape with a hemispherical nose. They were equipped with a magnetic, acoustic or magnetic-acoustic fuse. Mines were dropped from He-115 and He-111 aircraft. They could also be used against ground targets, for which they were equipped with a fuse with a clock mechanism. If the mines were equipped with a hydrodynamic fuse, they could be used as depth charges. The LMB mine was put into service in 1938 and existed in four main versions - LMB-I, LMB-II, LMB-III and LMB-IV. LMB-I mines, LMB-II, LMB-III were practically indistinguishable from each other in appearance and were very similar to the LMA mine, differing from it longer and the weight of the charge. Externally, the mine was an aluminum cylinder with a rounded nose and an open tail. Structurally, it consisted of three compartments. The first is the main charge compartment, which housed an explosive charge, a bomb fuse, an explosive device clock, a hydrostatic self-destruction device, and a non-neutralization device. On the outside, the compartment had a yoke for suspension to the aircraft and technological hatches. The second is the explosive device compartment in which the explosive device was located, with a multiplicity device, a timer self-liquidator and a neutralizer, a non-neutralization device and a tamper-evident device. The third is the parachute compartment, which housed the stowed parachute. Performance characteristics of mines: diameter – 660 mm; length – 2988 mm; weight – 986 kg; charge weight – 690 kg; type BB – hexonite; application depths – from 7 to 35 m; target detection distance – from 5 to 35 m; multiplicity device - from 0 to 15 ships; self-liquidators - when lifting a mine to a depth of less than 5 m, according to a set time.

What are sea mines and torpedoes? How are they structured and what are the principles of their operation? Are mines and torpedoes now the same formidable weapons as during past wars?

All this is explained in the brochure.

It is written based on materials from open domestic and foreign press, and the issues of the use and development of mine and torpedo weapons are presented according to the views of foreign experts.

The book is addressed to a wide range of readers, especially young people preparing for service in the USSR Navy.

Sections of this page:

Modern mines and their structure

A modern sea mine is a complex structural device that operates automatically under water.

Mines can be laid from surface ships, submarines and aircraft on the routes of ships, near enemy ports and bases. “Some mines are placed on the bottom of the sea (rivers, lakes) and can be activated by a coded signal.

Self-propelled mines, which use the positive properties of an anchor mine and a torpedo, are considered the most complex. They have devices for detecting the target, separating the torpedo from the anchor, aiming at the target and detonating the charge with a proximity fuse.

There are three classes of mines: anchored, bottom and floating.

Anchor and bottom mines are used to create stationary minefields.

Floating mines are usually used in river theaters to destroy enemy bridges and crossings located downstream, as well as his ships and floating craft. They can also be used at sea, but provided that the surface current is directed towards the enemy’s base area. There are also floating self-propelled mines.

Mines of all classes and types have a charge of conventional explosive (TNT) weighing from 20 to several hundred kilograms. They can also be equipped with nuclear charges.

In the foreign press, for example, it was reported that a nuclear charge with a TNT equivalent of 20 kt is capable of causing severe destruction at a distance of up to 700 m, sinking or disabling aircraft carriers and cruisers, and at a distance of up to 1400 m causing damage that significantly reduces the combat effectiveness of these ships .

The explosion of mines is caused by fuses, which are of two types - contact and non-contact.

Contact fuses are triggered by direct contact of the ship's hull with a mine (impact mines) or with its antenna (electric contact fuze). They are usually equipped with anchor mines.

Proximity fuses are triggered by exposure to the ship's magnetic or acoustic field or by the combined influence of these two fields. They are often used to detonate bottom mines.

The type of mine is usually determined by the type of fuze. Hence mines are divided into contact and non-contact.

Contact mines are impact and antenna, and non-contact mines are acoustic, magneto-hydrodynamic, acoustic-hydrodynamic, etc.

Anchor mines

An anchor mine (Fig. 2) consists of a waterproof body with a diameter of 0.5 to 1.5 m, a mine, an anchor, explosive devices, safety devices that ensure safe handling of the mine when preparing it on the deck of a ship for deployment and when dropping it into the water , as well as from mechanisms that place a mine on a given recess.

The body of the mine can be spherical, cylindrical, pear-shaped or other streamlined shape. It is made from steel sheets, fiberglass and other materials.

There are three compartments inside the case. One of them is an air cavity that provides the positive buoyancy of the mine, which is necessary to keep the mine at a given depth from the sea surface. Another compartment houses the charge and detonators, and the third contains various devices.

Minrep is a steel cable (chain), which is wound around a view (drum) installed on the mine’s anchor. The upper end of the minerep is attached to the body of the mine.

When assembled and prepared for deployment, the mine lies at anchor.

Min metal anchors. They are made in the form of a cup or cart with rollers, thanks to which the mines can easily move along rails or along the smooth steel deck of a ship.

Anchor mines are activated by a variety of contact and non-contact fuses. Contact fuses are most often galvanic impact, electrical impact and mechanical impact.

Galvanic impact and electric shock fuses are also installed in some bottom mines, which are placed in shallow coastal waters specifically against enemy landing craft. Such mines are usually called anti-landing mines.

1 - safety device; 2 - galvanic impact fuse; 3-igniter glass; 4-charging camera

The main parts of galvanic fuses are lead caps, inside of which glass cylinders with electrolyte are placed (Fig. 3), and galvanic cells. The caps are located on the surface of the mine body. Upon impact with the ship's hull, the lead cap is crushed, the cylinder breaks and the electrolyte falls on the electrodes (carbon - positive, zinc - negative). A current appears in the galvanic cells, which from the electrodes enters the electric igniter and sets it into action.

The lead caps are covered with cast iron safety caps, which are automatically released by springs after the mine is set.

Electric impact fuses are activated by electric shock. In a mine with such fuses, several metal rods protrude, which, upon impact with the ship’s hull, bend or move inward, connecting the mine’s fuse to an electric battery.

In impact-mechanical fuses, the blasting device is a percussion-mechanical device, which is activated by an impact on the ship’s hull. The shock in the fuse causes a displacement of the inertial load holding the spring frame with the striker. The released firing pin pierces the primer of the ignition device, which activates the mine charge.

Safety devices typically consist of sugar or hydrostatic disconnectors, or both.

1 - cast iron safety cap; 2 - spring for releasing the safety cap after setting the mine; 3 - lead cap with a galvanic element; 4 - glass container with electrolyte; 5 - carbon electrode; 6 - zinc electrode; 7 - insulating washer; 8 - conductors from carbon and zinc electrodes

The sugar disconnector is a piece of sugar inserted between the spring contact discs. When sugar is inserted, the fuse circuit is open.

Sugar dissolves in water after 10-15 minutes, and the spring contact, closing the circuit, makes the mine dangerous.

The hydrostatic disconnector (hydrostat) prevents the connection of the spring contact disks or the displacement of the inertial weight (in mechanical impact mines) while the mine is on the ship. When diving from water pressure, the hydrostat releases a spring contact or an inertial weight.

A is the specified mine recess; I - minrep; II - mine anchor; 1 - mine dropped; 2 - the mine sinks; 3- mine on the ground; 4-minrep is wound up; 5-mine settled at a given depth

According to the method of setting, anchor mines are divided into those floating from the bottom [* This method of setting anchor mines was proposed by Admiral S. O. Makarov in 1882] and those installed from the surface [** The method of setting mines from the surface was proposed by Lieutenant of the Black Sea Fleet N. N. Azarov . in 1882].

h is the specified mine recess; I-mine anchor; II - shtert; III-cargo; IV - minrep; 1-mine dropped; 2 - the mine has separated from the anchor, the mine is freely unwound from the view; 3. 4- mine on the surface, the mine continues to unwind; 5 - the load reached the ground, the minrep stopped reeling in; 6 - the anchor pulls the mine down and sets it at a given depth equal to the length of the rod

When setting a mine from the bottom, the drum with the mine is integral with the body of the mine (Fig. 4).

The mine is secured to the anchor with steel cable slings, which prevent it from being separated from the anchor. The slings at one end are tightly fixed to the anchor, and at the other end they are passed through special ears (butts) in the mine body and then connected to the sugar disconnector in the anchor.

When set, after falling into the water, the mine goes to the bottom along with the anchor. After 10-15 minutes, the sugar dissolves, releases the lines and the mine begins to float.

When the mine reaches a given depression from the water surface (h), a hydrostatic device located near the drum will stop the mine.

Instead of a sugar disconnector, a clock mechanism can be used.

Laying anchor mines from the surface of the water is carried out as follows.

A view (drum) with a minerep wound around it is placed on the mine’s anchor. A special locking mechanism is attached to the view, connected via a pin (cord) to the load (Fig. 5).

When a mine is thrown overboard, due to its reserve of buoyancy, it floats on the surface of the water, but the anchor separates from it and sinks, unwinding the mine from the view.

A load is moving in front of the anchor, attached to a rod, the length of which is equal to the specified recess of the mine (h). The load touches the bottom first and thereby gives some slack to the rod. At this moment, the locking mechanism is activated and the unwinding of the minerep stops. The anchor continues to move to the bottom, dragging the mine with it, which sinks into a depression equal to the length of the rod.

This method of laying mines is also called shtorto-cargo. It has become widespread in many navies.

Based on the weight of the charge, anchor mines are divided into small, medium and large. Small mines have a charge weighing 20-100 kg. They are used against small ships and vessels in areas with a depth of up to 500 m. The small size of the mines makes it possible to accept several hundred of them on minelayers.

Medium mines with charges of 150-200 kg are intended to combat ships and vessels of medium displacement. The length of their minrep reaches 1000-1800 m.

Large mines have a charge weight of 250-300 kg or more. They are designed to operate against large ships. Having a large reserve of buoyancy, these mines allow you to wind a long minerep onto a view. This makes it possible to lay mines in areas with a sea depth of more than 1800 m.

Antenna mines are conventional anchor percussion mines with electric contact fuses. Their operating principle is based on the properties of heterogeneous metals, such as zinc and steel, placed in sea water, create a potential difference. These mines are used primarily for anti-submarine warfare.

Antenna mines are placed in a depression of about 35 m and are equipped with upper and lower metal antennas, each approximately 30 m long (Fig. 6).

The upper antenna is held in a vertical position by a buoy. The specified buoy recess should not be greater than the draft of enemy surface ships.

The lower end of the lower antenna is fastened to the mine's mine. The ends of the antennas facing the mine are connected to each other by a wire that runs inside the mine body.

If a submarine collides directly with a mine, it will detonate it in the same way as an anchor strike mine. If the submarine touches the antenna (upper or lower), then a current will arise in the conductor; it flows to sensitive devices that connect the electric igniter to a constant current source located in the mine and having sufficient power to set the electric igniter into action.

From the above it is clear that antenna mines cover the upper layer of water about 65 m thick. To increase the thickness of this layer, a second line of antenna mines is placed in a larger depression.

A surface ship (vessel) can also be blown up by an antenna mine, but the explosion of an ordinary mine at a distance of 30 m from the keel does not cause significant destruction.

Foreign experts believe that the minimum deployment depth allowed by the technical design of anchor shock mines is at least 5 m. The closer the mine is to the sea surface, the greater the effect of its explosion. Therefore, in obstacles intended against large ships (cruisers, aircraft carriers), it is recommended to place these mines with a given depth of 5-7 m. To combat small ships, the depth of the mines does not exceed 1-2 m. Such mine placements are dangerous even for boats.

But shallow minefields are easily detected by airplanes and helicopters and, in addition, are quickly thinned out (scattered) under the influence of strong waves, currents and drifting ice.

The combat service life of a contact anchor mine is limited mainly by the service life of the mine, which rusts in water and loses its strength. If there is excitement, it can break, since the force of jerks on the minerep for small and medium-sized mines reaches hundreds of kilograms, and for large mines - several tons. The survivability of minereps and especially the places where they are attached to a mine are also affected by tidal currents.

Foreign experts believe that in ice-free seas and in areas of the sea that are protected by islands or coastal configurations from waves caused by prevailing winds, even a shallow minefield can stand for 10-12 months without much depression.

Deep minefields designed to combat submerged submarines are the slowest to clear.

Contact anchor mines are characterized by their simplicity of design and low cost of manufacture. However, they have two significant drawbacks. Firstly, the mines must have a reserve of positive buoyancy, which limits the weight of the charge placed in the hull, and therefore the effectiveness of using mines against large ships. Secondly, such mines can easily be lifted to the surface of the water by any mechanical trawls.

Experience combat use Contact anchor mines in the First World War showed that they did not fully satisfy the requirements of fighting enemy ships: due to the low probability of a ship encountering a contact mine.

In addition, ships that encountered an anchor mine usually escaped with limited damage to the bow or side of the ship: the explosion was localized by strong bulkheads, watertight compartments, or an armor belt.

This led to the idea of creating new fuses that could sense the approach of a ship at a considerable distance and detonate the mine at the moment when the ship was in the danger zone from it.

The creation of such fuses became possible only after the physical fields of the ship were discovered and studied: acoustic, magnetic, hydrodynamic, etc. The fields seemed to increase the draft and width of the underwater part of the hull and, if there were special devices on the mine, made it possible to receive a signal about the approach of the ship.

Fuses triggered by the influence of one or another physical field of the ship were called non-contact. They made it possible to create a new type of bottom mines and made it possible to use anchor mines for laying in seas with high tides, as well as in areas with strong currents.

In these cases, anchor mines with proximity fuses can be placed in such a depression that their bodies do not float to the surface during low tides, and during high tides the mines remain dangerous for ships passing over them.

The actions of strong currents and tides only slightly deepen the body of the mine, but its fuse still senses the approach of the ship and explodes the mine at the right moment.

The design of anchored non-contact mines is similar to anchored contact mines. The only difference between them is the design of the fuses.

The weight of a charge of proximity mines is 300-350 kg, and, according to foreign experts, their deployment is possible in areas with a depth of 40 m or more.

The proximity fuse is triggered at some distance from the ship. This distance is called the sensitivity radius of a fuse or proximity mine.

The proximity fuse is adjusted so that its sensitivity radius does not exceed the radius of the destructive effect of a mine explosion on the underwater part of the ship's hull.

The proximity fuse is designed in such a way that when a ship approaches a mine at a distance corresponding to its sensitivity radius, a mechanical contact closure occurs in the combat circuit into which the fuse is connected. As a result, a mine explodes.

What are the physical fields of the ship?

For example, every steel ship has a magnetic field. The strength of this field depends mainly on the amount and composition of the metal from which the ship is built.

The appearance of the ship’s magnetic properties is due to the presence of the Earth’s magnetic field. Since the Earth's magnetic field is not the same and changes in magnitude with changes in the latitude of the place and the course of the ship, the magnetic field of the ship also changes when sailing. It is usually characterized by tension, which is measured in oersteds.

When a ship with a magnetic field approaches a magnetic mine, the latter causes the magnetic needle installed in the fuse to oscillate. Deviating from its original position, the arrow closes a contact in the combat circuit, and the mine explodes.

When moving, the ship forms an acoustic field, which is created mainly by the noise of rotating propellers and the operation of numerous mechanisms located inside the ship's hull.

Acoustic vibrations of the ship's mechanisms create a total vibration, perceived as noise. The noises of different types of ships have their own characteristics. In high-speed ships, for example, high frequencies are more intensely expressed, in slow-moving ships (transports) - low frequencies.

The noise from the ship spreads over a considerable distance and creates an acoustic field around it (Fig. 7), which is the environment where non-contact acoustic fuses are triggered.

A special device for such a fuse, such as a carbon hydrophone, converts the perceived sound frequency vibrations generated by the ship into electrical signals.

When the signal reaches a certain value, it means that the ship has entered the range of a proximity mine. Through auxiliary devices, the electric battery is connected to the fuse, which activates the mine.

But carbon hydrophones only listen to noise in the audio frequency range. Therefore, special acoustic receivers are used to receive frequencies lower and higher than sound.

An acoustic field travels over a much greater distance than a magnetic field. Consequently, it seems possible to create acoustic fuses with a large area of effect. That is why during the Second World War, most non-contact fuses worked on the acoustic principle, and in combined non-contact fuses one of the channels was always acoustic.

When a ship moves in an aquatic environment, a so-called hydrodynamic field is created, which means a decrease in hydrodynamic pressure in the entire layer of water from the bottom of the ship to the bottom of the sea. This decrease in pressure is a consequence of the displacement of a mass of water by the underwater part of the ship's hull, and also arises as a result of wave formation under the keel and behind the stern of a fast-moving ship. So, for example, a cruiser with a displacement of about 10,000 tons, sailing at a speed of 25 knots (1 knot = 1852 m/h), in an area with a sea depth of 12-15 m creates a decrease in pressure by 5 mm of water. Art. even at a distance of up to 500 m to your right and left.

It was found that the magnitudes of the hydrodynamic fields of different ships are different and depend mainly on the speed and displacement. In addition, as the depth of the area in which the ship moves decreases, the bottom hydrodynamic pressure it creates increases.

To capture changes in the hydrodynamic field, special receivers are used that respond to a specific program of changes in high and low pressures observed during the passage of the ship. These receivers are part of hydrodynamic fuses.

When the hydrodynamic field changes within certain limits, the contacts move and close the electrical circuit that activates the fuse. As a result, a mine explodes.

It is believed that tidal currents and waves can create significant changes in hydrostatic pressure. Therefore, to protect mines from false alarms in the absence of a target, hydrodynamic receivers are usually used in combination with non-contact fuses, for example, acoustic ones.

Combined proximity fuses are used quite widely in mine weapons. This is due to a number of reasons. It is known, for example, that purely magnetic and acoustic bottom mines are relatively easy to clear. The use of a combined acoustic-hydrodynamic fuse significantly complicates the trawling process, since acoustic and hydrodynamic trawls are required for these purposes. If on a minesweeper one of these trawls fails, then the mine will not be cleared and may explode when the ship passes over it.

To make it difficult to clear non-contact mines, in addition to combined non-contact fuses, special urgency and frequency devices are used.

An emergency device equipped with a clock mechanism can be set for a period of validity from several hours to several days.

Until the expiration date for installing the device, the proximity fuse of the mine will not be included in the combat circuit and the mine will not explode even when a ship passes over it or the action of a trawl.

In such a situation, the enemy, not knowing the setting of the urgency devices (and it can be different in each mine), will not be able to determine how long it is necessary to mine the fairway so that the ships can put to sea.

The multiplicity device begins to operate only after the expiration of the time limit for installing the urgency device. It can be set to allow one or more passages of a ship over a mine. To detonate such a mine, the ship (trawl) needs to pass over it as many times as the multiplicity setting. All this greatly complicates the fight against mines.

Proximity mines can explode not only from the considered physical fields of the ship. Thus, the foreign press reported on the possibility of creating proximity fuses, the basis of which could be highly sensitive receivers capable of responding to changes in temperature and composition of water during the passage of ships over a mine, to light-optical changes, etc.

It is believed that the physical fields of ships still contain many unexplored properties that can be learned and applied in mining.

Bottom mines

Bottom mines are usually non-contact mines. They usually have the shape of a waterproof cylinder rounded at both ends, about 3 m long and about 0.5 m in diameter.

Inside the body of such a mine there is a charge, a fuse and more. necessary equipment(Fig. 8). The weight of the bottom non-contact mine charge is 100-900 kg.

/ - charge; 2 - stabilizer; 3 - fuse equipment

The minimum depth for laying bottom non-contact mines depends on their design and is several meters, and the greatest, when these mines are used against surface ships, does not exceed 50 m.

Against submarines traveling submerged at a short distance from the ground, bottom non-contact mines are placed in areas with sea depths of more than 50 m, but not deeper than the limit determined by the strength of the mine body.

The explosion of a bottom proximity mine occurs under the bottom of a ship, where there is usually no mine protection.

It is believed that such an explosion is the most dangerous, since it causes both local damage to the bottom, weakening the strength of the ship's hull, and general bending of the bottom due to the uneven intensity of the impact along the length of the ship.

It must be said that the holes in this case are larger in size than when a mine explodes near the side, which leads to the death of the ship.-

Bottom mines in modern conditions found very wide use and led to some displacement of anchor mines. However, when deployed at depths of more than 50 m, they require a very large explosive charge.

Therefore, for greater depths, conventional anchor mines are still used, although they do not have the same tactical advantages that bottom proximity mines have.

Floating mines

Modern floating (self-transporting) mines are automatically controlled by devices of various devices. Thus, one of the American submarine automatically floating mines has a floating device.

The basis of this device is an electric motor that rotates a propeller in the water, located at the bottom of the mine (Fig. 9).

The operation of the electric motor is controlled by a hydrostatic device, which operates from; external water pressure and periodically connects the battery to the electric motor.

If the mine sinks to a depth greater than that installed on the navigation device, then the hydrostat turns on the electric motor. The latter rotates the propeller and forces the mine to float to a given recess. After this, the hydrostat turns off the engine power.

1 - fuse; 2 - explosive charge; 3 - battery; 4- hydrostat for electric motor control; 5 - electric motor; 6 - propeller of the navigation device

If the mine continues to float, the hydrostat will turn on the electric motor again, but in this case the propeller will rotate in reverse side and will make the mine go deeper. It is believed that the accuracy of holding such a mine at a given depression can be achieved ±1 m.

In the post-war years in the United States, a self-transporting mine was created on the basis of one of the electric torpedoes, which, after being fired, moves in a given direction, sinks to the bottom and then acts as a bottom mine.

To combat submarines, the United States has developed two self-transporting mines. One of them, designated “Slim,” is intended for placement at submarine bases and along the routes of their intended movement.

The design of the Slim mine is based on a long-range torpedo with various proximity fuses.

According to another project, a mine called "Captor" was developed. It is a combination of an anti-submarine torpedo with a mine anchor device. The torpedo is placed in a special sealed aluminum container, which is anchored at a depth of up to 800 m.

When a submarine is detected, the mine device is activated, the container lid is opened and the torpedo engine is started. The most important part of this mine is the target detection and classification devices. They allow you to distinguish a submarine from a surface ship and your submarine from an enemy submarine. The devices respond to various physical fields and give a signal to activate the system when registering at least two parameters, for example, hydrodynamic pressure and frequency of the hydroacoustic field.

It is believed that the mine interval (distance between adjacent mines) for such mines is close to the response radius (maximum operating range) of the torpedo homing equipment (~1800 m), which significantly reduces their consumption in the anti-submarine barrier. The expected service life of these mines is two to five years.

Similar mines are also being developed by the German Navy.

It is believed that protection against automatically floating mines is very difficult, since trawls and ship guards do not clear these mines. Their characteristic feature is that they are equipped with special devices - liquidators, connected to a clock mechanism, which is set for a given period of validity. After this period, the mines sink or explode.

* * *

Speaking about the general directions of development of modern mines, it should be borne in mind that over the last decade the navies of NATO countries have been paying special attention to the creation of mines used to combat submarines.

It is noted that mines are the cheapest and most widespread type of weapon, which can equally well hit surface ships, conventional and nuclear submarines.

By type of carrier, most modern foreign mines are universal. They can be installed by surface ships, submarines and aircraft.

Mines are equipped with contact, non-contact (magnetic, acoustic, hydrodynamic) and combined fuses. They are designed for a long service life, equipped with various anti-sweeping devices, mine traps, self-destructors and are difficult to mine.

Among NATO countries, the US Navy has the largest stockpile of mine weapons. The US mine arsenal includes a wide variety of anti-submarine mines. Among them we can note the Mk.16 ship mine with an enhanced charge and the Mk.6 anchor antenna mine. Both mines were developed during World War II and are still in service with the US Navy.

By the mid-60s, the United States had adopted several types of new non-contact mines for use against submarines. These include aircraft small and large bottom non-contact mines (Mk.52, Mk.55 and Mk.56) and an anchored non-contact mine Mk.57, intended for deployment from submarine torpedo tubes.

It should be noted that the United States mainly develops mines intended for laying by aircraft and submarines.

The weight of the aircraft mine charge is 350-550 kg. At the same time, instead of TNT, they began to equip them with new explosives, exceeding the power of TNT by 1.7 times.

In connection with the requirement to use bottom mines against submarines, the depth of their placement site has been increased to 150-200 m.

Foreign experts consider a serious drawback of modern mine weapons to be the lack of anti-submarine mines with a large range of action, the depth of which would allow them to be used against modern submarines. It is noted that at the same time the design has become more complicated and the cost of mines has increased significantly.

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