A sea mine is a munition that is placed covertly in the water. It is intended for damaging enemy water transport or impeding its movement. Such military products are actively used in offensive and defensive operations. After installation, they remain in combat readiness for a long period, but the explosion occurs suddenly, and it is quite difficult to neutralize them. A sea mine is a charge of explosive materials contained in a waterproof casing. There are also special devices inside the structure that allow you to safely handle ammunition and explode it if necessary.

History of creation

The earliest mentions of sea mines are recorded in the records of the Ming officer Jiao Yu in the 14th century. In the history of China, similar use of explosives is mentioned in the 16th century, when there were clashes with Japanese robbers. The ammunition fit into a wooden container, protected from moisture with putty. Several mines drifting in the sea with a planned explosion were planted by General Qi Jugang. Subsequently, the mechanism for activating the explosive was activated using a long cord.

Project about use marine world was designed by Rubbards and presented to Queen Elizabeth of England. In Holland, the creation of weapons called “floating firecrackers” also took place. On practice similar weapons turned out to be unusable.

A full-fledged sea mine was invented by the American Bushnell. It was used against Britain in the War of Independence. The ammunition was a sealed barrel of gunpowder. The mine drifted towards the enemy, exploding upon contact with the ship.

The electronic mine fuse was developed in 1812. This innovation was created by the Russian engineer Schilling. Jacobi later discovered an anchor mine capable of floating. The latter, in an amount of more than one and a half thousand pieces, were placed in the Gulf of Finland by the Russian military during the period Crimean War.

By official statistics Russian naval forces, the first successful case of using a sea mine was considered to be 1855. Ammunition was actively used during the Crimean and Russian-Japanese military events. During the First World War, with their help, about four hundred ships were sunk, of which nine were battleships.

Types of sea mines

Sea mines can be classified according to several different parameters.

Based on the type of installation of ammunition, they are distinguished:

• The anchors are attached at the required height using a special mechanism;
• The benthic ones sink to the seabed;
• Floaters drift along the surface;
• Pop-up ones are held by an anchor, but when turned on they rise vertically out of the water;
• Homing or electric torpedoes are held in place by an anchor or lying on the bottom.

According to the method of explosion they are divided into:

• Contact ones are activated upon contact with the body;
• Galvanic impact react to pressing on the protruding cap where the electrolyte is located;
• Antennas explode when colliding with a special cable antenna;
• Non-contact ones operate when a vessel approaches a certain distance;
• Magnetic ones respond to the ship's magnetic field;
• Acoustic ones interact with the acoustic field;
• Hydrodynamic ones explode when the pressure changes due to the ship's progress;
• Induction ones are activated by fluctuations in the magnetic field, that is, they explode exclusively under moving galleons;
• Combined ones combine different types.

Also, sea mines can be differentiated in terms of multiplicity, controllability, selectivity and type of charge. Ammunition is constantly improving in power. Newer types of proximity fuses are being created.

Carriers

Sea mines are delivered to the site by surface ships or submarines. In some cases, ammunition is dropped into the water by aircraft. Sometimes they are located from the shore when it is necessary to carry out an explosion at a shallow depth to counteract landings.

Naval mines during World War II

In certain years, among naval forces, mines were “weapons of the weak” and were not popular. This type of weapon was not given special attention major maritime powers such as England, Japan and the USA. During the First World War, attitudes towards weapons changed dramatically, when it was estimated that approximately 310,000 mines were delivered.

During the Second World War, naval “explosives” became widely used. Nazi Germany actively used mines; about 20 thousand units were delivered to the Gulf of Finland alone.

During the war, weapons were constantly improved. Everyone tried to increase his effectiveness in battle. It was then that magnetic, acoustic and combined sea mines were born. The use of this type of weapon not only from water, but also from aviation expanded their potential. Ports, military naval bases, navigable rivers and other water bodies were under threat.

There was heavy damage in all directions from sea mines. Approximately a tenth of transport units were destroyed using this type of weapon.

About 1,120 mines were installed in the neutral parts of the Baltic Sea at the start of hostilities. A characteristics areas only contributed to the effective use of ammunition.

One of the most famous German mines was the Luftwaffe Mine B, which was transported to its destination by air. LMB was the most popular of all sea-bottom proximity mines assembled in Germany. Its success became so significant that it was also adopted for installation on ships. The mine was called Horned Death or Magnetic Death.

Modern sea mines

The M-26 is recognized as the most powerful of the domestic mines created in pre-war times. Its charge is 250 kg. This is an anchor “explosive” with a shock-mechanical activation type. Due to the significant volume of the charge, the shape of the ammunition was changed from spherical to spherocylindrical. Its advantage was that when anchored it was positioned horizontally and it was easier to transport.

Another achievement of our compatriots in the field of military armament of ships was the KB galvanic impact mine, used as an anti-submarine weapon. It was the first to use cast iron safety caps, which left their place automatically when immersed in water. In 1941, a sinking valve was added to the mine, allowing it to sink to the bottom on its own when separated from the anchor.

In the post-war period, domestic scientists resumed the race for leadership. In 1957, the only self-propelled underwater missile was launched. It became a pop-up rocket mine KRM. This became the impetus for the development of a radically new type of weapon. The KRM device made a complete revolution in the production of domestic naval weapons.

In 1960, the USSR began implementing advanced mine systems consisting of mine-missiles and torpedoes. After 10 years, the Navy began to actively use anti-submarine mine-missiles PMR-1 and PMR-2, which have no analogues abroad.

The next breakthrough can be called the MPT-1 torpedo mine, which has a two-channel target search and recognition system. Its development lasted nine years.

All available data and testing have become a good platform for the formation of more advanced forms of weapons. In 1981, the first Russian universal anti-submarine torpedo mine was completed. It was slightly behind the American Captor design in its parameters, while being ahead of it in installation depths.

UDM-2, which entered service in 1978, was used to damage surface and submarine ships of all types. The mine was universal from all sides, from installation to self-destruction on land and in shallow water.

On land, mines did not acquire any particular tactical significance, remaining an additional type of weapon. Sea mines have received a perfect role. Having just appeared, they became a strategic weapon, often displacing other species into the background. This is due to the cost for combat of each individual vessel. The number of ships in the navy is determined and the loss of even one galleon can change the situation in favor of the enemy. Each ship has strong combat power and a sizable crew. The explosion of one sea mine under a ship can play a huge role in the entire war, which is incomparable to many explosions on land.

A sea mine is a self-sufficient mine placed in water for the purpose of damaging or destroying the hulls of ships, submarines, ferries, boats and other watercraft. Unlike mines, they are in a “sleeping” position until they contact the side of the ship. Naval mines can be used both to cause direct damage to the enemy and to impede his movements in strategic directions. IN international law The rules for conducting mine warfare were established by the 8th Hague Convention of 1907.

Classification

Sea mines are classified according to the following criteria:

• Type of charge - conventional, special (nuclear).
• Degrees of selectivity - normal (for any purpose), selective (recognize the characteristics of the vessel).
• Controllability - controllable (by wire, acoustically, by radio), uncontrollable.
• Multiplicities - multiples (a given number of targets), non-multiple.
• Type of fuse - non-contact (induction, hydrodynamic, acoustic, magnetic), contact (antenna, galvanic impact), combined.
• Type of installation - homing (torpedo), pop-up, floating, bottom, anchor.

Mines usually have a round or oval shape (with the exception of torpedo mines), ranging in size from half a meter to 6 m (or more) in diameter. Anchor ones are characterized by a charge of up to 350 kg, bottom ones - up to a ton.

Historical reference

Sea mines were first used by the Chinese in the 14th century. Their design was quite simple: under the water there was a tarred barrel of gunpowder, to which a wick led, supported on the surface by a float. To use it, it was necessary to light the wick at the right moment. The use of similar designs is already found in treatises of the 16th century in China, but a more technologically advanced flint mechanism was used as a fuse. Improved mines were used against Japanese pirates.

In Europe, the first sea mine was developed in 1574 by the Englishman Ralph Rabbards. A century later, the Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel, who served in the artillery department of England, proposed his design of ineffective “floating firecrackers”.

American developments

A truly formidable design was developed in the United States during the Revolutionary War by David Bushnell (1777). It was the same powder keg, but equipped with a mechanism that detonated upon collision with the hull of the ship.

At the height of the Civil War (1861) in the United States, Alfred Waud invented a double-hulled floating sea mine. They chose a suitable name for it - “hell machine”. Explosive was located in a metal cylinder located under water, which was held by a wooden barrel floating on the surface, which simultaneously served as a float and a detonator.

Domestic developments

For the first time an electric fuse for " hellish machines"invented by Russian engineer Pavel Schilling in 1812. During the unsuccessful siege of Kronstadt by the Anglo-French fleet (1854) in the Crimean War, the naval mine designed by Jacobi and Nobel proved to be excellent. The fifteen hundred "infernal machines" on display not only hampered the movement of the enemy fleet, but they also damaged three large British steamships.

The Jacobi-Nobel mine had its own buoyancy (thanks to air chambers) and did not need floats. This made it possible to install it secretly, in the water column, hanging it on chains, or to let it go with the flow.

Later, a spheroconic floating mine was actively used, held at the required depth by a small and inconspicuous buoy or anchor. It was first used in Russian-Turkish war(1877-1878) and was in service with the navy with subsequent improvements until the 1960s.

Anchor mine

It was held at the required depth by the anchor end - a cable. The sinking of the first samples was ensured by manually adjusting the length of the cable, which required a lot of time. Lieutenant Azarov proposed a design that made it possible to automatically install sea mines.

The device was equipped with a system consisting of a lead weight and an anchor suspended above the weight. The anchor end was wound onto a drum. Under the action of the load and anchor, the drum was released from the brake, and the end was reeled out of the drum. When the load reached the bottom, the pulling force of the end decreased and the drum locked, due to which the “infernal machine” sank to a depth corresponding to the distance from the load to the anchor.

Early 20th century

Sea mines began to be used en masse in the twentieth century. During the Boxer Rebellion in China (1899-1901), the imperial army mined the Haife River, covering the route to Beijing. In the Russian-Japanese confrontation of 1905, the first mine war unfolded, when both sides actively used massive barrages and breakthroughs with the help of minesweepers.

This experience was adopted into the First World War. German sea mines prevented British landings and hampered the operations of the submarines, which mined trade routes, bays and straits. The Allies did not remain in debt, practically blocking the exits from the North Sea for Germany (this required 70,000 mines). Experts estimate the total number of “infernal machines” in use at 235,000.

World War II naval mines

During the war, about a million mines were placed in naval theaters of combat, including more than 160,000 in the waters of the USSR. Germany installed weapons of death in the seas, lakes, rivers, in the ice and in the lower reaches of the Ob River. Retreating, the enemy mined port berths, roadsteads, and harbors. The mine war in the Baltic was especially brutal, where the Germans delivered more than 70,000 units in the Gulf of Finland alone.

As a result of mine explosions, approximately 8,000 ships and vessels sank. In addition, thousands of ships were heavily damaged. In European waters already in the post-war period, 558 ships were blown up by sea mines, 290 of which sank. On the very first day of the start of the war, the destroyer Gnevny and the cruiser Maxim Gorky were blown up in the Baltic.

German mines

At the beginning of the war, German engineers surprised the Allies with new highly effective types of mines with a magnetic fuse. The sea mine did not explode due to contact. The ship only had to sail close enough to the deadly charge. Its shock wave was enough to turn the side. Damaged ships had to abort the mission and return for repairs.

Suffered more than others English fleet. Churchill personally made it his highest priority to develop a similar design and find effective remedy to clear mines, but British experts could not reveal the secret of the technology. Chance helped. One of the mines dropped by a German plane got stuck in the coastal mud. It turned out that the explosive mechanism was quite complex and was based on the Earth. Research has helped create effective

Soviet naval mines were not as technologically advanced, but no less effective. The main models used were the KB "Crab" and AG. The "Crab" was an anchor mine. The KB-1 was put into service in 1931, and the modernized KB-3 in 1940. Designed for mass mine laying; in total, the fleet had about 8,000 units at its disposal at the beginning of the war. With a length of 2 meters and a mass of over a ton, the device contained 230 kg of explosives.

The deep-sea antenna mine (AG) was used to sink submarines and ships, as well as to impede the navigation of the enemy fleet. In essence, it was a modification of the design bureau with antenna devices. During a combat deployment in sea ​​water the electrical potential was equalized between the two copper antennas. When the antenna touched the hull of a submarine or ship, the potential balance was disturbed, which caused the ignition circuit to close. One mine “controlled” 60 m of space. General characteristics correspond to the KB model. Later, copper antennas (requiring 30 kg of valuable metal) were replaced with steel ones, and the product received the designation AGSB. Few people know the name of the AGSB model sea mine: a deep-sea antenna mine with steel antennas and equipment assembled into a single unit.

Mine clearance

70 years later, sea mines from World War II still pose a danger to peaceful shipping. A large number of them still remain somewhere in the depths of the Baltic. Before 1945, only 7% of the mines were cleared; the rest required decades of dangerous clearance work.

The main burden of the fight against mine danger fell on the personnel of minesweeper ships in the post-war years. In the USSR alone, about 2,000 minesweepers and up to 100,000 personnel were involved. The degree of risk was exceptionally high due to constantly opposing factors:

• the unknown boundaries of minefields;
• different mine installation depths;
• various types of mines (anchor, antenna, with traps, bottom non-contact mines with urgency and frequency devices);
• the possibility of being hit by fragments of exploding mines.

Trawling technology

The trawling method was far from perfect and dangerous. At the risk of being blown up by mines, the ships walked through the minefield and pulled the trawl behind them. Hence the constant stress of people from anticipation of a deadly explosion.

A mine cut by a trawl and a surfaced mine (if it did not explode under the ship or in the trawl) must be destroyed. When the sea is rough, attach a blasting cartridge to it. Detonating a mine is safer than shooting it out, since the shell often pierced the shell of the mine without touching the fuse. An unexploded military mine lay on the ground, presenting a new danger that could no longer be eliminated.

Conclusion

The sea mine, the photo of which inspires fear by its mere appearance, is still a formidable, deadly, and at the same time cheap weapon. Devices have become even more “smart” and more powerful. There are developments with an installed nuclear charge. In addition to the listed types, there are towed, pole, throwing, self-propelled and other “infernal machines”.

Naval ammunition included the following weapons: torpedoes, sea mines and depth charges. Distinctive feature of these ammunition is the environment for their use, i.e. hitting targets on or under water. Like most other ammunition, naval ammunition is divided into main (for hitting targets), special (for illumination, smoke, etc.) and auxiliary (training, blank, for special tests).

Torpedo- a self-propelled underwater weapon consisting of a cylindrical streamlined body with tails and propellers. The warhead of a torpedo contains an explosive charge, a detonator, fuel, an engine and control devices. The most common caliber of torpedoes (hull diameter at its widest part) is 533 mm; samples from 254 to 660 mm are known. The average length is about 7 m, weight is about 2 tons, explosive charge is 200-400 kg. They are in service with surface (torpedo boats, patrol boats, destroyers, etc.) and submarines and torpedo bomber aircraft.

Torpedoes were classified as follows:

- by type of engine: combined-cycle (liquid fuel burns in compressed air (oxygen) with the addition of water, and the resulting mixture rotates a turbine or drives a piston engine); powder (gases from slowly burning gunpowder rotate the engine shaft or turbine); electric.

— by guidance method: unguided; erect (with a magnetic compass or gyroscopic semi-compass); maneuvering according to a given program (circulating); homing passive (based on noise or changes in the properties of water in the wake).

— by purpose: anti-ship; universal; anti-submarine.

The first samples of torpedoes (Whitehead torpedoes) were used by the British in 1877. And already during the First World War, steam-gas torpedoes were used by the warring parties not only in the sea, but also on rivers. The caliber and dimensions of torpedoes tended to steadily increase as they developed. During the First World War, torpedoes of 450 mm and 533 mm caliber were standard. Already in 1924, the 550-mm steam-gas torpedo “1924V” was created in France, which became the first-born of a new generation of this type of weapon. The British and Japanese went even further, designing 609-mm oxygen torpedoes for large ships. Of these, the most famous is the Japanese type “93”. Several models of this torpedo were developed, and on the “93” modification, model 2, the charge mass was increased to 780 kg to the detriment of range and speed.

The main “combat” characteristic of a torpedo—the explosive charge—usually not only increased quantitatively, but also improved qualitatively. Already in 1908, instead of pyroxylin, the more powerful TNT (trinitrotoluene, TNT) began to spread. In 1943, in the United States, a new explosive, “torpex,” was created specifically for torpedoes, twice as strong as TNT. Similar work was carried out in the USSR. In general, during the Second World War alone, the power of torpedo weapons in terms of the TNT coefficient doubled.

One of the disadvantages of steam-gas torpedoes was the presence of a trace (exhaust gas bubbles) on the surface of the water, unmasking the torpedo and creating the opportunity for the attacked ship to evade it and determine the location of the attackers. To eliminate this, it was planned to equip the torpedo with an electric motor. However, before the outbreak of World War II, only Germany succeeded. In 1939, the Kriegsmarine adopted the G7e electric torpedo. In 1942, it was copied by Great Britain, but was able to establish production only after the end of the war. In 1943, the ET-80 electric torpedo was adopted for service in the USSR. However, only 16 torpedoes were used until the end of the war.

To ensure a torpedo explosion under the bottom of the ship, which caused 2-3 times more damage than an explosion at its side, Germany, the USSR and the USA developed magnetic fuses instead of contact fuses. The German TZ-2 fuses, which were put into service in the second half of the war, achieved the greatest efficiency.

During the war, Germany developed maneuvering and torpedo guidance devices. Thus, torpedoes equipped with the “FaT” system during the search for a target could move “snake” across the ship’s course, which significantly increased the chances of hitting the target. They were most often used towards a pursuing escort ship. Torpedoes with the LuT device, produced since the spring of 1944, made it possible to attack an enemy ship from any position. Such torpedoes could not only move like a snake, but also turn around to continue searching for a target. During the war, German submariners fired about 70 torpedoes equipped with LuT.

In 1943, the T-IV torpedo with acoustic homing (ASH) was created in Germany. The torpedo's homing head, consisting of two spaced hydrophones, captured the target in the 30° sector. The capture range depended on the noise level of the target ship; usually it was 300-450 m. The torpedo was created mainly for submarines, but during the war it also entered service with torpedo boats. In 1944, the modification “T-V” was released, and then “T-Va” for “schnellboats” with a range of 8000 m at a speed of 23 knots. However, the effectiveness of acoustic torpedoes turned out to be low. Excessively a complex system guidance (and it included 11 lamps, 26 relays, 1760 contacts) was extremely unreliable - out of 640 torpedoes fired during the war, only 58 hit the target. The percentage of hits with conventional torpedoes in the German fleet was three times higher.

However, the Japanese oxygen torpedoes had the most powerful, fastest and longest range. Neither allies nor opponents were able to achieve even close results.

Since there were no torpedoes equipped with the maneuvering and guidance devices described above in other countries, and Germany had only 50 submarines capable of launching them, a combination of special ship or aircraft maneuvers was used to launch torpedoes to hit the target. Their totality was defined by the concept of torpedo attack.

A torpedo attack can be carried out: from a submarine against enemy submarines, surface ships and ships; surface ships against surface and underwater targets, as well as coastal torpedo launchers. The elements of a torpedo attack are: assessing the position relative to the detected enemy, identifying main goal and its protection, determining the possibility and method of a torpedo attack, approaching the target and determining the elements of its movement, choosing and occupying a firing position, firing torpedoes. The end of a torpedo attack is torpedo firing. It consists of the following: the firing data is calculated, then they are entered into the torpedo; The ship performing torpedo firing takes a calculated position and fires a salvo.

Torpedo firing can be combat or practical (training). According to the method of execution, they are divided into salvo, aimed, single torpedo, area, successive shots.

Salvo firing consists of the simultaneous release of two or more torpedoes from torpedo tubes to ensure an increased probability of hitting the target.

Targeted shooting is carried out in the presence of accurate knowledge of the elements of the target’s movement and the distance to it. It can be carried out with single torpedo shots or salvo fire.

When firing torpedoes over an area, torpedoes cover the probable area of ​​the target. This type of shooting is used to cover errors in determining the elements of target movement and distance. A distinction is made between sector firing and parallel torpedo firing. Torpedo firing over an area is carried out in one salvo or at time intervals.

Torpedo firing by sequential shots means firing in which torpedoes are fired sequentially one after another at specified time intervals to cover errors in determining the elements of the target’s movement and the distance to it.

When firing at a stationary target, the torpedo is fired in the direction of the target; when firing at a moving target, it is fired at an angle to the direction of the target in the direction of its movement (with anticipation). The lead angle is determined taking into account the target's heading angle, the speed of movement and the path of the ship and torpedo before they meet at the lead point. The firing distance is limited by the maximum range of the torpedo.

In World War II, about 40 thousand torpedoes were used by submarines, aircraft and surface ships. In the USSR, out of 17.9 thousand torpedoes, 4.9 thousand were used, which sank or damaged 1004 ships. Of the 70 thousand torpedoes fired in Germany, submarines expended about 10 thousand torpedoes. US submarines used 14.7 thousand torpedoes, and torpedo-carrying aircraft 4.9 thousand. About 33% of the fired torpedoes hit the target. Of all ships and vessels sunk during the Second World War, 67% were torpedoes.

Sea mines- ammunition secretly installed in the water and designed to destroy enemy submarines, ships and vessels, as well as to impede their navigation. The main properties of a sea mine: constant and long-term combat readiness, surprise of combat impact, difficulty in clearing mines. Mines could be installed in enemy waters and off their own coast. A sea mine is an explosive charge enclosed in a waterproof casing, which also contains instruments and devices that cause the mine to explode and ensure safe handling.

The first successful use of a sea mine took place in 1855 in the Baltic during the Crimean War. The ships of the Anglo-French squadron were blown up by galvanic shock mines laid by Russian miners in the Gulf of Finland. These mines were installed under the surface of the water on a cable with an anchor. Later, shock mines with mechanical fuses began to be used. Sea mines were widely used during Russian-Japanese war s. During the First World War, 310 thousand sea mines were installed, from which about 400 ships sank, including 9 battleships. In World War II, proximity 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.

Sea mines were installed both by surface ships (minelayers) and from submarines (through torpedo tubes, from special internal compartments/containers, from external trailer containers), or dropped by aircraft (usually into enemy waters). Anti-landing mines could be installed from the shore at shallow depths.

Sea mines were divided according to the type of installation, according to the principle of operation of the fuse, according to the frequency of operation, according to controllability, and according to selectivity; by media type,

By type of installation there are:

- anchored - a hull with positive buoyancy is held at a given depth under water at an anchor using a minerep;

- bottom - installed on the bottom of the sea;

- floating - drifting with the flow, staying under water at a given depth;

- pop-up - installed on an anchor, and when triggered, it releases it and floats 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, they are distinguished:

— contact — exploding upon direct contact with the ship’s hull;

- galvanic impact - 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 (used, as a rule, 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. Non-contact ones are divided into: magnetic (react to the target’s magnetic fields), acoustic (react to acoustic fields), hydrodynamic (react to dynamic change in hydraulic pressure from the movement of the target), induction (react to changes in the strength of the ship’s magnetic field (the fuse is triggered only under a ship moving), combined (combining fuses different types). To make it more difficult to combat non-contact mines, the fuses included 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 when an attempt is made to disarm it. .

According to the multiplicity of mines, there are: non-multiple (triggered when the target is first detected), multiple (triggered after a specified number of detections).

According to controllability, they are distinguished: uncontrollable and controlled from the shore by wire or from a passing ship (usually acoustically).

Based on selectivity, mines were divided into: conventional (hit any detected target) and selective (capable of recognizing and hitting targets of given characteristics).

Depending on their carriers, mines are divided into ship mines (dropped from the deck of ships), boat mines (fired from torpedo tubes of a submarine) and aviation mines (dropped from an airplane).

When laying sea mines there were special methods their installations. So under mine jar meant an element of a minefield consisting of several mines placed in a cluster. Determined by the coordinates (point) of the production. 2, 3 and 4 min cans are typical. Banks bigger size rarely used. Typical for deployment by submarines or surface ships. Mine line- an element of a minefield consisting of several mines laid linearly. Determined by the coordinates (point) of the beginning and direction. Typical for deployment by submarines or surface ships. Mine strip- an element of a minefield consisting of several mines placed randomly from a moving carrier. Unlike mine cans and lines, it is characterized not by coordinates, but by width and direction. Typical for deployment by aircraft, where it is impossible to predict the point at which the mine will land. The combination of mine banks, mine lines, mine strips and individual mines creates a minefield in the area.

Naval mines were one of the most effective weapons during World War II. The cost of producing and installing a mine ranged from 0.5 to 10 percent of the cost of neutralizing or removing it. Mines could be used both as an offensive weapon (mining enemy fairways) and as a defensive weapon (mining one’s own fairways and installing anti-landing mines). They were also used as a psychological weapon - the very fact of the presence of mines in the shipping area already caused damage to the enemy, forcing them to bypass the area or carry out long-term, expensive mine clearance.

During World War II, more than 600 thousand mines were installed. Of these, Great Britain dropped 48 thousand by air into enemy waters, and 20 thousand were dropped from ships and submarines. Britain laid 170 thousand mines to protect its waters. Japanese aircraft dropped 25 thousand mines in foreign waters. Of the 49 thousand mines installed, the United States dropped 12 thousand aircraft mines off the coast of Japan alone. Germany deposited 28.1 thousand mines in the Baltic Sea, the USSR and Finland – 11.8 thousand mines each, Sweden – 4.5 thousand. During the war, Italy produced 54.5 thousand mines.

The Gulf of Finland was the most heavily mined during the war, in which the warring parties laid more than 60 thousand mines. It took almost 4 years to neutralize them.

Depth charge- one of the types of weapons of the Navy, designed to combat submerged submarines. It was a projectile with a strong explosive enclosed in a metal casing of cylindrical, spherocylindrical, drop-shaped or other shape. A depth charge explosion destroys the hull of a submarine and leads to its destruction or damage. The explosion is caused by a fuse, which can be triggered: when a bomb hits the hull of a submarine; at a given depth; when a bomb passes at a distance from a submarine not exceeding the radius of action of a proximity fuse. A stable position of a spherocylindrical and drop-shaped depth charge when moving along a trajectory is given by the tail unit - the stabilizer. Depth charges were divided into aircraft and shipborne ones; the latter are used by launching jet depth charges with launchers, firing from single-barrel or multi-barrel bomb launchers and dropping from stern bomb releasers.

The first sample of a depth charge was created in 1914 and, after testing, entered service with the British Navy. Depth charges found widespread use in the First World War and remained the most important type anti-submarine weapons in the Second.

The operating principle of a depth charge is based on the practical incompressibility of water. A bomb explosion destroys or damages the hull of a submarine at depth. In this case, the energy of the explosion, instantly increasing to a maximum in the center, is transferred to the target by the surrounding water masses, through them destructively affecting the attacked military object. Due to the high density of the medium, the blast wave along its path does not significantly lose its initial power, but with increasing distance to the target, the energy is distributed over a larger area, and accordingly, the damage radius is limited. Depth charges are distinguished by their low accuracy - sometimes about a hundred bombs were required to destroy a submarine.

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 protect key areas of the coast from enemy ships and submarines, forcing them into more easily defended areas, or keeping them away from sensitive areas. A minefield is an explosive charge enclosed in a waterproof casing that also houses instruments and devices that cause a mine to explode and ensure 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 Civil War in the USA, sketch by Alfred Waud 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.

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. 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 from 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.

The Second World War predetermined the further development of bottom mines. The main carriers of bottom mines are aircraft and submarines. because Due to the strong development of coastal defense systems and the defense of coastal communications, surface ships became easy targets and could not provide covert deployments in the enemy’s operational zone.

The destructive power of a mine weapon is determined by selectivity, the choice of the moment of striking and power. The selectivity of a mine depends on the degree of perfection of its NV. determined by the number of channels providing information about the target, as well as their sensitivity and noise immunity.

The following types of NVs are used in bottom mines: magnetic, operating on a static (amplitude) or dynamic (gradient) principle; acoustic (passive low or mid-frequency non-directional), magnetoacoustic and hydrodynamic.

In the logical devices of the first post-war mines, only the topology features of the physical fields of the circuit were used, and later - the laws of change in these fields. Modern models use processor devices that make it possible not only to compare the received information with a given program (which is especially important from the point of view of mine protection), but also to select the optimal moments for triggering the NV.

The radius of destruction of a bottom mine is determined by the mass of the explosive charge, the TNT equivalent of the explosive. the distance of the mine from the target and the nature of the soil.

Most modern bottom mines are filled with explosives with TNT equivalent (TE - the ratio of the explosion power of an explosive charge in a mine to the explosion power of an equal mass of TNT) of 1.4. ..1.7. All other things being equal, the radius of destruction of a bottom mine is 1.4. ..2 times more than anchor.

The anti-mine resistance of a mine is determined by the possibility of its destruction by non-contact trawls and explosives, as well as by detection by a mine seeker.

Modern bottom mines use E types of anti-mine protection: external (input) in the form of urgency devices, multiplicity devices, and telecontrol systems (on some samples); circuit-based, created taking into account the laws of change of FPC (amplitude, phase, gradient) in space and time; characteristic, recording differences in the signals emitted by the ship and non-contact trawls.

Work to improve the listed types of mine protection is ongoing. Currently, the telecontrol range of bottom mines is neither at depths up to 50 m it is 12... 15 miles (24... 30 km).

To ensure the anti-mine resistance of mines great importance also has the confidentiality of their technical characteristics. The ability to secretly develop and test this type of weapon due to its relatively small size gives it a clear advantage over other military weapons.

The stability of bottom mines when exposed to explosives, as well as the possibility and X use by aviation depend on impact resistance, determined primarily by the strength of the instrumentation, which has increased noticeably with the transition to a solid-state element base. If for mines from the period of the Second World War it was 26...32 kg/cm 2, for the first post-war samples it was 28...32 kg/cm 2, then for modern mines the hull strength has been increased to 70...90 kg/cm 2, which significantly increases their survivability when exposed to explosives.

In order to protect mines from search equipment, work is being carried out in two directions: creating housings from non-metallic materials with increased sound-absorbing ability and having non-traditional shapes.

The bodies of most modern mines are made of aluminum alloys, which reduces the likelihood of detection by magnetometers. However, such mines are relatively easily detected by hydroacoustic mine detection stations, as well as optical and electronic equipment. Work was carried out to develop cheap fiberglass housings, this made it possible to reduce the visibility of mines when detecting them and classifying them according to the type of reflected signal. However, using the principle of observing a hydroacoustic shadow does not give the desired effect.

The hulls of most modern bottom mines are cylindrical in shape and, as a rule, are adapted for suspension on aircraft and placement through the torpedo tubes of submarines. Aircraft mines have a compartment to accommodate a parachute, which softens the blow during splashdown, while non-parachute mines have a stabilizer, a fairing and an anti-shock device for the fuse equipment. The bow usually has a cut, which ensures that they turn into a horizontal position after entering the water and sharply reduces the depth of the landing site.

The duration of operation of power supplies and the stability of the functioning of receiving devices are also important for modern mines. Since the mid-80s. lithium trionyl chloride batteries began to be used as power sources in mines, the specific energy of which is almost order higher than that of chemical current sources during the Second World War (up to 700 Wh/kg instead of 70... 80).

Currently, the longest and most stable operation is of magnetic receivers, the least - of hydrodynamic ones. Most mines have a service life of 1 to 2 years and are designed to be stored for 20...30 years (with inspection every 5...6 years).

The cost of any type of military equipment consists of the costs of its development, production and operation . Manufacturing costs are reduced due to large-scale orders. The cost of operating an exposed mine is practically zero, and storage in warehouses requires minimal costs.

One of the ways to reduce the cost of manufacturing and operating combat equipment is to use a modular design. All new and modernized mines have one, including a replaceable NV block - the main element that determines effectiveness.

The use of a modular design makes it possible to use standard aerial bombs for bottom aircraft mines, in which part of the explosives are replaced by NV equipment.

The most interesting foreign mine-bomb is the MK-65 mine of the Quickstrike family. Its NV has a target recognition unit (with a microprocessor device). The mine has a remote control device, a reinforced explosive charge (430 kg with TNT equivalent 1.7) and a fiberglass body.

The first domestic serial aircraft bottom mines equipped with proximity fuses (small AMD-500 and large AMD-1000) appeared in service with the Navy in 1942. However, they were later recognized as one of the best among mines of similar combat purposes that other navies had peace. TO At the end of the war, their improved samples appeared, which, unlike their predecessors - mines of the first modification (AMD-1-500 and AMD-2-500), filled the AMD-2-500 and AMD-2-1000 codes.

What all four types of mines had in common was their combat purpose: both to destroy surface ships and vessels, and to fight submarines. The laying of such mines could be carried out not only by aviation, using standard aircraft mounts for their suspension (small AML mines were designed in the weight and dimensions of serial aerial bombs of the FAB-500 type, and large ones - in the dimensions of the FAB-1500). It should be emphasized that these mines (except for the AMD-1500) were adapted for deployment from surface ships, and both modifications of large mines were also adapted for deployment from submarines, because they had a standard diameter for boat TAs of 533 mm. Small mines were created in a 450 mm casing. The main difference between the AMD-1 and AMD-2 mines was that the former were equipped with a single-channel two-pulse NV of the induction type, and the second with a two-channel NV of the acoustic-induction type.

The use of all of these samples of mines from aircraft beds provided for the design possibilities for equipping them with a parachute stabilization system (PSS), which was used when dropping mines from aircraft and was disconnected when they fell into the water. And although subsequent, post-war models of aircraft mines were designed as with PSS. and “parachuteless” (with the so-called rigid stabilization and braking system - ZhST), they incorporated many technical solutions implemented in our first aviation sea mines of the AMD-1 and AMD-2 “families”.

The first Soviet naval mine adopted for service after the end of the war (1951) was an aircraft bottom mine. AMD-4, which develops these “family” of large and small AMD-2 mines in order to improve their combat and operational qualities. It was the first to use explosives of a more powerful composition of the TAG-5 brand; in general, AMD-4 repeated the design solutions inherent in its predecessors.

In 1955, the modernized AMD-2M mine entered service with the Navy. This was a qualitatively new model of a non-contact bottom mine, which also served as the basis for the creation of a fundamentally new remote control system (STM), which was later included in the combat equipment of the KMD-2-1000 bottom mine and the first domestic aviation rocket-propelled mine RM-1.

When creating the first remote-controlled mines, Soviet specialists did a great deal of work, which culminated in the adoption of the TUM ground-based non-contact mine (1954). And although it, like the large AMD-1 and AMD-2 mines, was developed in the standard mass and dimensions of the FAB-1500 aerial bomb. Only its ship version was adopted for service.

At the same time, the creation of qualitatively new types of mine weapons with higher combat and operational properties was underway. More advanced designs were developed, various types of target detection systems, non-contact detonation equipment were used, the deployment depth increased, etc. In the same 1954, the first post-war aviation induction-hydrodynamic mine IGDM entered the fleet, and four years later a small one - IGMD-500. In 1957, the Navy received a large bottom mine of the same class "Serpey", and, starting from 1961, universal bottom mines of the UDM "family" - a large mine UDM (1961) and a small mine UDM-500 (1965), several later their modifications appeared - the UDM-M and UDM-500-M mines, as well as the second technical generation in this “family”, the UDM-2 mine (1979).

All the previously mentioned mines, as well as a number of their other modifications, in addition to aviation, can also be used by surface mines. At the same time, according to their size and charges, mines can be divided into extra-large (UDM-2), large (IGDM, Serpey, UDM, UDM-M) and small (IGDM-500.UDM-500). According to the stabilization system in the air, they were divided into parachute (with PSS) - IGDM, IGDM-500, Serpey, UDM-500 and parachuteless (with ZhST) - UDM, UDM-M, UDM-M.

Parachute mines, for example IGDM-500 and Serpey, were equipped with a two-stage PSS. consisting of two parachutes - stabilizing and braking. The first parachute was extended when the mine was separated from the aircraft and ensured stabilization of the mine on its descent trajectory to a certain height (for IGDM 500... 750 m, for the Serpey mine - 1500 m), after which the second parachute took effect, extinguishing the rate of descent of the mine in order to avoid damage to its NV equipment at the time of splashdown. When entering the water, both parachutes came off, the mine hit the ground, and the parachutes sank.

The mines came into combat position after testing the safety devices installed on them. In particular, the IGDM mine was equipped with an aircraft mine destruction device (PUAM), which exploded it when it fell on land or on the ground at a depth of less than 4 - 6 m. In addition, it had urgency and frequency devices, as well as a long-term liquidator clock mechanism . The Serpey mines were equipped with an additional induction channel, which ensured their detonation under the ship, as well as an anti-sweeping device and a protective channel to protect the mine from being swept away under the combined influence of various non-contact trawls, single and multiple explosions of depth charges and demolition charges,

When considering the design and prospects for the development of modern bottom mines, special attention should be paid to the creation of so-called self-propelled (self-transporting) mines.

The idea of ​​​​creating self-propelled mines was born in the 70s. According to development specialists, the presence of such weapons in the fleet's arsenal makes it possible to create a mine threat for the enemy even in those areas that are distinguished by strong anti-submarine defense. The first domestic mine of this type MDS (sea bottom self-propelled) was created on the basis of one in serial torpedoes. Structurally, the mine included a combat charging compartment (BZO), an instrument compartment and a carrier (the torpedo itself). The mine was non-contact: the dangerous zone of the fuse was determined by its sensitivity to the effects of the FPC and was about 50 m. The explosive was placed in the BZO, functional and safety devices were in the instrument compartment along with power sources, as well as non-contact fuse equipment. The mine was detonated after the targets (NK or submarine) approached the distance, upon reaching which the intensity of the FPCs they created was sufficient to activate the non-contact MDS equipment. Created on the basis of such a mine, a self-propelled sea bottom mine (SMDM) is a combination of a bottom mine with a long-range oxygen homing torpedo 53-65K. The 53-65K torpedo has the following performance characteristics: caliber 533 m, hull length 8000 mm, total mass 2070 kg, explosive mass 300 kg, speed up to 45 knots. cruising range up to 19,000 m.

The SMDM mine functions as a regular bottom mine after it, having been fired from a submarine’s torpedo tube, follows a given programmed trajectory and lands on the ground. The programmed trajectory of movement is carried out using standard devices of the torpedo's autonomous motion control system. In accordance with this option, a smaller BZO module for accommodating explosives and a compartment for a three-channel NV (acoustic-induction-hydrodynamic) with functional devices and power supplies are attached to the carrier torpedo power plant module.

Experts consider an important advantage of the MDS-SMDM “family” of mines to be the ability to lay active minefields with submarines that are beyond the reach of enemy anti-submarine weapons, thereby achieving the secrecy of minelaying.

In the United States, the development of such mines also began in the 70s and 80s. Several experimental batches of such weapons were manufactured and tested. But the difficulties that arose in ensuring remote control and reliable operation of the NV, as well as the excessively high cost, caused the development of the mine to be suspended twice. Only in 1982, after receiving positive results in the creation of new explosives, was it decided to produce such a mine, which was called MK 67.

In the early 90s. In the United States, on an initiative basis, an original project was developed for the Hunter sea self-burrowing mine, the warhead of which is a homing torpedo. This mine has the following features:

It is distinguished by its high anti-mine resistance, since after being dropped from a ship or aircraft, it sinks to the bottom, buries itself in the ground at a given depth and can remain in this position for more than two years, observing targets in passive mode;

It has information-logical, so-called “intelligent” capabilities due to the fact that the control system installed on the mine includes a computer that provides analysis, classification, recognition of the identity and type of target, collection and delivery of information about targets passing through the area we will set, receiving requests from control points, issuing responses and executing commands to launch a torpedo:

Can search for a target thanks to the use of a homing torpedo as an f>4.

To be buried in the ground, the mine is equipped with a battery-powered lionfish with a bandage, which erodes the soil and pumps the pulp up the worm's "ring channel" into the body of the mine, made of non-magnetic materials, which virtually eliminates the possibility of its detection.

The warhead (length 3.6 m, diameter 53 cm) is a light torpedo of the MK-46 type, or “Stingray”. The mine is equipped with anti-trawling means, active and passive sensors, and communications equipment. After installation and penetration into the ground, a probe with surveillance sensors and a communication antenna extends out of it. The mine is brought into firing position upon command from the shore. To transmit data to it via a radio-hydroacoustic channel, a four-signature coding system has been developed, ensuring a high degree of information reliability. The range of action of the mine is about 1000 m. After detecting the chain and issuing a command to destroy it, the torpedo is fired from the container and aimed at the target using its own SSN.