How sea mines were used during world war 1?

Answer 1

There were: Dreadnoughts (battle ships), Light Cruisers, U-Boats (German submarines), hydrophone (an underwater microphone to listen to electrical currents being made by u-boats : used by British, Asdek (first type of radar tracking), depth charger (deep explosives planted under water to blow up u-boats), mines and mine fields. Some planes were fitted with asdek and most boats had torpedoes, especially the u-boats.

Answer 2

WWI sea mines were contact mines. They were enormous spheres made of metal, with horns poking out all over. A ship bumping into one of these horns caused the mine to detonate and blow a hole in the ship. Though containing hundreds of pounds of explosive, there was enough air space inside the mine that they would float. Mines had to be secured to a cable, which was anchored on the sea floor. Thus, mines could not be used in very deep water. Mines which came loose from their cables and floated away, bobbing on the surface, could sink ships of either side. When mines were laid careful note was made of their positions, so friendly ships could know where they were and avoid them. The Germans mined the approaches to Britain and coastal waters, seeking to sink the merchant ships Britain depended on for survival. These mines were almost always laid from submarines. In an effort to sink the German submarines prowling her coastal waters Britain laid an extensive minefield in the Straits of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel, between Britain and mainland Europe. A map was required for friendly ships to navigate through these safely, as passages were left through the minefield. The British also laid the North Sea Mine Barrage in an effort to stop the German submarines from escaping from their bases on the Baltic Sea in northern Germany into the North Sea. This was huge "barrage", or minefield, of nearly 200,000 mines. After the war was over it took five months to clear this minefield, with ships working around the clock. Though they are old, these are still effective anti-ship weapons. In recent years German Model 1908 sea mines were intercepted on a ship bound for North Korea, sold to the North Koreans by the Iranian government. Field Marshall Kitchener was probably killed by a mine. He was the highest ranking British officer in 1915, and embarked on a Royal Navy cruiser to go for an official visit to Russia. The ship, nor anyone on board, was never seen again.