MINENWERFER 



5428 



MINERALOGICAL 



between Scotland and 

 Norway illustrates what can be 

 achieved. A new type of mine was 

 used, reducing the number required 

 and also cutting down by two-thirds 

 the amount of wire rope necessary 

 for anchoring the mines. In all, 

 56,570 mines were laid, being 80 

 p.c. of the total in those waters. 

 On one occasion 5,520 mines were 

 laid in 3 hours and 50 minutes. 



Mine -laying by surface boats off 

 the coast of an enemy is a risky 

 operation. The Germans were 

 the first to employ submarines 

 specially built for this purpose. 

 They began their operations in 

 1915. The earlier boats were 

 small, very slow in operation, and 

 crowded, but before the close of 

 hostilities in November, 1918, 

 more powerful boats were at work, 

 each carrying a gun. The method 

 of laying mines by submarines was 

 altogether different from that em- 

 ployed in surface vessels. The 

 mines were carried in pairs, one 

 i above the other, each pan- being 

 stowed in a special shoot or air- 

 lock. When the boat reached the 

 scene of operations, by moving a 

 lever she would release one mine, 

 dropping it out from the bottom of 

 the shoot with its sinker and line, 



whereupon the upper mine de- 

 scended into its place, ready for dis- 

 charge in the same way. Water 

 ballast was admitted to adjust the 

 trim of the submarine, which was 

 necessarily altered by the discharge 

 of the mines. A number of British 

 submarines of the " E " and " L " 

 classes were fitted for mine-laying, 

 the mines being loaded into ver- 

 tical shoots passing through the 

 external tanks. See Submarine; 

 consult also Submarines, Mines, 

 and Torpedoes in the War, C. W. 

 Domville-Fife, 1914; The Crisis 

 of the Naval War, Viscount 

 Jellicoe, 1920. 



Minenwerfer OR MINE THROWER. 

 Species of trench howitzer used by 

 the Germans in 1915. It threw a 



200 Ib. shell, about 



3 ft. 9 ins. in length 

 and 10 his. in dia- 

 meter, and large 

 spherical bombs. 

 See Howitzer. 



Mineo (anc. 

 Menaenum). 

 Town of Sicily, hi 

 the prov. of 

 Catania. Situated on a hill, 21 m. 

 by rly. S.W. of Catania, it was 

 founded by the Sicel leader Duce- 

 tius in the middle of the 5th cen- 



tury B.C. Near Lacus Palicorum 

 was the temple of the Palici, 

 revered as the holiest place in 

 Sicily. Pop. 10,000. 



Mineralogical Society. Society 

 established for the study of miner- 

 alogy and kindred subjects. It was 

 founded in 1876, and subsequently 

 united with the Crystallogical 

 Society. Meetings, at which papers 



Minenwerfer. 



Type of German trench howitzer loaded 

 with large bomb 



are read, are held four times a 

 year in the rooms of the Geolo- 

 gical Society, Burlington House, 

 London, W. 



Tht length of this 

 Line determine 



the depth the Mine 



will float under -.Plummet 



the surface 



AShipcnstrikingtheMine^-causes 

 it to revolve until the Contact 

 Lever strikes the siW& causes 

 the explosion 



The weight of th.e 



Plummet strikes 

 bottom, this 

 instantly locks 

 Windlass 



to d Sinker wen pulls 

 the Mine untterto 



Connecting Cable 

 [Weight to keep 

 ' connecting 

 Cable taut 



Inner Case contamm 

 Explosive. The Charge 

 is fired by the pull on 

 the Cable 



Outer Case to help 

 keep Mine well 

 below the surface 

 \ until fired 



Anchoring^ 



Cable 



Mine-laying. Diagram illustrating operation of twin mines, which are exploded by pressure on the cable connecting them. 

 Above, descriptive diagram showing how mines are held under the surface and exploded by a passing ship 



