MARINE SCIENCE 93 
that all except one of our coastal moored minefields were rendered 
inoperative within a few months. Fortunately the enemy was not 
aware of this. 
Senator Scorr. May I comment on that. Our plans for the in- 
vasion of the Japanese mainland involved landing in three separate 
landings: in the lower part of Kyushu, at Kogoshima in the center, 
and. on the outside of each side of the peninsulas, with the 3d, 5th, and 
7th Amphibious Forces. You say more coastal minefields might have 
remained inoperative. Such a situation could well have caused con- 
siderable casualties, could it not, in the course of those operations # 
Dr. Fisu. Yes, sir. We put confidence in it. Luckily the enemy 
didn’t know it, and as far as we know none of them attempted to 
cross them. But the field at Hatteras and Key West, we did get 
ships, they were our own. But the field at Trinidad did stay alive 
longer, the reason being that the fresh water from the Orinoco pre- 
vented fouling growth on it, and the mines held position. The same 
thing. has happened elsewhere. The fields off Casablanca were all 
laid down on to the bottom by fouling growth on the cables and on 
the mines. It is most important to know where and when fouling 
will take place so that you can predict the useful life of such weapons 
as mines. © ) 
Senator Scorr. I recall as an intelligence officer how little informa- 
tion we had on minefields, even on the character and types of mines, 
on the underwater areas where they were used, the nature of the 
whole mine operation, which was very largely speculative. We knew 
where virtually every Japanese warship was, but we had far less in- 
formation on the mining situation. 
Dr. Fisu. This information from coastal waters has very direct 
application, and I feel that it is something that the university marine 
laboratories can develop very well. I could talk for the rest of the 
day on the sayings that the brief information that we had made pos- 
sible in the Navy, such things as the Y Star mines—that is a German 
magnetic mine—which started appearing around Trinidad and down 
to Paramaribo, and immediately made ready to send ocean sweepers 
down. That is an awfully large area of ocean. From the fouling 
growth it was possible to determine that they had come from the west 
coast of Africa, and had come across in the south equatorial stream. 
Thereafter they were taken. Butif we had gone out, trying aimlessly 
to ue those fields, a great deal of money and time would have been 
wasted. | 
It is this sort of thing that the laboratories, able to do basic research 
and located along the coast, can render service in, a very important 
service I feel, in the military, as well as their basic studies. 
The CuHatrman. Doctor, let’s take Rhode Island, a small State geo- 
eraphically.. This is not a problem actually of the State of Rhode 
Island. This is almost the whole eastern seaboard problem when 
you talk of these things. 
Dr. Fisu. Yes. I am not attempting to speak for my own labor- 
atory. 
The CuarrmMan. I know. I just pomt that out. 
Dr. Fisu. I plead the case of the small university laboratories. 
The Cuatrman. Wherever they are. 
