It is not widely remembered that mines were by far the most effective
weapon deployed against the Royal Navy in the First World War. They cost us five
battleships, three cruisers, 22 destroyers, four submarines and a host of other
vessels. They were in the main combated by a civilian force using fishing boats
and paddle steamers recruited from holiday resorts. This unlikely armada saved
the day for Britain and her allies. After 1916
submarine attacks on merchant ships became an even more serious threat to Allied
communications but submarines were far less damaging to British warships than
mines.
This book contains the following: Mines in WWI * Main cause of
ship losses * The Königin Louise; Loss of Amphion * The Berlin * Loss of
Audacity * Losses in the Dardanelles * The Meteor * German mines and how they
worked * Minefields - British and German * Fast minelayers * Submarine
minelayers * Formation of RNMR * Personnel and discipline * Sweeping technique
and gear * Trawlers and drifters * Paddlers * Fleet minesweepers * Sloops *
Actions * East Coast and the Scarborough Raid *Dardanelles * Dover Straight
*Mine Clearance * Some Typical Incidents * Mine strikes and Mine sweeping *
Statistics * Mines swept * Ships lost * Minesweepers
lost
