Ceaseless Duty of Minesweepers
From A Naval
Correspondent
The First Lord of the Admiralty has paid a generous tribute to the work and steadfastness of the men who labour day in and day out, in fair weather and foul, to keep the sea channels to our ports and round the British Isles clear of mines. They are indeed worthy of all the thanks and appreciation that their countrymen can give them.
Their task is unceasing, for the enemy is making, if any- thing, an even greater use of mines in this war than he did in the last; and it is more oner- ous and dangerous than ever, for they have to deal not only with the moored mine, about which we learned a great deal in the last War, but also now the magnetic mine. In addition to those they now have the added annoyance of having to be per- petually on the look-out for attack from the air.
The minesweeper's view of this matter of air attack varies. It is so much of their ordinary experience nowadays that they do not trouble even to report the fact that they have engaged air- craft during their turn of duty, but the fact of having to main- tain constant vigilance upwards as well as downwards adds sub- stantially, of course, to the strain of their already arduous duty. But they are not the men to boggle at an extra strain; rather the reverse, in fact, for some of them whose duty it is to man the guns while their mates attend to sweeping have been heard to complain, on re- turn to harbour, that they had nothing to shoot at that day!
The sweepers are, in practice, divided into two forces, one of which, composed chiefly of traw-
Saturday,
HONGKONG TELEGRAPH
U. S. DESTROYERS FOR ROYAL NAVY
THE SPIRIT OF FRIENDSHIP AND GOOD-WILL that has characterised the relations ba- tween the British Empire and the United States hero is 'dramatically typified by the American sailor, one of many who took some over-age destroyers to castern Canadian ports, and the Royal Naval rating who went over to help man the ships during their voyage to the United Kingdom, They are shown above on the stern of a U.S. destroyer.
131
A GROUP OF AMERICAN DESTROYERS, part of the fifty turned over to Great Britain by
the United States in exchange for naval basos, arrivo in a Canadian port just before they are
handed over to the Royal Navy.
lors and drifters using the par- ticular form of Kweep best adapted to them, is chiefly a searching force, while the other, of minesweepers proper, is the clearing force. The enemy has
channel-the searchers will ing aircraft for the purpose, to called on successively, to clear laid mines by submarine, by air themselves take on the job of lay mines all round our coasts; Dutch, Belgian, and French craft, and, in the long winter
and, indeed, German official ports as they came within the nights, it may have been by sur. getting it through in safety.
it is related of one searching announcements have not infre- reach of the German minelaying face minelayers as well; but
Moreover, 09 small, probably the submarine, as in unit of three ships that, just as quently of late boasted that planes.
a convoy reached the channel every port in the British Isles light-draft vessels which were the last War, is the chief agency for which they were responsible, was closed to traffic thereby, on the spot, they took their full Theoretically, the channels they located mines which de- In fact, so indefatigable and share. In the evacuation of are searched by the trawlers, stroyed the sweep of one of prompt have been the mine. troops and refugees from those which, as they find mines, call up them, while that of a second sweepers that no British port of same countries. the clearing force to do their was lost when they started to any size has been closed for as part.
Safe Passage
Their losses have, on the clear their channel. Neverthe- much as 24 hours. It would not. less, the single trawler remain be justifiable to under-estimate whole, not been heavy compared ing led that convoy through the damage, delay, and Incon- with those of the Inst War. A minefield by putting all 60 or so venience to our shipping caused study of losses announced from But in practice it is a tradi- ships of which it was composed by this intensive mining cam- time to time shows that 39 in tion of the minesweepers that in single line ahead and sweep paign by the enemy; but the all have been sunk, many of shipping shall not be held up; ing ahead of the leading ship men of the minesweepers are them in evacuations or other and if there is a convoy await- herself.
undismayed by its intensifica- operations unconnected with ing passage when the trawlers
tion, and merely redouble their their real duty of sweeping up find a minefield, and the mine- The collapse of France and untiring efforts.
mines. That figure is a measure not immediately the occupation by the enemy of
of the skill of the men practis available-being perhaps equal the French const has made it Besides our own waters, Bri- ing perhaps the most dangerous ly urgently employed in another possible for the enemy, by us- tish minesweepers have been of all trades.
clearers are
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