South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-04-02
RELATES RIGOfS
Of MINE SWEEPING
IN STORMY TIMES
TrawIerS and Other Small Yes
sells Drag HarbOrS in Search
of Mines and Other Hidden
Dangers.

LONDON. April g. Miueswecp-
Ing IN the height OF winter is no child s
job. as the following account by a
British naval officer shows
You will proceed at once 20 --
ana VIII sweep the area marked ---
on the accompanying chart.
In some such wise ran the order
which sent us hammering into the
head seas of a lively channel on
bitterly cold sunday morning at
o'clock. Probably few OF Us on the
staggering trawlcr at that hour re-
flected that the duty of sweeping that
given area had been imposed upon US
by a discovery made i'm the far east.
when Japan ana Russia entered upon
costly tests OF modern naval fighting
equipment 10 the benefit of keenly-
interested spectators. That discovery
was the offensive value OF the subma-
rine mine.
Despite the great lead in results
obtained by Japan in the initial stages
Of the war. IL was found at the final
balance that whilst Russia had lost
II Warships by Japanese mines, her
belated activity i'm the use of mines
and repTived Japan Of 10 warships.
The mines had done almost as much
harm to the respective navies as the
ships had been able TO inflict upon
each other.
Vessels Must BE Tight.
1T takes tight vessel to survive
the welter and smother of the waters
which can rise so quickly IN the VI
cinity Of the banks Our traWler is
one of the best OF ieF staunch type,
and she reeled along wonderfully on
that Sunday morning Somewhere in
the darkness TO starboard there show
cd through the Whirlng snow the
lights of another vessel running ON the
same course as ourselves, and at the
same speed apparently.
THE dawn came up and showed
her TO be kin to US, and the signals
beheld our sweeping partner There
arises a curious respect for him. He
must know quite Well over there that
at any moment the plunging bows
may meet at a time, and there would
be a vacancy at his end of the drag
tackle and vacancies in little sheilinSs
in the isles.
"Our partner on this particular
expedition was an old friend,
and knew his work Arrived at the
appointed area the little vessels ran
close in and the gear was linked up.
II was smart work even for traWlerS.
The trawling skipper is never called
upon to acknowledge letters of thanks
from grateful passengers recovering
from a great and grOundless scare, but
he can handle his ship with the best
of the men who write after their
names the hoard of trade extra" The
Hnking-up OF the gear marked the
opening OF the days work. The little
vessels separated, found their distance
nicely IN the teeth of the wind, and
started off The whole operation was
carried through with scarcely word
uttered. and the long days work was
undar way. Hour after hour, in rain.
hail or snow, smooth sea or storm
sea- careful drag Is kept at the CLEAN
ing.
Conditions Sometimes Severe.
"In the months Of winter the mine
sWeepers have carried on their work
under conditions of great severity.
They must have kept the sea as mine
sweepers when as trawlers, they would
have fed 20 the shelter Of their har-
b, rs. If there have been frozen feet
in the trenches, there have been
frozen fingers on the seas.
IN some cases the bluff bows that
smashed into the seas found the mines
and there were vacancies at the ends
of the drag tackle. We had some IN
dication of the experiences which
trawlers have undergone in theiN
splendid work. Fifteen hours OF
drenching and buffeting were our por-
ton that day. Tie vessel. with the
pull of the tackle and the drive OF
the engines keeping her like a half
tide rock, was never clear OF sweep
ing seas. Thud, slap, crash and swish
of the seas as they came over her
bows and swirled along the deck,
never ceased all day.
when the snow passed there was
n glimpse of sunshine. Then the wine
backed against the SUM- and came
down on us IN wild gusts, icy cold. AS
the afternoon wore the cold increased,
and Just before nightfall a strange lull
occurred which let in a biting frost.
The hardy fellows on board were
stiff and numO before the day was
done and when the gear was slipped
and shipped nobody was sorry when
the dripping little ship turned and
pitched happily hOmeward."