Norwich bulletin., 1915-03-24
Stories of the War
Service on. Mine Sweeper.

A young American who recently
 signed for adventurous service as a
 member of the crew of a mine sweep
 CT, sends the following account of one
 of his trips out into the North Sea:
 Order: You will proceed at once
 to and will sweep the area
 marked on the accompanying chart" 1"
 This was the order which sent us
 hammering into the head seas of a
 lively wind on a bitterly cold Sunday
 morning at four o'clock. Probably
 few of us on the staggering trawler
 at that hour paused to reflect that the duty of sweeping the sea has been imposed upon by a discovery" made in the far East, when Japan and Rus
 sia entered upon costly tests of mod
 ern naval fighting equipment to the benefit of keenly interested spec ta- IItors. That the discovery was the of fensive value of the submarine mine.
 Japan led the way in the matter, but
 Russia, once awakened, followed with
 such efficiency that at the final bal
 ance it was found that Japan had lost ten warships through mines and Russia fourteen. The mines had done practically as much harm to the re-
 spect1ve navies as the ship had been able to infiict upon each other. Therefore it was that we were plunged into snowstorm to collect if possible, any free mines which the gale might have swept into the track of shipping. It takes a tight vessel to survive the welter and smother which
 rise so quickly in these waters. In
 the winter months. especially, the work goes on amid conditions of great | severity, and our ships frequently
 keep the sea as mine sweepers when
 as trawlers they would flee to the Shifr harhn~C
 Our ship is one of the best of her staunch type, and she reeled along wonderfully on that Sunday morning.
 Somewhere in the darkness to star
 board there showed through the whirling snow the lights of another vessel running on the same course
 as ourselves, and at the same speed. The dawn came up and showed her to be kin to us, and the signals at once
 made clear that in her we beheld our sweeping partner. There arises a curi- ous respect for her. She must kEow quite well that at any moment her plunging bows may meet a mine and | then there would be a vacancy at her ! end of the drag tackle and vacancies ! in little cottages in the isles.
 Our partner was an old friend and knew the work. Arrived at the ap- l pointed area, the little vessels ran close in and the gear was linked up. | It was hard work, even for trawlers. That marked the beginning of the day. The little vessels separated, l found their distance to a nicety 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 under way. Hour after hour, through suc- cession of rain, hail and snow, careful | drag was kept. If there were frozen feet in the trenches that day, there also frnzan hands ha Fifteen hours of drenching and | buffeting were our portion that day. | The vessel, with the pull of the tackle | and the drive of her engines keeping her down like a half-tide rock, was never clear of the sweeping seas. | over her bows and swirled along the | deck, never ceasing their constant as- i Sault.
 When the snow passed, there was | glimpse of sun. Then the wind 1 backed against the sun, and came
 down on us in wild gusts, icy cold
 As the afternoon wore on the cold I increased, and just before nightfall
 came strange lull which let in a l biting frost.
 ''The hardy fellows on board were 1 stiff and numb before the day Was
 done, and when the gear was slipped | and shipped nobody was sorry.
 'The disposal of the mines recover | ed depends upon their character and I the circumstances of their recovery l Frequently our gunners explode them l by firing into them from the deck l "The mine sweepers have won re- cognition for their service in the war l Working with them at their toilscme
 and dangerous task, one is impressed
 with the precision and care with
 which they fulfill their appointed 1 duty"