Imperial Valley press., 1919-02-11
WORK OF u. S.
MINE SQUAD
is DISCLOSED

Washington. Feb. 1.-THE Amer
ican mining squadron, which, IN con-
junction with the British navy, blazed
a 230-mile trail of mines across the
North Sea from the Orkneys to the
coast of Norway has returned home
with the story of how this great
achievement in the campaign to
throttle the German submarine was
contributed.
Captain Reginald r. Balknap. COM
mander of this fleet Of ten shhips-
two light chuisers and eight con-
described in a statement today the
work Of laying the II 600 mines which
made up the so-called North Sea bar
rage and announced that at least
seventeen enemy submersibles were
known to have come to grief in at
tempting to pass through this field.
The American ships laid $3.50 of
the total number of these American
invented and manufactured engines
Of destruction. The field averaged
% miles il width and nowhere was
it less than Is miles across, AM
hours run for submarine. If al
safe course were sought underneath.
several lines of mines would be found
there equally deep, and if the sub
marines went down even deeper,
mines were ready for them there, too
and one touch was enough.
Before the barrier was half way
across" said Captain Belknap, "the
barrage began to yield results.
Early in July. 1918, after the second
excursion of the mine layers and
from time to time reports would
come of submarines damaged or dis
appearing in that area. From the
nature of the case, it may never be
known definitely how many actual
ly did come TO grief there, but the
best information gives a probable
ten before the middle Cf October,
with q final total of seventeen or
more. In addition to this toll, the
scLadron should be credited with two
submarines lost in the fields of Brit
ish mines laid by the Baltimore off
the Irish coast"
The American squadron arrived at
Inverness last Nav 26 ready to be
gin operations and twelve days later
started on its first mine-planting
excursion On these trips, which
lasted from 40 to so hours. the squad
ron was part of the British grand
fleet, and for protection against
submarines and raiding cruisers it
was accompanied by British destroy
ers and battleships or battle cruis-
ers.
"On the second mining excursion"
10
tie squadron was the support, con-
sisting of four American battleships,
commanded by Rear Admiral Hugh
Rodman of the United States navy,
in the flagship New YoA One may
imagine with what feelings we saw
our own ships file out of Scapa Flow,
form line and slowly disappear in
The haze as they swept off to the
understood that the way had to be
made smooth for the mine planters.
A single well placed torpedo or mine,
or few enemy shells. would GER
tainly finish one vessel, and probably
destroy all ten Of them Each mine
planter carried from "a to 120 tons
of high explosive, q total of nearly
800 tons in the SUPPLEMENTARY
times the amount that devastated
Halifax.
"The operation as q whole was
done in conjunction with a British
mine-laving squadron OF four YES
sells, which worked from a base at
Grangemouth, Edinburgh, under
command Of Rear Admiral Clinton
Baker Of the royal navy. The Amer
lean and British mine squadrons oft
en- went out at the same time, un-
der the protection Of the same heavy
squadron, but except on two occa-
sions they always worked separate
ly, in different parts Of the barrage
area.
altogether the American squad
ron made fifteen excursions, the
British squadron eleven and the
barrage was finished by the end Of
October. On the first excursion the
squadron planted q mine field At
miles long, containing 3,400 mines,
in hours and 36 minutes. Every
thing went without a hitch. The new
mine installations worked perfectly.
On this first operation one ship emp
tied herself of G75 mines without q
single break, one mine every 1l12
seconds through more than two hours
the longest series ever planted any
where.
"The squadron was always ready
to make excursions as fast as the
mines could be furnished and never
failed IN any operation.
"Not only that-the casualties
were very few. One man fell over