Norwich bulletin., 1919-04-15
STORIES OF THE WAR
Trapnina the u.RoRat by Mines

''The British Admiralty staff has been quoting as holding that the surrender of the German fleet and the final arm istice were caused largely by the fail
 ure of the submarine warfare, this failure being admitted as soon as the mine barrage was found to be effec- tive"
 This statement is contained in bull
 letin from the National Geographic
 Society describing the hitherto untold
 story of the remarkable work done by
 the American navy in laying mines
 in the North Sea.
 The bulletin is based on cornnuni-
 cations to the society from Capt Reg inald R. Belknap, U. s. N, who was in charge of the mine laying opera tions.
 Savage beasts are trapped most easily near their dens," Capt. Belknap says, in explaining the theory upon which the Navy Department went to work against the enemy U-boats. Any barriers, however. that the AL lied navies could place near the Ger man coast and near the Skaserrack were so close to the German bases that the enemy. could at any time break through at some point by sud denly attacking there with more force 1 than the Allies could maintain over any one section of the whole line. so ] far away from the bases of Great 1 Britain.
 ! The plan was to plant mine field ] across the North Sea, from Scotland ! to Norway, a distance of 230 miles, or ! as far as from Boston to New York. /, l. was a bold schenea some said fool 1 ish, impossible. From the outset the l operation was seen to be Of great mag 1 niEude, with a mass of detail requir- 1 lng constant foresight and careful ad- | justment. Besides the bigness, other i features promised great difficulties such as deep water, danger to the 1 mine layers from their own mine fields | in bad weather or fog, and inexperi-
 ence of the large proportion of new personnel.
 Fortunately our navy had been de veloping a mining force for nearly i three years, As if in anticipation ol this very war operation, we had plant ed a three-Iine mine fieid just below Sandy Hook one fine day in Decem- ber 1916-200 loaded mines. We die not tell the press about it. as it might 1 have caused anxiety, and we tool
 them all up next day.
 Ralph C. Browne, of Salem, Mass.
 had submitted q design for a subma. . rine gun which was adiudged imprac-
 ticable, but one element of the gul
 was seen to have great possibilities if adapted to a mine against subma rines.
 , The new invention had to be pu through severe trials before We coult . feel sure enough: but by the end o } October, 1917, the definite order wa , given to go ahead. Over 800 contract
 OTIS and subconractors were soon en l gagged in the manufacture of the man, 7 parts, small and large. that go int l the makeup of a complete mine 5 Besides being a rush order al 3 through, the task was complicated b.
 the necessity for keeping parts of tn ) mine secret. Some pieces fad to b $ made here and others there and bot kinds sent to a third place to be join
 Ted, and all the parts were finally de t ieVered at Norfolk, Va. for shipmen
 to Scotland where the complete mine r were to Na assembled and adjusted | ready to plant.
 j. "A sub4r;snnc mine of today con ;, sists of a mine case, shaped like a ba ' or egg. about one yard in diameter l and ali anchor in the form of an fro