The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1919-01-27
BLAZED 230-MILE TRAIL
OF MINES IN NORTH SEA
American Mining Squadron Took Part in
Great Task of Throttling German
Submarines in Latter Part
of the War.

Washington, d. c., Jan. 27.--The
American mining squadron, which, in
conjunction with the British navy. blazed
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
submarines was contributed.
Captain Reginald K. Belknap, comman-
der of this fleet of 10 ships-two light
cruisers and eight converted merchant
craft-graphically described in state
ment to-day the work of laying the TO-
100 mines which made up the so-called
North sea bauage and announced that
at least II enemy submersibles we're
known to have come to grief m attempt
ing 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 25 miles in width and
nowhere was it less than Is miles across,
an hours run for a submarine. Ii safe
course were sought underneath, several
lines of mines would be found there
equally deep, and if the submarines 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 bar
rage 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 dam
aged or disappearing in that area. From
the nature of the case it may never be
known definitely how many actually did
come to grief there, but the best infor-
nation gives a probable 10 before the
middle of October, with final total of II
or more, In addition to this toll the
squadron should be credited with two
submarines lost in the. fields of British
mines laid by the Baltimore off the Irish
coast"
The American squadron arrived at In
verness last May 26 ready to begin OPP
crations and Il days later started on its
first mine-planting excursion On these
trips, which lasted from 40 to so hours,
the squadron was part of the British
grand feet, and for protection against
submarines and raiding cruisers, it was
accompanied by British destroyers and
battleshps or battle cruisers.
"0n the second mining excursion" said
Captain Belknap, "the sixth battle squad
ron was the support, consisting of four
American battleships, commanded by
Rear Admiral Hugh Rodman of the Unit
ed States navy, in the flagship New York.
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 southeast
ward. 1t will be readily understood that
the way had to be made smooth for the
mine planters. A single we'll placed tor
pedo or mine, or few enemy shells
would certainly finish one vessel, and
probably destroy all ten Of them. Each
mine planter carried from "a to 100 tons
Of high explosive a total of nearly 800
TONS in the squadron, many times more
than the amount that devastated Hal
flax.
"The operation as whole was done in
conjunction with a British mine laying
squadron of four vessels, which worked
from a base at Grangemouth, Edinburgh
under command of Rear Admiral Gin
ton-Baker of the royal navy. The Amer
lean and British mine squadrons often
went ont at the same time, under the
protection of the same heavy squadron
but except on two occasions they always
worked separately, in different parts OF
the barrage area.
Altogether the American squadron
made Is excursions, the British squad
ron II aud the barrage was finished at
the end of October. On the first excur-
sion the squadron planted mine field AZ
miles long, containing 3,400 mines, in
three hours and SO minutes Everything
went without hitch. The new mine in.
stallations worked perfectly. On this
first operation one ship emptied herself
of 675 mines without single break. one
mine every llIa seconds, through more
than two hours, the longest series ever
planted anywhere. The squadron was
always ready to make excursions as fast
as the mines could be furnished and new
er failed in any operation.
Not only that, the casualties were
very low. One man fell overheard at sea