Naval Mine

A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in the water to damage or sink an enemy ship or submarine on contact or on detection, deployed by dedicated minelayers, aircraft or submarines and left in wait rather than aimed and fired at a specific target. Early tethered contact mines saw significant use in the American Civil War and were deployed extensively by all major combatants in both World Wars, while the twentieth century added influence mines triggered by a passing ship's magnetic field, acoustic signature or change in water pressure, each requiring a different, more difficult method of minesweeping to clear. Naval mines offer a comparatively cheap way to deny an enemy the use of a harbor, strait or shipping lane, and their continuing threat, demonstrated as recently as damage to American warships in the 1991 Gulf War and mining incidents in the Red Sea and Black Sea in more recent conflicts, keeps mine warfare and minesweeping a standing requirement for modern navies.