X-Nico

unusual facts about minelayer



Battle of Gdynia

The Polish Navy would support the coastal defence with 1 destroyer (ORP Wicher; 3 other destroyers had been evacuated from the Baltic Sea during Plan Peking), 1 heavy minelayer (ORP Gryf) and several submarines and smaller surface ships.

Beachport, South Australia

On 12 July 1941, a local fisherman discovered and towed to Beachport a German sea mine either laid by the raider Pinguin or the minelayer Passat.

Commercial Iron Works

Commercial Iron Works established a shipyard on the Ross Island site in the early 1940s, which turned out close to 200 small warships during the war, including net layers, minelayers, submarine chasers, and LCI and LCS landing craft.

HDMS Lougen

The third Lougen was a minelayer launched in 1941 that her crew scuttled in Copenhagen harbour on 29 August 1943 before German forces could claim her.

HMAS Durraween

Together with HMAS Orara, they sweeped for mines off Wilsons Promontory in November 1940 and removed forty-three mines from Bass Strait, which had been laid by the German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin and auxiliary minelayer Passat.

HMS Thetis

She was used as a minelayer from 1907 and was sunk in 1918 as a blockship at Zeebrugge.

HNLMS Van Meerlant

HNLMS Van Meerlant (ML 36) was a minelayer of the Royal Netherlands Navy built in the Gusto shipyard at Schiedam as part of the Douwe Aukes class.

Japanese cruiser Tsugaru

The cruiser Tsugaru should not be confused with the Pacific War era minelayer of the same name.

Landing Craft Utility

Despite the dissolution of marine infantry units, the Polish Navy retains the Lublin-class minelayer-landing ships, as well as the ORP Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki logistical support ship acquired in 2000.

Nikol A-2

Nikol started design of a small amphibious flying boat A-2 in 1929, when the Polish Navy showed interest in a small seaplane to use on major ships, starting with the ORP Gryf large minelayer.

Robert Kee

His Hampden was shot down by flak one night while on a mine-laying operation off the coast of German-occupied Holland.

S and T-class destroyer

The Hazemeyer design had been brought to Britain by the Dutch minelayer Willem van der Zaan that escaped German occupation in May 1940.


see also