MINES.

Taihape Daily Times, 17 November 1917, Page 2

MINES.

J GERMAN-MADE OFF GABO. i A SWEEPING CREWS' EXPERIENCE S j LAID BY WHAT STEAMER? t SYDNEY, November 2. & j It has now been ascertained that the £ mind-sweepers pff Gabo dragged; »to jl the surface of the sea mines, all of the 2 most modern type, and terrifically *i powerful. They bore markings indi- * | eating that they had been manufacjj tured in Germany. , jj i Each mine, which was of monster p 4 size, and five prongs of horns, a blow 4 on which would drive a steel rod on j| to the detonator, exploding the mine. •j There was a prong at each of the four r corners at the top of the mine, and '? one in the centre of the top, From j, whatever direction a vessel struck the f mine one of the prongs would be forced i inward to achieve its deadly purpose. { j The mines were laid in a row across ? the ordinary tracks of vessels passing 1 down that portion of the coast. They i had been set in place by experts. | The men engaged in sweeping opera- ! tions had exciting experiences. They j had no experience of the work, which i makes their gallantry all the more reI markable. In fact they were so in--1 experienced that when the first mine i came to the surface they had nothing i with which to dispose of it. There j is only one safe way to deal with ■ mines, and that is to explode them at- ' a distance And the only way to exi plode the type of mine that was found safely is to hit one of the prongs with a rifle bullet. That takes marksmanship' at a range of a couple of hundred yards.' There was the mine, black, ugly, and mis, shapen. But, no rifle was available. And if the mine got away it would be a greater danger drifting than held in a mine-field. A boat was sent ashore, and a rifle obtained. Fortunately among the men on the mine-sweepers was a good marskman. The first mine was exploded at a distance estimated to have been only a lfttle over 60 yards, The smack of the bullets against the steel sides of the mine could be heard plainly. They could not galvanise it into fury. Again the crack of the rifle sounded. A great burst of crimson flame shot above where the mine had been, a widening column of smoke mushroomed overhead. Then a, thunderclap of noise almost paralysed the senses of the watchers, a blast that threw them about the decks was followed by quivering of the racking hull of the mine-sweeper. Bits of chain and jagged lumps of broken mine fell lon the deck. The captain was blown right across the bridge and nearly into the ~sea, The binnacle lamps and the binnacle were broken. A man who had been vewing the operations through a porthole was driven across his cabin into the opposite wall with a resounding bump. For "several minutes, after the ex- , plosion the sea was hidden in a rolling fog of black smoke, and a thick black dust fell on the deeks< On another occasion the mine-field ing was going on, when it seemed as if an area of sea stern had been lifted to the heavens. A gigantic column of water was thrown high up, and for acres around the sea bubbled like a cauldron. It is believed that mines collided . 'All the mines were laid in the 70fathom line, and the men engaged in sweeping are firmly of opinion that they must have been put there from . some ship during a journey between Melbourne and Sydney.