Manual for submarine miningUnited States. War Department
History
Manual for submarine mining
United States. War Department
Submarine mines -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
A mine cap is provided to clamp the Turk’s-head of the mine cable, to
cover and protect the portion of the core exposed outside the case,
and to serve as an attachment for the mooring and the raising ropes.
This cap is held to the mine case by six bolts, and is fitted with two
rings, one for attachment of the mooring rope of the circuit-closer
buoy and the other for attachment of the raising rope.
=The compound plug, ground mine.=—This is similar to the compound plug
for buoyant mines. The circuit closer is placed in a buoy above the
mine.
[Illustration: FIG. 10a.—AUTOMATIC ANCHOR.]
=The mushroom anchor.=—The 1,000-pound anchor is in shape a right
cylinder about 10 inches in height and 26 inches in diameter, slightly
dished on the bottom to increase the holding power in mud. For a rock
bottom six projecting toes increase the holding power; corresponding
depressions on the top permit piling when in store. The heavy anchors,
2,000 and 3,000 pounds, are of the same form. The cylindrical form is
adopted to facilitate handling, since in that shape the anchor may be
rolled readily on its edge.
The absolute stress of the mine and its moorings upon a mushroom anchor
of this kind is easily computed, being the square root of the sum
of the squares of the buoyant effort and of the horizontal pressure
exerted by the current. The latter, in pounds per square foot of
exposed cross section, may be estimated at one-half the square of the
velocity of the current in feet per second. A coefficient of safety
should cover the jerking effect of the waves and the shocks of friendly
vessels. It will, of course, vary with the locality and with the
absolute weight of the anchor, but in general a value from 3 to 5 is
considered sufficient.
The holding power of such an anchor varies greatly with the nature of
the bottom. If this be hard, the dead weight alone must be depended
upon; if soft, at least double power may be anticipated. In swift water
the buoyant mine can be better held in position by two anchors chained
together.
=The shackles.=—The wire mooring rope is attached to the anchor and to
the case by shackles, of which there are two sizes. The anchor shackle
consists of a wrought iron strap with two eyes bent into the usual
curved form and offering a thickness of 1½ inches at the bottom, where
the wear and sand cutting is greatest, and of a 1½-inch wrought iron
bolt fitted flush with the outside of the straps. The bolt is held in
position by a split key, which, after insertion through a small hole in
the bolt and one of the eyes (in the old model), is opened so that it
can not work loose.
The mine shackle is lighter, being 1 inch thick at the bottom, with
a 1-inch bolt; otherwise it is identical in pattern with the anchor
shackle.
=Sister hooks.=—They are used to connect the bail of the mushroom
anchor to the anchor shackle. They are of drop-forged steel of high
tensile strength and weigh about 7 pounds per pair.
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