Naval mine
Naval mines were explosive weapons used by the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, when facing the overwhelming naval force of the British Army. Commonly, naval mines were set up in harbor regions to act as a deterrent and impede land invasion by sea, with the most common type during the 1700s being the floating keg mine.
American Revolution
Naval mines originated in the 16th century, but their use in naval combat began in the American Revolutionary War, by David Bushnell, who placed such devices under and near to the hulls of British ships in New York's harbor, by using a small one man, wooden submarine that he had invented.
Description
Underwater explosive devices such as naval mines were designed to sink ships or other seaborne craft, or as a threat to prevent the usage of an area of water. Their firing mechanisms were either traditional pressure points, which detonated the explosive on contact by the approach of a vessel, but some harbor mines, controlled via a pressure plate at its top, could be turned off to allow transit of friendly ships.
Moored mines were tethered to sinkers, and they floated at predetermined depths, generally to cut off particular areas. Traditionally, there have been contact mines floating just below the water, in order to damage surface ships that touched them.
Mines were small, relatively inexpensive, easily laid down, and required little maintenance. Yet, they had the explosive ability to sink or badly damage even large vessels, by blowing open their hull below the waterline. Consequently, smaller naval powers had often used naval mines to impede the larger fleets of major powers.
Gallery
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Naval mines, as seen in the 2012 Gamescom trailer.
Reference
- Gamescom 2012 - Assassin's Creed III Naval trailer.