Minelayer

A minelayer is a naval ship used for deploying sea mines.

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A minelayer can vary condiserably in size, from coastal boats of several hundred tonnes in displacement to destroyer-like ships of several thousand tonnes in displacement. Apart from their loads of sea mines, most would also carry other weapons for self defence. Submarines can also act as minelayers; USS Argonaut (SS-166) was one such minelaying submarine.

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Probably the most famous minelayer in history is the Turkish Navy's Nusrat, active during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War. Nusrat laid the mines that sank HMS Irresistible, HMS Ocean, and the French battleship Bouvet in the Dardanelles on 18 March, 1915.

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In modern times, most navies worldwide no longer possess any minelaying vessels; the United States Navy, for example, nowadays use aircraft to lay sea mines instead. A few navies still have minelayers in commission; these include South Korea, Sweden and Finland, countries with long, shallow coastlines where sea mines are most effective.

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Naval ship: A naval ship is a ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used for military purposes, commonly by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally naval ships are damage resilient and armed with various weapon systems, though armament on...

Sea mine: redirect naval mine...

Displacement: The term displacement can have one of several meanings, depending on context:...