1,400lb Marine Mine Destroyed off Clacton Coast
A 1,400lb marine mine was destroyed by a Royal Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team off the Clacton-on-Sea coast. The mine had become entangled in a fishing net.
The local royal national lifeboat institution guided the EOD team to the location of the mine and they undertook a controlled explosion, the reverberations of which were felt by a fair few local residents onshore!
During WWI, approximately 128,000No. mines were laid in the sea around the coast of the UK. At the beginning of WWII, the Admiralty ordered the laying of further extensive minefields around the coast of England. This included both defensive mines on beaches in order to prevent enemy landings, as well as approximately 100,000No. marine mines laid at sea to destroy enemy ships.
Known marine minefields were cleared at the end of WWII using the original layout plans, although less than 30% of the total number of sea mines were cleared, as many were moved from their original positions by tidal currents.
