The Jacobi mine was an early naval mine designed in 1853 by German born, Russian engineer

Moritz von Jacobi Moritz Hermann von Jacobi (; 21 September 1801 – 10 March 1874), also known as Boris Semyonovich Yakobi (), was a German-Russian electrical engineer and physicist. Motors Jacobi began to study magnetic motors in 1834. In 1835 moved to Dorpat ...

. It was employed by Russia, in the Baltic Campaign of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

Mine

The German-born Russian engineer

designed the Jacobi

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

in 1853. An anchor tied the mine to the seabed; a cable connected it to a

galvanic cell A galvanic cell or voltaic cell, named after the scientists Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta, respectively, is an electrochemical cell in which an electric current is generated from spontaneous oxidation–reduction reactions. An example of a ...

which powered it from the shore, the power of its explosive charge equated to of

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. In the summer of 1853 the Committee for Mines of the

Ministry of War of the Russian Empire Ministry of War of the Russian Empire (, ''Military Ministry'') was an administrative body in the Russian Empire from 1802 to 1917. It was established in 1802 as the ''Ministry of ground armed forces'' () taking over responsibilities from the C ...

approved the production of the Jacobi mine. What became the

formally started between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the Ottoman Empire in October 1853. France and Great Britain declared war on Russia in March 1854. In 1854 the Russians laid 60 Jacobi mines in the vicinity of the Forts Pavel and

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

(

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

), in order to deter the British Baltic Fleet and its allied French fleet from attacking them. (The Royal Navy arrived in the Baltic in April 1854; the French force in June 1854.) The Jacobi mines gradually phased out their direct competitors, the Nobel mines, on the insistence of admiral

Fyodor Litke Fyodor, Fedor () or Feodor is the Russian-language form of the originally Greek-language name "Theodore" () meaning "God's gift" or "god-given". Fedora () is the feminine form. "Fyodor" and "Fedor" are two English transliterations of the same Ru ...

. The Russians bought their Nobel mines from the Russia-based Swedish industrialist

Immanuel Nobel Immanuel Nobel the Younger ( , ; 24 March 1801 – 3 September 1872) was a Swedish people, Swedish engineer, architect, inventor and industrialist. He was the inventor of the Lathe (tool), rotary lathe used in plywood manufacturing. He was a mem ...

, who had entered into

collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

with Russian Minister of the Navy, Prince

Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov (; 26 August 17872 May 1869) was a Russian nobleman, military commander and statesman. He was made adjutant general in 1817 and admiral in 1833. A great-grandson of Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, Duke ...

. Despite their high cost (100

Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...

s), the Nobel mines proved fault-prone, exploding during the laying process, failing to explode, or detaching from their wires and drifting uncontrollably; the British subsequently disarmed at least 70 of them. In 1855 Russia laid 301 more Jacobi mines around Kronstadt and

Lisy Nos Lisy Nos (; literally, " fox's nose"; ) is a municipal settlement in Primorsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the cape of the same name in the northern part of the Kronstadt Bay. Population: The sett ...

; British ships did not dare to approach them.

Notes

;Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobi mine Naval weapons of Russia Crimean War Naval mines