The Royal Netherlands Navy Mine Service (

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: Mijnendienst) is a department within the Royal Netherlands Navy that is responsible for keeping Dutch coastal

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

s and approaches to major

seaport A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

areas mine-free. It was established out of the Royal Netherlands Navy Torpedo Service in 1907.Woudstra (1982), p. 138.

History

The Royal Netherlands Navy Mine Service was established in 1907 when the first Dutch

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...

, Type 1907, was taken into service. The decision to introduce the naval mine was made a year earlier in 1906 and was likely influenced by the important role that mines had played during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

in 1904.Woudstra (1982), p. 140. The first

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing contro ...

s and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

s that were used by the mine service consisted of ships that had been modified to be able to lay or sweep mines.Roetering (1997), p. 14.

World War I

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

the minelayers of the mine service laid several defensive minefields to defend the

neutrality Neutral or neutrality may refer to: Mathematics and natural science Biology * Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity Chemistry and physics * Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction ...

of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The idea behind the minefields was that it would make it harder for foreign

naval ship A naval ship is a military ship (or sometimes boat, depending on classification) used by a navy. Naval ships are differentiated from civilian ships by construction and purpose. Generally, naval ships are damage resilient and armed with ...

s to enter Dutch

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potenti ...

.Raven (1988), p. 84. Besides laying minefields the ships and personnel of the mine service were also involved in disabling drifting and stranded mines. The important role of the mine service during this period led to a increase of new material.Quant (1919), p. 18. As a result the mine service had at the end of the First World War 17 minelayers in service.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * *{{cite book , editor-last=Roetering , editor-first=B. , date=1997 , title=Mijnendienst 1907-1997 90 jaar: feiten, verhalen en anekdotes uit het negentigjarig bestaan van de Mijnendienst van de Koninklijke Marine , language=Dutch, edition= , url= , location= , publisher=, page= , isbn=90-90-10528-X Royal Netherlands Navy Military units and formations established in 1907 1907 establishments in the Netherlands