Automatic Dropping Mines for Ocean Use.
“The question of the use of these mines as an adjunct to a Battle Fleet in a Fleet action has not been put forward so strongly as desirable as compared with their use for preventing ingress or egress to a port. They can be used with facility in the open sea in depths up to 150 fathoms. There is no question that they could be employed with immense effect to protect the rear of a retreating Fleet. This type of mine is quite different to the blockade mine. They are offensive mines. Is it wise, indeed is it prudent not to acquaint ourselves, by exhaustive trials, what the possibility of such a weapon may be, and how it may be counteracted?”