Minelayers (CM / ACM)

The offensive side of mine warfare. Minelayers planted the fields that closed enemy harbors, blocked shipping lanes, and made entire ocean areas impassable. From Civil War ironclad conversions through purpose-built WWII minelayers, the CM fleet carried the weapons that shaped naval strategy for over a century. The North Sea Mine Barrage of 1918 - 70,000 mines across 230 miles - was the largest minefield in history, and American minelayers planted most of it. Mine countermeasures command ships coordinated the broader mine warfare campaign across entire theaters.