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Weapons of war: Paravanes were developed to destroy mines
The IMechE has joined forces with the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology to produce an online exhibition exploring the contribution that engineers made to the First World War. In preparing for this we have uncovered some fascinating stories of our members at war.
The war brought with it an impulse for invention and a technological battle developed. Two inventions are beautifully illustrated: paravanes, and a new type of machine gun mount.
Mines were used extensively to defend coastlines, shipping, ports and naval bases. The Germans laid mines in shipping lanes to sink merchant and naval vessels serving the Allies. This meant the destruction of vital supplies as well as the lives of seamen. Psychologically they were powerful – even if not present, they raised the fear that they may be.
Technically, mining was limited by treaty to areas within three miles of an enemy’s coastline, so as not to endanger neutral ships. However, both sides quickly came to ignore this agreement, and the North Sea became a place of immense danger. The Royal Navy and the US Navy laid a huge minefield from the Orkneys to Norway to combat German submarines. Between June and October 1918 almost 70,000
mines were laid. After the war it took 82 ships five months to clear them. Methods for clearing mines were vital to the Royal Navy, because they severely restricted the free manoeuvring of forces. Paravanes were developed by Lieutenant Burney and Commander Usborne between 1914 and 1916 as a new weapon in the battle to secure military and civilian shipping.
The paravane would be streamed alongside a towing ship, normally from the bow. The wings of the paravane would tend to force the body away from the ship, placing a lateral tension on the towing wire. If the tow cable snagged the cable anchoring a mine then the anchoring cable would be cut, allowing the mine to float to the surface, where it could be destroyed by gunfire.
If the anchor cable would not part, the mine and the paravane would be brought together and the mine would explode harmlessly against the paravane. The cable could then be retrieved and a replacement paravane fitted. The method was still in use into the Second World War.
Burney also developed explosive paravanes as an anti-submarine weapon. The paravane containing 36kg of TNT was towed by an armoured electric cable. The warhead was fired automatically as soon as the submarine touched the paravane or towing cable.
Small vessels were normally used to drag paravanes because they were more manoeuvrable than larger boats. The drawings we hold, from HM Dockyard Portsmouth, show the different designs for using the device, as well as their effectiveness.
The paravane was developed as a result of a threat to shipping – it was a solution that was sought after. Other inventions were offered up by their creators – for example, Lieutenant Walter Maughan invented a new mounting for medium-sized and heavy machine guns. The mount automatically changed the plan of the area to be swept by fire, from arc to straight, curved or irregular, without alteration to the gun's range or having to cease fire.
Maughan devised the mounting in direct response to a piece in The Times newspaper about the need to cease fire when altering firing/gun alignments, which reduced the weapon's effectiveness. Maughan wrote: “We don’t want obsolete stuff and our 20-year-old mounting is about the worst in the world.” He continued: “So why not test my statements by trials – right now?”
Maughan was injured in the tank assault at Cambrai, and from his convalescent bed he fought to have the invention he had submitted tested. Tested it indeed was, to good effect. It was put into production by Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co and used by the American Expeditionary Force, among others.
These and other stories can now be explored in the online exhibition. Access the exhibition at http://engineersatwar.imeche.org/
Weapons of war: Maughan devised an improved machine gun mounting