| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,728,594,116 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
minesweeper |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.01 sec. |
minesweeperNaval vessel used to clear submarine mines from an expanse of water. In naval warfare, they are used to clear mines from sea-lanes to protect merchant shipping as well as to clear paths for warships to engage in battle or amphibious warfare. The earliest examples used sweeping wires with sawlike projections to cut the cables anchoring submarine mines and allow them to rise to the surface, where they would be destroyed by gunfire. The wide use of magnetic mines (set off by the magnetic field of steel ships) in the Korean War led to wood-hulled minesweepers. minesweeper [′mīn‚swēp·ər] (naval architecture) A ship specially designed and equipped to remove or destroy underwater mines. (ordnance) Heavy road roller pushed in front of a tank, to destroy land mines by exploding them. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
|---|---|---|
Richard, who served as a cook on an aircraft carrier and a minesweeper, went off to Vietnam a few years later. He served in the Navy on Baltic Fleet minesweepers and on North Fleet diesel-driven submarines. The same engines were used in the Canadian minesweepers in World War I, and proved very powerful and reliable. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|