The modern minesweeper is designed to reduce the chances of it detonating mines itself it is soundproofed to reduce its acoustic signature and often constructed using wood, fiberglass or non-ferrous metal, or is degaussed to reduce its magnetic signature. Minesweepers are equipped with mechanical or electrical devices, known as "sweeps", for disabling mines. Siegburg, a modern Ensdorf-class minesweeper of the German Navy The Royal Navy also has four minesweepers stationed in the Persian Gulf as part of the 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron. Navy had four minesweepers deployed to the Persian Gulf to address regional instabilities. The United States Navy even used specialized mechanized landing craft to sweep shallow harbors in and around North Korea. Īfter the Second World War, Allied countries worked on new classes of minesweepers ranging from 120-ton designs for clearing estuaries to 735-ton oceangoing vessels. Historian Gordon Williamson wrote that "Germany's minesweepers alone formed a massive proportion of its total strength, and are very much the unsung heroes of the Kriegsmarine." Naval mines remained a threat even after the war ended, and minesweeping crews were still active after VJ Day. Both Allied and Axis countries made heavy use of minesweepers throughout the war. Combatant nations quickly adapted ships to the task of minesweeping, including Australia's 35 civilian ships that became auxiliary minesweepers. Minesweeping made significant advancements during World War II. By the end of the War, naval mine technology had grown beyond the ability of minesweepers to detect and remove mines. The dedicated, purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during World War I with the Flower-class minesweeping sloop. These reserve Trawler Section fishermen and their trawlers were activated, supplied with mine gear, rifles, uniforms and pay as the first minesweepers. A Trawler Section of the Royal Navy Reserve became the predecessor of the mine sweeping forces with specially designed ships and equipment to follow. The function of the fishing fleet's trawlers with their trawl gear was recognized as having a natural connection with mine clearance and, among other things, trawlers were used to keep the English Channel clear of mines. Sir Arthur Wilson noted the real threat of the time was blockade aided by mines and not invasion.
Players win by revealing the entire grid and flagging every mine, but if they accidentally click on one, all mines are detonated and revealed, and the game is over.In Britain, naval leaders recognized before the outbreak of World War I that the development of sea mines was a threat to the nation's shipping and began efforts to counter the threat. The number on a square indicates how many square hiding mines are adjacent to it, with the maximum number being eight. Players are given a blank grid of squares where they use left or right mouse clicks to defuse or flag hidden bombs using clues provided by numbers revealed on certain squares. The Minesweeper gameplay isn’t really that difficult. Both offered a challenge that was usually far more difficult than work being avoided, but while Solitaire is almost universally loved by all given how relatively easy it was to figure out, Minesweeper wasn’t as intuitive to solve.
Before social media and smartphones were a reliable distraction from work, Windows games like Solitaire and Minesweeper were critical productivity-killing tools in offices and college campuses around the world. Even with millions of people enjoying incredibly popular titles like Fortnite or League of Legends, it’s hard to imagine games played by more people than Microsoft’s Solitaire and Minesweeper - the latter of which is finally enjoyable for folks who still have no idea how to actually play it with Tim Holman’s One Square Minesweeper.Īlthough the game itself has been around since at least the 1960s and was available on several computer platforms in the ‘80s, Minesweeper’s fanbase grew considerably when Microsoft included it as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990, and then made it a standard part of the Windows 3.1 installation in 1992.