Enemy Mine.

This is coolbert:

Within the context of a recent blog entry this extract from Strategy Page most apropos.

"Bouvet, Irresistible and Ocean having hit and been sunk by naval sea mines!!"

NOT so much that the sea mine is effective but that it is so cost-effective. 

"Murphy's Law: The Super Weapon Everyone Wants To Ignore"

"Naval mines achieved several striking successes during World War II. In the Pacific naval mines proved more destructive to the Japanese war effort than the atom bombs. During a 10 week period between April and August 1945, 12,000 mines were delivered to the Japanese coast by American bombers. These destroyed 1,250,000 tons of Japanese shipping (670 ships hit, 431 destroyed). That's 18 mines for each ship hit. The Americans had air superiority, so losses during these 1,500 missions amounted to only 15 planes, most of them accidents. Had these missions been flown against opposition, losses would have been between 30 and 60 aircraft, plus similar losses to their fighter escorts. Either way it was a stunning success for naval mines"

"A conventional submarine campaign was also waged against Japanese shipping using mines. Comparisons between subs using mines and torpedoes are interesting. A hundred submarines were involved in a campaign that ran for 45 months from December, 1941 to August, 1945. Some 4.8 million tons of enemy shipping was sunk with torpedoes. For every US submarine sailor lost using submarine launched torpedoes, 560 tons of enemy ships were sunk. During the mine campaign 3,500 tons were sunk for each U.S. fatality. On a cost basis the difference was equally stark. Counting the cost of lost mine laying aircraft (B- 29's at $500,000 each) or torpedo armed submarine ($5 million each), we find that each ton of sunk shipping cost six dollars when using mines and fifty-five dollars when using submarines. This data was classified as secret until the 1970s. It indicates that mines might have been more effective than torpedoes, even if the mines were delivered by submarine."

Those B-29 bomber dropping sea mines in that area of Japanese home waters attack on INTERNAL lines of communication! THIS WAS OPERATION STARVATION! Deny the Japanese the ability to move large quantities of grain within the confines of the home islands.IF THE WAR HAD CONTINUED MUCH LONGER ABOUT 10 MILLION JAPANESE IN GRAVE DANGER OF MALNUTRITION, HUNGER, SEVERELY DEBILITATED OR SUFFERING DEATH FROM A LACK OF FOOD!!

coolbert.