Ice penetrating moored mine
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorSamuel A. Humphrey
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention disclosed is an anti-submarine moored mine for penetrating . The moored mine has an elongated streamline body with a heavy, strong forward hull structure that constitutes a forward penetrating means and a rearward chamber for housing an air braking means such as a parachute. The intermediate sections of the moored mine contain on specific chamber for housing an explosive means such as a warhead and a separate and distinct chamber for housing an inflatable buoyancy means used to fix the position of the moored mine in the water in the proximity of the target submarine.
Claims14
An antisubmarine moored mine for penetrating ice comprising in combination:
- a forward hull structure having means for penetrating ice and which also functions as an anchor mooring means, a rearward hull structure with an associated air braking means, an intermediate structure housing, a propulsion means, an explosive warhead and an inflatable buoyance means.
A method of deploying and positioning a mine at a moored position in the water below an ice field comprising the steps of:
- (a) dropping an elongated mine with braking means from an airplane,
- (b) deploying the braking means in a manner to turn the mine to a vertical position so that the alignment of the mine is at a substantially 90.degree. angle to the earth's surface,
- (c) releasing the braking means so as to allow the mine to freely fall by gravitational pull and to attain a velocity of from about 150 to 500 ft. per second,
- (d) causing the high velocity mine to strike and penetrate a ice field and to enter the water below the ice,
- (e) automatically deploying of an anchor and tether means from the mine,
- (f) automatically deploying an inflatable buoyancy means from the mine that moors the mine, and
- (g) automatically igniting a warhead by a target sensor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.