War & Post War Activities
in the Mediterranean

THE MEDITERRANEAN IS A FOCAL POINT OF THE WORLD'S SEA TRADE AND IT FOLLOWS THAT THE HARD AND PRACTICABLE BUSINESS OF THE CLEARING OF THESE WATERS OF MINES, BOTH ENEMY AND ALLIED LAID, NATURALLY AFFECTS THE SEA TRADE OF THE WORLD.

The end of hostilities in Europe brought with it the announcement that the formidable total of 100,000 mines had been laid in the Mediterranean since 1940, some 72,000 of them in the central area. How they were to be cleared was laid down by the International Mine Clearance Board, meeting in Naples to discuss post-war mine clearance in European waters, and it has become an established principle of international agreement that the respective Powers are to be responsible for mine clearance in their own waters.

In so far as this affects the Mediterranean Powers, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, together with Allied sea and air forces, made so effective their destruction in enemy-held ports up and down the Middle Sea, that very few suitable craft remain available to nations such as Italy, France (through Vichy France) and Greece.

NAVY'S MANY COMMITMENTS
Thus, apart from the Royal Navy's commitments in the British zones, namely Malta, the approaches to Gibraltar, the north coast of Cyrenaica and the approaches to Alexandria, and in addition keeping open the war channels for international shipping supporting U.N.R.R.A.'s relief of a starving continent, British minesweeping flotillas are assisting the Italians, the French and the Greek in the clearance of their respective areas.
It also fell to the 5^th and 12^th Minesweeping Flotillas of the Royal Navy to sweep the approaches to the Dardenelles, clearing the way for ships going through the Straits to the momnetous 'Big Three' conference in Yalta, on the Black Sea. In December-January 1945, and they 'bagged' 188 mines in that operation but now, after training with the Royal Navy, the Turks have a small flotilla of their own with which they hope to complete operations.

INTERNATIONAL ROUTING AUTHORITY:
Meanwhile, as this vast task proceeds apace - it is estimated that some 40,000 mines remain to be cleared in the whole of the Mediterranean, including the Aegean, Adriatic anf Tyrrhenian Seas - a word-wide international routing authority continues to provide routes and navigational aides to merchant ships throughout the world, the route being amended accordingly as channels are widened and minefields cleared. Thus, the chance today of individually routed merchantmen striking a mine is very remote and those cases that have occurred are, in most instances, attributed to the fact that the vessel has strayed from a set course.

MALTA'S TERRITORIALWATERS:
An overall picture of mine clearance in the Mediterranean shows that all channels have been cleared and a start has now been made on the minefields either side of those channels. In regard to Malta, it can be said authoritatively that her territorial waters are 80 per cent cleared with a total 'bag' of 560 mines of all types.

WATCHING THE SWEEP WIRE: At the winch aboard H.M.s. RINALDO are Stoker "Bill Briggs, of Newcastle on Tyne and Chief Petty Officer Henry Leek, of Gillingham, Kent.

302 SQ. MILE MINEFIELD:
The 19^th Minesweeping Flotilla, under Commander F.S. Walford, R.N., has been engaged in sweeping a three year-old minefield some 302 square miles in area to the east of the island. The flotilla has swept some 250 square miles of the minefield when I was allowed to accompany them and, up to that period, had reported a 'negative sweep.' Enquiry as to why this should be produced the reply that mines laid for any great length of time invariably became waterlogged and sink to the bottom where their only source of menace, provided the mine's mechanism is still in order, is to ships anchoring in that area, which is extremely unlikely. It was pointed out that a mine can, and sometimes does, break away from its mooring to become a drifting menace. That contingency has been allowed for in British mines in that they are automatically rendered safe the moment they part company with their mooring wire. On the other hand, the enemy has been found lacking in compliance with this rule laid down by the Hague Convention. Thus the hazard of the drifting mine however remote, has to be accepted by all who sail the seas for a good few years to come.

19^th DUE FOR A WELL EARNED REST
The 19^th Minesweeping Flotilla has returned to Malta this week-end at the close of another week's hard toil (latterly assisted by the 12^th Flotilla) in very rough seas, to hand over the task to the 5^th Flotilla which, led by Commander H.J. Jenkins, D.S.C., R.N., in H.M.S. Welfare, has been operating in some of the most heavily mined areas in Greek waters since June 1944.
The 19^th Flotilla leave this week for Alexandria and a well earned rest and while expressing the whole of the island's gratitude and thanks for an arduous task well done, it is surely not inopportune to recall, in tribute, the efforts of the 'men of the minesweepers' who 'went before,' for their's is indeed, a grim roll of honour.

BLITZ DAYS RECALLED
All in Malta will recall the days when the local ferries could not cross the creeks until a brave little drifter, flying the White Ensign and with magnetic sweep trailing far behind, had patrolled those creeks, and how the Fleet sweepers "Rye" and "Hythe", covered by "Speedy" and "Hebe" towed Captain Mason's sinking and blazing tanker "Ohio" loaded with fuel for Malta's fighters, from under the guns of Pantalleria, in addition to their normal day's sweeping of the Malta Channel under constant air attack.