Mine Warfare In
'Second World War at Sea'
Part III: Variant Rules and Tables
By Steven Ford High and Kristin Ann High
February 2007

For our last installment in this series on mine warfare, we present some variant rules that take into account the capabilities of the minelaying ships and aircraft we examined in Part II. Then we present alternative mine damage tables that we feel are more in keeping with actual mine vs. ship capabilities in World War II.

Submarines as Minelayers

Submarines of all varieties, from big submarine cruisers to small coastal submarines, were employed throughout the war in every theatre to lay mines. This is primarily because submarines have the ability to penetrate far into enemy waters, and lay mines in places the enemy might believe safe, thus increasing the likelihood a mine will sink a ship. The drawbacks are that mining missions given to submarines are often extremely hazardous, and as is the case with fleet destroyers, mining missions take away from the submarines principal duties.

Using this variant all normal rules for minelaying apply to submarines, with the following exceptions:

Each submarine may lay a number of minefields up to the number of torpedo factors it has. Each minefield worth of mines takes the place of one torpedo factor. The owning player can decide how many of each sub’s torpedo factors are taken up by mines and how many are still torpedoes.

Once a submarine has begun sowing a minefield, it may not attack with its torpedo factors until it has completed the minefield.

Aircraft as Minelayers

These rules augment Section 19.32.

Capacity: Aircraft may carry a number of minefields equal to the greater of their Naval or Land Attack Factors.

Aerial minelaying: An aircraft with a circled Naval Attack Factor lays its minefield effectively on a roll of 3 through 6. On a roll of 1 or 2, the mines are scattered and do not create and effective minefield. Other aircraft lay their minefield effectively on a roll of 4 through 6.

Random Mine Hit Determination

When a task force enters a minefield, place all “long” ship counters from that task force in one cup, and all “small” ship counters in another other. To determine which ships in the task force strike mines, randomly draw one ship out of either cup and roll on the Minefield Effects Table for it. Then, after resolving any damage, randomly draw one ship out of the other cup and do the same. Alternate between cups until all ships have been drawn and rolled for, or until 25% of the ships in the task force have been drawn and the task force stops moving and replots (19.25).

Variant Mine Damage Table

Mines affect the hull of a ship, including its vulnerable propulsion and steering gear, its fuel and ballast tanks, the machinery spaces (fire rooms and engine rooms), and magazines. Thus mines generally slow a ship, reduce its firepower through loss of power or loss of ammunition, reduce its endurance by damaging fuel tanks or pumping systems, or cripple it by damaing steering or propulsion gear. Mines were effective at sinking smaller ships, but no modernized capital ship in World War II was sunk by a mine hit.

We therefore offer the variant tables below as an alternative to the current tables, which we feel are a bit vicious since they sink any ship on a roll of 6.

Dieroll Modifiers (Cumulative)

• +1 for each additional minefield over one sown across the Sea Zone Boundary, to a maximum of +3.
• +2 for any ship moving Speed 3 or greater when entering the minefield, including ships exiting the Tactical Board.

Fuel factors lost to mine damage are taken from full factors first. Those fuel factors may not be refueled unless the ship is repaired in a friendly port.

See mines at work in Second World War at Sea: Bomb Alley.