Hi All I'm trying to find out about early war (1939-1942) availability of RAF aerial mines for gardening operations, what types there were, and whether Blenheim's or Battle's could have laid them Can anyone give me a steer please Regards Fatboy Coxy
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/docume...s/Journal_45_Seminar_conventional_weapons.pdf I'd start here as the mining operations of the RAF still haven't received a good one volume history yet. Starting on page 137 of this Royal Air Force Historical Journal is the following article: AIRBORNE SEA-MINING OPERATIONS IN WORLD WAR TWO. The first aircraft used for mine-laying were Handley Page Hampdens.
There is some info in MacBean & Hogben, Bombs Gone. The development and use of British air-dropped weapons from 1912 to the present day (1990). Chapter Ten: Airborne sea mines, pp. 207-220.
The title of your thread confused me. In 1940 aerial mines were explosive devices suspended on long wires on parachutes to be dropped in front of a wave of enemy night bombers. Operational trials were carried out using HP Harrows as the dropping aircraft. It proved ineffective and as airborne radar was coming in so was abandoned in early 1941- I'm not sure how air dropped sea mines were referred to (other than air dropped sea mines) but if you are doing any archive searches might be worth finding out.
If someone has not better info IMHO probably the term used by Wing Commander MacBean and Major Hogben namely airborne sea mines, is the right term. Even if Hogben is only a major, he is/was a bomb disposal expert in the RE.