What is Minesweeper?
:''For the videogame, see [[Minesweeper (video game)]]'' [[Image:USSPivotAM276.jpg|thumb|right|250px|US Navy minesweeper [[USS Pivot (AM-276)|USS ''Pivot'']] in the Gulf of Mexico for sea trials on 12 July 1944]] A '''minesweeper''' is a small [[naval]] [[warship]] designed to sweep the water clear of [[naval mine|mines]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military|year=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=9780199891580|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199891580.001.0001/acref-9780199891580-e-5170?rskey=RQ9uw5&result=1&q=minesweeper|chapter=minesweeper}}</ref> Minesweepers keep [[waterway]]<nowiki/>s clear for shipping. They are quieter and less magnetic than other ships, so the mines won't explode when being swept. In [[Great Britain]], naval leaders knew before [[World War I]] that sea mines were a threat to the nation's shipping. The real threat was not [[invasion]], but [[blockade]] aided by mines. [[Fishing net|Fishing nets]] pulled behind boats gave an idea on how to clear mines. The [[Royal Navy]] used fishermen and their f[[fishing trawler|ishing trawlers]] to keep the [[English Channel]] clear of mines.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bacon|first=Sir Reginald|title=The Dover patrol 1915-1917|year=1919|publisher= Doran |pages=146|url=https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=ceBCAAAAIAAJ&rdid=book-ceBCAAAAIAAJ&rdot=1}}</ref> They were supplied with mine gear, rifles, uniforms and pay as the first minesweepers.<ref>{{cite book |last= Hawkins |first= Nigel |title= The starvation blockades: naval blockades of WW1 |publisher= U.S. Naval Institute Press |pages= 60–61 |year= 2003 |isbn= 0-85052-908-5}})</ref> The dedicated, purpose-built minesweeper first appeared during [[World War I]]. By the end of the war, naval mine technology had grown beyond the ability of minesweepers to detect and remove.<ref name=OUPmaritime>{{cite book|last=Hattendorf|first=John B.|title=The Oxford encyclopedia of maritime history|year=2007|publisher=Oxfor