Sub-Aquatic Warfare

Sub-Aquatic warfare tends to conjure up images of various spy movies. The idea behind sub-aquatic warfare is to hide a large potion of a ship under water in order to protect it from surface fire. Sub aquatic warfare can also refer to naval divers that are used to destroy enemy mine warfare that may reside underneath the sea’s surface.

Sub-Aquatic warfare is thought to be an invention that occurred during the Civil War. A man by the name of John Ericcson devised a monitor that could be used to view enemy positions while under water. Although the idea was a sound one, Ericcson’s monitor ships were largely unsuccessful and were largely abandoned by the navy. Though Ericcson failed at his dream while he was alive, his basic principles are used today in order to assist in riverine warfare and shore bombardment.

In fact, sub-aquatic warfare is an integral part of today’s everyday naval operations. Throughout many countries various land mines exist that are underneath the sea’s surface. Although these mines may be out of the vision – and therefore out of the thoughts – of most citizens, naval divers work to remove these mines in order to ensure public safety. There has also been a lot of speculation as to the usage of land mines, since many of these mines are largely forgotten once a war is through. Many countries claim that they no longer use such weaponry, but many land mines still exist throughout the world’s oceans.

Sub-aquatic warfare is a really ingenious way of ensuring that no ships are attacked or approached unknowingly. Ericcson was far ahead of his time when he invented the monitor concept during the Civil War, only his design was not specifically suitable for the sea (he was not a seaman himself). This type of warfare is not only interesting, it is also highly secretive in today’s world, though many aspects of sub-aquatic warfare still exist.