Quote:
Originally Posted by Dogfish40
Just how did the U-boats and Fleet boats and the subs of Briton and all avoid mines when they had a good idea that they would have to get through a field of them, Gibraltar being a great spring board example.
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World War 2 submarines had no way of detecting mines. Even the much-loved game trick of using the periscope wasn't a viable tactic. WW2 periscopes had very poor vision, especially underwater. If a minefield was known to be in a certain area, you avoided that area.
With the exception of the anti-submarine fields of submerged mines around the British coast minfields were confined to the areas near major seaports and naval bases. This is part of the reason that raids on naval bases were few and far between. It was just too dangerous.
As for the Strait of Gibraltar, apparently there weren't any minefields there.
http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Ops-Minelaying.htm
If there were anti-submarine mines in the area, they may be partly responsible for the fact that that very few u-boats made it into the Mediterranean and none at all made it back out.