Nicknamed "Gardening" the laying of mines in the waters off the coast of
Europe was nothing like the real gardening. Coming in low and dropping
specailly made mines in "rows" was a hazardess business. The passages
where the mines were to be "planted" were heavily defended by land and ship borne
flak batteries.
The laying of mines was to deter or deny the use of narrow passages or sea lanes
to enemy ships.
The log books and operation logs describe the operations in gardening terms, "planted the vegatables in a row"
and other such desciptions that a home gardener might use.
Many thanks to W. Hupe for sharing her grandfather's, (Richard Hayman of VR-G) photo collection.
