AN/SLQ-38 Standard Mechanical Minesweep
AN/SLQ-38 is the relatively new designation given to the Oropesa minesweeping
equipment which has been used on the large US Navy sweepers since the early days of
World War II. The gear is rugged, stable, and effective. It is also versatile
in that it can be rigged to one or both sides, and used in conjunction with another
ship on a catenary configuration. It can provide the diverting means for the complex
magnetic and acoustic sweep configurations. Current versions are fabricated from
non-magnetic material.
It sweeps for moored mines - those which float in the water volume tethered by a
mooring cable to an anchor on the ocean bottom - by cutting the mine mooring cable
with cutters attached to the diverted sweep wire. It is standard equipment for MCM 1 class ships.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/weaps/an-slq-38.htm
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Saturday, December 12, 1998 7:17:49 AM